L21 - Features of Science

Question 1

what is a SCIENCE?

Answer 1

The word ‘science’ comes from the LATIN WORD for KNOWLEDGE

Science is a SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to CREATING KNOWLEDGE

The fact that it is SYSTEMATIC and CONTROLLED means that we can RELY ON IT and PREDICT and CONTROL THE WORLD

Question 2

what is PSYCHOLOGY?

Answer 2

the SCIENTIFIC STUDY of the MIND AND BEHAVIOUR

Question 3

what is OBJECTIVITY?

Answer 3

OBJECTIVITY is a KEY FEATURE OF SCIENCE

OBJECTIVITY can be defined as ‘DEALING WITH FACTS in a WAY THAT IS UNAFFECTED BY BELIEFS, OPINIONS, FEELINGS or EXPECTATIONS’

Researchers should NOT LET THEIR PERSONAL OPINIONS or BIASES INTERFERE or AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF RESEARCH

A HIGH LEVEL OF OBJECTIVITY INCREASES OTHER RESEARCHERS’ CONFIDENCE that the RESULTS ARE ACCURATE, and CAN BE REPLICATED

Question 4

what is the BASIS of EMPIRICAL METHOD?

Answer 4

OBJECTIVITY is the BASIS of EMPIRICAL METHOD

Question 5

what is EMPIRICAL METHOD?

Answer 5

An EMPIRICAL METHOD involves the USE OF OBJECTIVE, QUANTITATIVE OBSERVATION in a SYSTEMATICALLY CONTROLLED, REPLICABLE SITUATION, in ORDER TO TEST or REFINE A THEORY

An example of an EMPIRICAL METHOD is an EXPERIMENT

EMPIRICAL METHODS suggest that we CANNOT CREATE KNOWLEDGE BASED ON BELIEF ALONE, and therefore any theory will NEED TO BE EMPIRICALLY TESTED and VERIFIED in ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED SCIENTIFIC

Question 6

what is REPLICABILITY?

Answer 6

REPLICABILITY is ANOTHER KEY FEATURE of SCIENCE

REPLICABILITY can be define as ‘THE EXTENT to which the FINDINGS OF RESEARCH CAN BE REPEATED in DIFFERENT CONTEXTS and CIRCUMSTANCES’

REPLICABILITY is IMPORTANT in PSYCHOLOGY because if we CANNOT REPEAT THE FINDINGS GAINED FROM RESEARCH then this indicates that we SHOULD NOT BE USING THESE RESULTS to INFORM POLICY or THEORIES in PSYCHOLOGY

REPLICABILITY in PSYCHOLOGY tends to be GREATEST when the RESEARCH METHOD of a LAB EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN USED, and tends to be LOWEST when the experimenter FAILED TO MANIPULATE THE IV PROPERLY

Question 7

what is FALSIFIABILITY?

Answer 7

FALSIFIABILITY is ANOTHER KEY FEATURE of SCIENCE.

FALSIFIABILITY can be define as ‘the NOTION that SCIENTIFIC THEORIES can POTENTIALLY BE DISPROVED BY EVIDENCE, it is the HALLMARK OF SCIENCE. It refers to PROVING A HYPOTHESIS WRONG’

SCIENCE is all about PROPOSING THEORIES and trying to DISPROVE THEM USING EXPERIMENTAL METHODS to bring NEW THEORIES TO LIGHT

THEORIES are CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED within a SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY and this is what leads to the DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THEORIES