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Is Psychology a Science? Flashcards

1
Q

What is philosophy of science and why bother?

A

Questions our intuitions about:

  • science/pseudoscience (demarcation criterion) - differentiates them
  • THE(?!) scientific method
  • progress in science?
  • proof of truth of theories?

Intuitions are questioned, formalised and tested

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2
Q

Logical positivism

What are the historical roots of Logical Positivism?

A

~ Empiricism - truth about external world based on sensory info/sensations - positive evidence (Bacon/Hume)
~ Positivism - new basis for society no longer religion or metaphysics but science, based on positive facts or direct sensations (Comte)
~ Logic and mathematics - the systematic way in which we arrive at valid conclusions based on premises -> can prove things without observations, order of things doesn’t matter eg. 8+4, 4+8

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3
Q

Logical positivism

What manifesto did the Vienna circle put forward?

A
  • logic and mathematics can detect non-observable truths
  • knowledge about world based on observable facts via method of logical induction
  • observable facts = objective and not private
  • possible to verify/confirm/prove truth of theories
  • unobservable metaphysical elements shouldn’t for, part of theories (metaphysics = religion not science)
  • goal is one unified science comprising all statements that can be directly observable elements
  • language much be purified - misleading
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4
Q

Logical positivism

What is the method of logical induction?

A

John, Mary, Peter etc are all swans - premise
John, Mary, Peter etc are all white - premise
All swans are white - conclusion

General/statements based on observable facts

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5
Q

Logical positivism

What are the consequences of logical positive?

A
  • demarcation - science based on (objective) observable facts, pseudoscientific theories contain (subjective) metaphysical elements
  • progress in science - science is cumulative, current theories contain more observation statements than theories in 17th century - can now predict to a much higher extent
  • philosophy of science should promote inductivist method
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6
Q

Logical positivism

What are the problems with inductive inferences?

A
  • Not a valid method; total no of observations is irrelevant
  • Counter examples are relevant
  • Theories when making observations are relevant
  • observations are not theory neutral/objective - can do lots of observations but never 100%, can be delivered by observations
  • for a valid inference conclusion must follow necessarily from the premise - induction not a valid method to arrive at conclusions
  • under no many circumstances should observations be made?
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7
Q

Logical positivism

Can inductivism be defended?

A
  • doesn’t work logically but psychologically (Hume) - habit of generalising on basis of few examples
  • worked before - defending on basis of flawed method
  • truth is statistical phenomenon - eg. more observations show that metal expands when heated, more this theory must be true
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8
Q

Logical positivism

What concepts and ideas of the logical positivist sounds are still with us?

A
  • facts - direct observations
  • theories - statement or set of statements that organise our observations so can explain and predict
  • predictions - drawing inferences from theories to predict facts
  • laws - empirical generalisations
  • models - concrete instantiations of theory
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9
Q

Logical positivism

What is a model and why are models important?

A

Summarises knowledge of particular area

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10
Q

Logical positivism

Is psychology a science?

A

Psychoanalysis - no

Behaviourism - yes

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11
Q

What is the theory behind Abduction? And what is the problem with it?

A

I notice that A is neurotic, if A is an introvert, of course A is neurotic. Reason to suspect A is an introvert.

a surprising fact, C, is observed but if H were true, C would be a matter of course. Reason to suspect H is true

Problem; conclusion doesn’t necessarily follow from the premises - you can’t trust abduction to provide valid conclusions

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12
Q

What is the theory behind deduction?

A

All trees are green - premise 1
This thing is a tree - premise 2
This thing is a green - conclusion

Deduction always gives valid conclusions - conclusion is true given the premises are true

Can’t prove theories are true, can prove deductively they are false
All ravens are black, I see one white raven = not all black

Iff premises true, conclusion must be true - deduction logically valid

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13
Q

Falsification

How do we find falsifications?

A

Make sure tested knowledge is objective - everyone in scientific community has access to info to falsify

Only objective knowledge can be falsified

Theories that have escaped Falsification many times have high levels of corroboration

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14
Q

Falsification

What is the demarcation criterion?

