Module 1: What is Science Flashcards
Bad science examples (4):
- Scientist use make-believe data
- engage I plagiarism
- Honest error (ex: brain image reading errors)
- Dropping participant data that don’t fit their hypotheses
Confirmation Bias
a tendency to process information in ways that support existing belief
Science
A way of knowing through observation and experimentation
Observation is
obtaining first hand information
Experimentation is
Conducting carefully controlled research designed to establish casualty
Using faith means____ however _____
that we believe without proof or evidence, however, without evidence, your views are not truly scientific
Experimental Methods
Research method characterized by a controlled environment in which the effects of manipulating an independent variable on a dependent variable can be observed allowing researchers to make conclusion about causality
Independent variable
The variable manipulated by the experimenter
Dependant variable
The variable that is measured to asses the impact of an independent variable
Non experimental method+ex (4)
Any research method that is not explicitly experimental or designed to establish causality
Ex: a survey, case study or correlational study
What is different with a non experimental method? (2)
- Method is frequently used in natural setting as opposed to the highly controlled settings of most experiments
- Variables being observed are typically not manipulated by the researcher unlike the manipulation of the independent variable in the experiment.
Relationship between non-experimental studies and conclusions:
Researchers obtain very useful information from non-experimental studies but cannot make firm conclusions about causality. For example. if you correlate students caffeine intake with result on memory test, you cannot say for sure that caffeine affects memory.
To make casual conclusions always require
us to run an experiment
Reliability+ex (2)
Refers to the ability to produce stable and consistent results. If you conduct the same experiment over and over again, you should get the same results.
Ex: If you take a reliable personality test twice, you should get the same result
Validity (3)
- The ability of research to produce result that represents the real world
- how well the results among the study participants represent true findings among similar individuals outside the study
- Consist of internal and external
Internal validity + ex (2)
- Ability of a study or measure to do what it is advertised to do
- Ex: If you say you are going to study the affects of caffeine on memory but you measure paying attention, your results don’t have internal validity
External Validity +ex (2)
- Quality of research that generalizes outside the research setting to the real world. AKA The ability for us to apply our results beyond the people participating in our study
- Ex: If the coffee research has external validity the public might benefit from consuming caffeine before trying to memorize
Theories (2)
- Sets of facts and relationships among facts that explain and predict natural phenomena
- They provide models showing how or why something works
Facts vs Theories (2)
facts are….and can…..
theories are…..___…._____…._____
Facts are observed and can be measured
Theories are backed by extensive reports of observation, experimentation and testing
Jonathan Haidt
How you think about moral values can be influenced by your situation
Theory building
The process of constructing, testing and refining the answer to your research
Hypothese
A testable explanation of a natural phenomenom
A good hypothesis leads to
testable predictions
We are NEVER able to
prove that our hypothesis is correct!
Empiricism+what it emphasize (2)
Gaining knowledge through direct observation
**Emphasizes experience as the source of all knowledge
Rational thinking
Believing what makes sense
Scientists obtain the scientific data they need ______ and then interpret it ______
empirically
rationally
Empirical questions + ex (2)
questions that can be answered by systematic observation
Ex: “Does stereotyping occur in more poor or rich places?”
To answer this we can simply observe the amount of stereotyping and discrimination across the varying environment. Our observation of the outcome will tell us wether physical environment made a difference
What questions cannot be asked empirically? (2)
“How should people….”
“Do they hold wrong opinions….”
Inductive reasoning + begins with…. (2)
Bottom up theory, building from a specific observation to an understanding go a phenomenon
***Begins with a specific observation, hypothesis then theory
Deductive reasoning+ begins with…. (2)
Top down theory, beginning with a theory and see if real life observation adhere to the theory
** begins with a theory
Give me the deductive pyramid u drew
theory, multiple hypothesis, collect observation, decide if theory is confirmed.
Give me the inductive pyramid u drew
Basic science
Scientific efforts based on a scientist’s curiosity without a firm idea how the info will be used
Applied science + the goal (2)
- Research that aims to solve a particular practical problem
- The goal is not knowledge for knowledge sake but the improvement of human well being.
Argument from authority + ex (2)
- Believing people who seem to be credible/who seem to have some credibility about a subject without examining the data yourself
EX: have a phd in genetics
Heuristic + ex (2)
- A shortcut in reasoning; rule of thumb.
- humans use mental shortcuts to arrive at decisions
ex: believing sharks are more dangerous than cows
Common sense might work in many cases but there are flaws in many aspects of our reasoning such as: (2)
Heuristics and visual illusions
Pseudoscience (2)
- Info that does not follow the rules of science but is presented as it does
- rejects prevailing scientific theories without the evidence to support a rejection
Nocebo effect
Negative symptoms are caused by expectations
Ex: electromagnetic sensitivity
Critical thinking
Ability to think rationally and clearly
According to the Elaboration Likelihood Method, we use one of two pathways when evaluating info (2)
Central and peripheral
Central pathways of evaluating information (2)
when we use it+ what we focus
- we use this way when the info is important to us and we already know quite a lot about it
- we focus on facts and logic
Peripheral pathway of evaluating information (2)
What happens when we use this way?+more persuaded by
- When using this route we are more vulnerable to message infuencing us using means other than logic
- more persuaded by a celebrity endorsement, a messsage tyhat tugs on our emotions or an attractive speaker
What would ELM perdict for parents with a autism child in terms of Autism issues and GM foods?
Steps to critical thinking (6)
- Focus on the question being asked
- Are you making asumptions? (can disort conclusion!!)
- What evidence supports a conclusion? (Corelation does not mean causuation!!)
- Are there other ways the evidence cn be intrepreted? (Consider multiple theories)
- What other evidence do I need? (Refine models)
- What are the most reasonable conclusions?
(evaluate the evidence now!)
Good critical thinking means we use ____ not ____ to reach conclusions
- reasons
- emotions
