Psychology As A Science Flashcards
What is science
A systematic approach to creating knowledge
Key features of science
- objectivity
- empiricism
- replicability
- falsifiability
- theory construction
X paradigm shift
What is objectivity
Dealing with facts in an unbiased manner
What’s empiricism
- empirical methods = use of objective, quantitative observation in a systematically controlled, replicable situation
One example e.g. an experiment
What’s replicability
The extent to which the findings of research can be repeated in different contexts and circumstances
What things make replicability high or low
greatest when the research method of a laboratory experiment has been used, and replicability tends to be lowest when the experimenter has failed to manipulate the IV properly, e.g. observations
What is falsifiability
The idea that a genuine scientific theory can be tested and can also be proven to be false or incorrect
What did Popper argue about falsifiability
falsification cannot be achieved, the theory cannot have derived from a true scientific
discipline, which should instead be regarded as a pseudoscience.
E.g. psychodynamic theory makes psych seem less legit
What’s theory construction
Creating a theory via hypothesis testing & retesting
Two ways to do theory testing
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Stages in deductive reasoning
Stages in inductive reasoning
How is hypothesis testing a key science feature
- this is how theories are developed and modified
A good theory should generate testable predictions (hypotheses), and if research fails to support the hypotheses, then this suggests that the theory needs to be modified in some way.
What’s a paradigm
A shared set of assumptions and agreed methods found in scientific disciples
What did Kuhn suggest about the presence of paradigms
They’re prescence is what distinguish between scientific and non-scientific disciplines
What did Kuhn stage paradigm shift is
when, “The result of a scientific revolution occurs. A significant change in the dominant unifying theory of a scientific discipline occurs and causes a paradigm shift.”
Paradigm shift occurs in how many stages
Two
Stage 1of paradigm shift
A theory = dominant within a scientific discipline. Some researchers might question it find contradictory research that disagrees with it. Counter evidence accumulates against the main paradigm, critics gain popularity and counter evidence becomes accepted.
The present paradigm might then be overthrown due to the emergence of a new one. This is an example of a paradigm shift.
Stage 2 of paradigm shift
An established science makes rapid progress and a scientific revolution occurs due to the paradigm shift
Example of paradigm shift in psychology
- 1927 and 1938 the work of Pavlov and Skinner emerged who adopted the behaviourist position that all behaviour was learned from the environment and experiences.
Shortly thereafter, in the 1960s, the cognitive approach took over in psychology with the development of the electronic computer.