A

Scientific theories are falsifiable - ideas that ant falsifiable aren’t scientific theories

Theories must be formulated as precisely as possible, in order to make them as falsifiable as possible

Theory A is more informative than theory B if A excludes more observation statements than B, should strive for highest level of generalisation - universal theories

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15
Q

Falsification

What is the growth of scientific knowledge?

A
  • science starts with problems, not
    observations
  • the mechanism of growth is conjecture and refutation
  • conjectures must not be too bold
  • most important moments in the growth of knowledge are theory falsifications

Poppers schematisation;
t1 -> problem with t1 -> test t1 -> falsify
t2 etc
t2 should be more informative or more testable than t1
Ad-hoc theory modifications should be avoided

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16
Q

Falsification

What problems are there in Falsificationism?

A
  • if a theory appears falsified, the theory maybe be at fault, but also they observations may be at fault (based on theories)
  • not all aspects of theory falsifiable, theories have metaphysical aspects - that phenomenon under investigation exists
  • do we abandon a theory after one falsification? Or when?
  • what is we do when a theory is falsified, but we don’t have a better idea? How long do we hold on?
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17
Q

Falsification

What does is an open society?

A

Fallibilism - all ideas in science and politics wrong -> everything must be critically scrutinised

Criticism only possible in open society; unhindered access to info, freedom to criticise, travel etc.

Centralised government control of individual and attempts of large-scale social planning -> totalitarianism (Plato)

18
Q

Falsification

Is psychology a science?

A

Psychoanalysis- no

Behaviourism - yes

19
Q

Theories as networks

What are the stages of Kuhn’s paradigm approach?

A 
Pre-scientific period
Normal science (a paradigm)
Crisis
Revolution (a paradigm shift)
Normal science again
20
Q

Theories as networks

What happens in Kuhn’s pre-scientific period?

A

As many theories as there are scientists
No shared idea about the basics
All research ‘starts from scratch’
Not clear what observations are relevant

Eg. Are conscious experiences (Titchener) the building block of psychology, or physiological measurements (Helmholtz)?

Beginning of psychology: mixture of philosophy, physiology, anthropology, linguistics, optics, etc.

21
Q

Theories as networks

What happens in Kuhn’s normal science stage?

A

Not possible to define a paradigm

  • shared metaphysical ideas
  • accepted theoretical assumptions and laws
  • set of techniques and technical apparatuses
  • applying known theories and techniques to as many aspects of nature as possible
  • finding solutions for falsifications within the paradigm
  • when problems: puzzles = anomalies (not falsifications)
  • the paradigm isn’t criticised
  • students learn the paradigm by learning the techniques, and what the relevant observations are
22
Q

Theories as networks

What happens in the crisis stage of Kuhn’s paradigm approach?

A
  • Anomalies lead to crisis if their number is big or if they go against the basics of the paradigm/world view
  • philosophical debates about the basics
  • things grow worse if a new paradigm appears

Eg. Behaviourism

  • instincts (Thornedike)
  • one trial learning where ucs and cs are not paired in time (Garcia)
  • Chomsky’s review on skinners theory of language
23
Q

Theories as networks

What happens in the revolution stage oh Kuhn’s approach?

A
  • some day some scientists develop a new view on certain problematic phenomena, thereby discarding the old view (a gestalt switch)
  • scientists adhering to the old paradigm either make the gestalt switch, or are marginalised, and die out

Eg. Chomsky/skinner

24
Q

Theories as networks

What is demarcation and growth according to Kuhn?

A

What is scientific?
- all findings, procedures etc. that are part of a period of normal science -> truth is a relativistic notion (relativism)

Is there scientific growth?
- within a paradigm only

Fashion, perspective or outlook change

25
Q

Theories as networks

What problems are there with paradigm approach?

A

Is normal science really just a fashion?
Do scientists belonging to different paradigms really live in different worlds? If so, mutual criticism is impossible, only persuasion is. Is science really about persuasion, or also about ‘proof’?
Paradigms can’t be compared to each other because they’re incommensurable; we can’t determine what paradigm is better than another one
What is true or not depends on the paradigm someone adheres to - relativism

26
Q

Theories of networks

What are research programmes according to Lakatos?

