Nature Of Science Flashcards
Hindsight Bias
Using benefit of hindsight to confirm what we believe
Makes common sense unreliable
Why is logic unreliable
Is can tell us how something should work, but not how and if it actually does.
Eg. Which falls faster? A basketball or bowling ball?
- We would think a bowling ball, however, when tested, they both took the exact same amount of time.
What are the limits of observation
Knowledge of the world comes through our 5 senses, but our senses can be fooled… or the brain may perceive and process sensory information different from person to person
People tend to generalize what they perceive in one situation and apply it to other similar situations
Scientific Principles in Psychology
- Relies on systematic empirical methods of observation.
1) cumulative: science progresses and advances cumulatively; the knowledge base builds on itself.
2) process more than product: an active enterprise. It is a way of exploring how the world works, understanding cause of events, and predicting what might happen under similar conditions in the future.
- it is the process of gaining knowledge that is ever changing, relatively reliable, but always imperfect.
3) an attitude: a way of thinking.
- it involves cognitive skills required to generate, test, and revise theories
- what we believe/theorize about the world and what the world actually like are two different things
- scientists remember that believe is not reality.
Hallmarks of critical and scientific reasoning.
- Question authority. Be skeptical. Test ideas.
- Doubt and skepticism are hall makers of critical and scientific reasonings.
- intellectual honesty: must accept the data in whatever form it presents.
Scientific Method: Observe
- this is the first step
- must examine previous research finding, make a personal observation of the world, find an interest and thus a topic to study
Scientific Method: Predict
- 2nd step of scientific method
- develop expectations about the observed phenomenon
- express these expectations as a theory, defined as a set of related assumptions, from which testable predictions can be made.
- theories organize and explain what we have observed and guide what we will observe
- scientific theories must be tied to real evidence
- hypothesis is a specific, informed, and testable prediction of what kind of outcome should occur under a particular condition.
Scientific Method: Test
- 3rd step in scientific method
- Scientific select a research method, along with appropriate measurement techniques
- choose a plan for the design of the study
- choose tools that will create the condition of the study, and told for measuring response
Scientific Method: Interpret
- 4th step of scientific method
- scientists use mathematical techniques to describe whether it is significant, and closely fits the prediction
Scientific Method: Communicate
- 5th and final step of scientific method
- the results
- scientists generally publish their findings in peer reviewed journals
- this allows other scientists work to be evaluated and recommended on whether or not it should be published
Steps of scientific method
- Observe
- Predict
- Test
- Interpret
- Communicate
Replication
- the repetition of a study to confirm the results
- if the results cannot be replicates it is safe to assume they might have been accidental
Pseudoscience
- practices that appear to be/claim to be science, but don’t use scientific method to come to conclusions
- pseudoscience practitioners:
- make no real advancements in knowledge
- disregard well-known and established facts that contradict their claims
- don’t questions their own assumptions
- offer vague or incomplete explanations of their conclusions
- use unsound logic in making their arguments.
Variable
Anything that changes or varies within or between subjects
Population
The group of people the study is interested in
Samples
Subsets of the population
Descriptive Studies
- researchers don’t generally change any variable or make any predictions
- define a problem of interest and describe the variables of interest
- what is the nature of the phenomenon?
- 3 most common descriptive methods:
1) case study
2) naturalistic observations
3) surveys and interviews
Case study
- To study rare or unusual phenomena in detail
- to generate hypothesis for future research
- doesn’t look at cause and effect
- generally a long term study on a single individual
- cannot generalize results to entire population
Naturalistic Observation
- to describe naturally occurring behaviour
- to generate hypotheses for future research
- lack of control over variables
- doesn’t look at cause and effect
- subjects may act differently if aware they are being observed
- gives researchers a look at behaviour in the real world not a lab setting
Surveys/Interviews
- to describe thoughts or behaviours of large numbers of people
- If sample is random, results will not be generalized and may be biased
- depends on method of administering the survey
- subjects may respond in a way they think is politically or socially acceptable
Archival Research
- researchers who conduct studies by examining previously compiled documents
- eg. Government documents
Physical Traces
- researchers observe physical traces of behaviour in an environment
- examine particular setting for remnants of reflections of the activities or characteristics of people who recently used it.
Representative Sample
The data we collect must come from people who represent the group in which we are interested.
