Philosophical Perspectives Flashcards
What do Clinical Psychologists Study?
- Assessment of normal and abnormal cognitive and behavioural functioning
- Epidemiology of psychopathology
- Impact of interventions and therapies
- Etiology, course and outcome of different forms of psychopathology
What is research?
“A search or investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful consideration or study of a subject; a course of critical or scientific inquiry”
4 Basic Steps of Research (Wheel of Science)
1) Form ideas based on theory –> 2) Gather Information (collect data) –> 3) Analyze and Interpret Results –> 4) Compare results to original ideas and other findings
Pure vs. Applied Research
Applied research is research that seeks to answer a question in the real world and to solve a problem. Basic research is research that fills in the knowledge we don’t have; it tries to learn things that aren’t always directly applicable or useful immediately.
Pure (basic) research: addresses the generation and testing of theory.
Applied research: Evaluation/audit/health services research.
What is a theory?
A set of statements that summarizes and organizes existing information about some phenomenon, provides an explanationfor the phenomenon, and serves as a basis for making predictions to be tested empirically.
Parsimonious
When there are competing interpretations, one should adopt the simplest one that can account for the data.
Falsifiable theories
Theories are falsifiable if they can be proven false, or if they have the possibility to be false
Correspondence Theory
Holds that the belief is true if it matches reality
E.g. “If water droplets fall from clouds, its raining”
Coherence Theory
Holds that a belief is true if it is internally consistent or logically non-contradictory
“If weather conditions necessary for rain occur, it’s raining”
Pragmatism Theory
Holds that a belief is true if it is useful or produces practical benefits
“Is the knowledge useful –> if you go outside when it’s raining, you will get wet”
Consensus Theory
Holds that a belief is true if it is shared by a group of people
–> if you all look outside the window, the majority would agree on the weather
Postmodernism/Constructivism
There is an assumption of that one should dispense of objective reality and are more interested in the subjective interpretations of people. There are no true/false stories, only differences.
Induction and its problems
Going from the particular to the general.
Astronomy –> astronomers gaze at the heavens, plot what they see, and then try to apply a general finding of these observations.
Problems:
Theory-dependence of observation: what we observe or how we observe it are explicitly or implicitly based on theory.
No logical basis when used exclusively: Past performance is no guarantee of future results (all theories are temporary, and all statements are probabilistic only)
Deduction
Key figure: Karl Popper.
Going from the general to the particular. Theory –> prediction.
Traditional scientific approach..
Science as a linear process, process is achieved through falsification of incorrect theories.
Thomas Kuhn: Revolutions of science
How does one decide when to adopt a new theory and drop an old one?
He believed that old and new theories are incompatible.