A

Certain metaphysical assumptions in a research programme are unfalsifiable by rational choice - these are the card core of research programmes

Eg. The assumption the human mind/brain is an information processing device in cognitive psychology

Auxiliary hypotheses don’t threaten the hard core are part of the protective belt, they are expendable eg. The shape of attention window

27
Q

Theories as networks

What are negative and positive heuristics?(lakatos)

A

Negative - what we shouldn’t do: shouldn’t change the hard core of a research programme

Positive - what we should do: develop ‘refutable variants’ or theories stemming from the research programme, so that the hard core remains intact

Cognitive psychology - language, attention, vision, thinking, risk taking etc

28
Q

Theories of networks

According to lakatos what is growth of knowledge?

A

If a research programme grows continuously then it’s progressive, novel discovered
Eg. In language children learn mother tongue in the womb, children have a shape bias when learning new words etc.

Behaviourism didn’t lead no ‘novel facts’, seemed degenerative
The meaning of degenerative and progressive is not absolute. Research programmes can reappear eg. Connectionism as a progressive form of behaviourism. Success can only be determined by hindsight

29
Q

Theories as networks

What are the consequences for progress in science of lakatos’ ideas?

A

‘Science can grow without any ‘refutations’ leading the way’ - confirmations of theories are as important as falsifications
Progress can consist in mor general theories following more concrete theories (where the latter ones are special cases of their former)

Eg. The theory of planned behaviour supersedes learning theories, expect theories, consistency theories and attribution

30
Q

Theories as networks

What are the consequences in terms of demarcation of lakotos’ ideas?

A

Theirs are judged as scientific relative to their research programme
Consist of patterns of trial and error
Science is rational enterprise; we make decisions about hard-core, and try to falsify and confirm theories

31
Q

Theories as networks

What are the problems with lakatos’ ideas?

A
  • do scientists really make rational methodological decisions to make the hard core unfalsifiable?
  • how long should we stick to a degenerative research programme?
  • aren’t all areas of study scientific by lakatos’ standards (astrology, Marxism, gardening etc)
32
Q

Theories of networks

What is relativism v rationalism/realism?

A

Relativism - knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical or individual context, and are not absolute (Kuhn)

All points of view are equally valid; no privileged view

Realism - we try to rationally determine the truth about an objective reality (Laktos)

33
Q

Theories as networks

What are the dangers of relativism?

A

If: validity my point of view = validity your point of view
It’s great to kill people = it’s wrong to kill people
It’s great to discriminate = it’s wrong to discriminate

Substitute any variation for the above

Rationalism: respect for my point of view = respect for your point of view but we can disagree and talk about it

34
Q

Chapter 9

What 4 principles are science’s claims of superiority based on?

A

Realism
Objectivity
Truth
Rationality

35
Q

Chapter 9

What is scepticism?

A

Doesn’t deny existence of physics, reality but denies that we can have reliable knowledge of it -> must suspend judgement on all matters of reality

36
Q

Chapter 9

What did inductive reasoning bring to reasoning?

A

Disapproved of up to the scientific revolution - didn’t guarantee true conclusions -> only deduction legit
Induction didn’t lead to necessary truths but ‘highly probable’ conclusions -> required definition of probability
Appreciation of inductive reasoning for advancement of knowledge grew -> hypotheses became more positive
Idea hypotheses worthwhile even if wrong

37
Q

Chapter 9

What are demarcation and philosophy of science?

A

Demarcation = setting and marking boundaries of a concept

Philosophy of science = studies foundations of scientific research

38
Q

Chapter 9

What is confirmation bias?

A

Tendency people have to search for evidence that confirms their opinion (goes against Falsification)

39
Q

Chapter 9

What is pragmatism?

A

Knowledge arises from the interactions of the individual with the world -> knowledge not passive mirror of reality nor subjective construction -> it’s info about how to cope with world

Truth depends on success someone has in engaging with the world in what works -> truth of theory only if interest if it makes a practical difference because world changes truth isn’t fixed

40
Q

Chapter 10

What is pseudoscience?

A

Branch of knowledge that pretends to be scientific but violates the scientific method on essential aspects eg. Personalisation of Issues, use of misleading language

Experimental research allows psychologists to investigate phenomena that otherwise would be inaccessible

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