key features of science Flashcards
what are the 4 key features of science
objectivity, empirical methods, replication, falsifiability
what is objectivity
researchers must not let their personal opinions, judgements or biases interfere with the data.
examples of good objectivity and bad objectivity
good - lab studies
bad - natural studies, observations
what are empirical methods
empirical methods refer to the idea that knowledge is gained from direct experiences in an objective, systematic and controlled manner to produce quantitative data
what is replication
conducting research again and achieving consistent results
what is falsifiability
refers to the idea that a research hypothesis could be proven wrong. Scientific can never be ‘proven’ to be true, only subjected to research attempts to prove them false.
example of no falslifiability
psychodynamic approach - use of oedipus complex, denial. Uses a circular argument to prevent the claim being refuted (falsified)
arguments FOR psychology as a science
- most research attempts to be done objectively
- most research investigates direct experiences of participants
- some research methods are well controlled and replicable
- data is analysed using levels of significance and statistics
arguments AGAINST psychology as a science
- when researching human behaviour, objectivity is difficult
- some areas of psychology consider subjectivity and personal experiences to be essential
- not all research is replicable
- cause and effect is hard to establish in psychology
what are paradigms
a set of shared assumptions and methods within a particular discipline/approach
what is a paradigm shift
the way in which a field of study moved forward is through a scientific revolution. A handful of scientists challenge the existing, accepted paradigm and over time this challenge becomes popular with other scientists who add more research to contradict the existing assumptions. When this happens it is called a paradigm shift
example of paradigm shift
behavourists shifted introspection to behaviourism as they said we should only use observable, measureable data
