Psychology as a science Flashcards
What is the acronym to remember key scientific principles in psychology?
THE PROF
What does it stand for?
Theory construction
Hypothesis testing
Empiricism
Paradigms
Replicability
Objectivity
Falsifiability
Theory construction
The process of developing an explanation for the causes of behaviour by systematically gathering evidence and then organising this into a coherent account (a theory).
What are the two methods of developing a theory?
Inductive and deductive reasoning
What is inductive reasoning?
experiment
- Make a specific observation, recognise a patter that can be tested and draw a general conclusion (Theory)
What is deductive reasoning?
Correlation
- See an existing theory, make a hypothesis and experiment to confirm the theory
Empiricism
Idea that factual knowledge can only come from our experience with the world. Collects data from direct experiences
Hypothesis testing
Hypotheses that can be tested to prove that it is correct or incorrect
Aim
What an investigator wants to discover/find out
Hypothesis
A prediction for the results of an experiment or correlation
Null hypothesis
Predicts no significant difference or relationship between variables
Alternate hypothesis
Predicts a significant difference or relationship between variables
Which variable is manipulated?
The independent variable
Which variable is measured?
The dependant variable
What are co-variables?
Variables in a correlation
How to identify if it is an experiment or correlation
Experiment - Difference
Correlation - Relationship
Operationalisation
Clearly defining your variables in terms of how they are measured
Paradigm
A set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a subject discipline
Paradigm shift
The result of a scientific revolution when there is a significant change in the dominant unifying theory within a scientific discipline
Replicability
The extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers
What makes research more replicable?
a)Keeping things same for all participants (standardisation)
b)controlled environment (lab)
c)Researchers using standardised scripts/instructions
Why is replicability important?
a)More likely to be accurate and therefore more generalisable
b)demonstrates reliability
Objectivity
It is based on factual, unbiased analysis and is not open to interpretation
Falsifiability
A theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue (false)