Random Sampling
Every member of the population must have an equal chance of being selected for the study
Social Desirability Bias
- When topics being surveyed are controversial, sensitive, or personal, people are more likely to respond in ways that may not honestly reflect their true beliefs
- might tell researchers what they want to hear
- tendency toward favourable self-presentation
Correlation Design
- measure 2 or more variables and their relationship to one another
- useful when variable cannot be manipulated
- cannot examine causation of relationship
- correlation DOES NOT equal causation
Correlation Coefficient
- tells us whether two variables relate and the direction of their relationship
- range from -1.0 to 0 to +1.0
Experimental Studies
- Allows researcher to have the most control over the experimental situation
- must have 2 things:
1) experimental manipulation of a predicted cause - the independent variable - and measurement of the response, or dependent variable.2) random assignment of participants to controlled and experimental groups or conditions - meaning that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in either group.
Experimental Group
Participants who receive a treatment
Control Group
Participants who are treated exactly the same as the experimental group, but do not receive the treatment. Sometimes they are given a placebo instead.
Confounding Variable
Additional variable whose influence cannot be separated from the independent variable being sampled
Single Blind Study
The subject is unaware of whether they are in the experimental group or controlled group
This eliminates participant expectancy effects
Double Blind Study
Neither the experimenter nor the participants know which group they are in
Avoids experimenter expectancy effects
Meta-Analysis
- Cumulative overall findings from all studies on a given topic
- method for examining many research studies
- combining results of all published and unpublished findings on one question to draw a conclusion
Size effect
- A measure of strength of relationship between two variables or the magnitude of an experimental effect
- researchers must convert finding of each study to this standardized statistic
- average size effect across all studies tells us what the literature as a whole says about a topic or question
Define: Measures
Tools and techniques used to assess thought and behaviour
Operational Definition
- researchers description of the way they measure or manipulate variables for their experiment
- when researchers assign operational definitions, they assign categories or number to represent different levels of each variable.
- this forms a measurement scale
Scales of Measurment
- Nominal
- Ordinal
- Interval
- Ratio
Nominal Measurments
For levels of a variable that are simply labels or categories
Ordinal Measurements
Measurement applies when numbers are used to rank order or levels of a variable
Interval Measurment
Numbers represent different levels of the variable are assumed to represent equal intervals
Ratio Measurement
Applies to a viable represented by a numeric scale that has equal intervals AND an absolute zero point.
-there are no values below zero
Reliability
Consistency of results.
Should yield similar results over multiple occasions
Validity
How accurately your measure assesses the quality it is trying to measure
Measures in Psychology
There are 3 categories:
1) Self Report
2) Behavioural Observation
3) Psychological Data Collection
Self Report
Participants accounts of thought, feeling, and action
Limited by social desirability bias and lack of clear insight into ones own behaviours
Behavioural Observation
Objective observation of actions in lab or natural setting
Limited by the time require to train coders and conduct coding. Participants also may alter behaviour if they are aware they are being observed
Psychological Data Collection
Data collection of bodily responses under certain conditions
Limited by specialized training on expensive equipment, on how to collect measurements, and how to interpret data.
Descriptive Statistics
First step in understanding research results
Summarizing and organizing data
Plotting scores in tables or graphs
Frequency Distribution
Graph that shows frequency of each result
Can be plotted for operationally defined variables
Central Tendencies
Single numbers that summarize all scores
Mean, median, mode
Range
Numerical difference between the highest and lowest result
Standard Deviation
Statistical measurement of how much scores in a sample deviate or vary from the mean.
Inferential Statistics
Use data to draw conclusions
Calculated using mathematical formulas that allow researchers to determine how much confidence they should have in the results of a study
T-Test
Tests for differences between means
Uses variability, group means, and sample size
Statistically Significant
When the results of a statistical test tell us that our finding is real and not just random
A result is statistically significant if the probability of the result occurring by chance is less that 5%
Significance Level
Amount of evidence required to accept that a finding is unlikely to have arisen from chance
Accept if we expect it to have occurred by chance less than 5% of the time.
i.e. P<0.05
Ethics
Rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation
Standards of right and wrong
Ethical Principles
1) Informed Consent
2) Respect for Persons
3) Beneficence
4) Privacy and Confidentiality
5) Justice
6) Debriefing
Informed Consent
Telling participants what the study is about, what they will be doing, the risks and benefits involved etc.
Participant must sign an informed consent form before participating
Respect for Persons
Safeguard the dignity and autonomy of the individual
Beneficence
Inform participants of the costs and benefits of participation
Maximize benefits, minimize costs
Privacy and Confidentiality
Protect privacy of participants identities and never connect their identity with their data
Justice
Benefits and costs must be evenly distributed among all participants
Participants from wide range of social groups should be included unless it is scientifically justifiable
Debriefing
Process of informing participants of exact purpose of the study
- Hypotheses
- Deception practices
