psychology as a science Flashcards
features of a science
OBJECTIVITY: the findings are matter of fact, rather than opinion
FALSIFIABILITY: in principle it would be possible to prove the findings false
REPLICABILITY: if the study is repeated and the same results are obtained
How is loftus and palmer scientific?
Loftus and Palmer’s research:
Gained objective data (mean speed estimated and number of people who reported seeing broken glass)
Was falsifiable as the standardised procedure could be replicated again to prove false
How is banduras research scientific?
Bandura’s research:
Gained objective data (number of aggressive acts shown by the children within stage 3)
Was falsifiable as the standardised procedure could be replicated again to prove false
How is Freuds not scientific
Freud’s study of Little Hans can be argued to be unscientific as:
The procedure wasn’t very replicable due to the lack of controls and very specific sample used
It is impossible to prove Freud’s results false as he is finding reasoning from the unconscious mind
The data collected was very subjective and can be interpreted in many different ways
How is Kohlergs study not scientific?
Kohlberg’s study of morality can be argued to be unscientific as:
The verbal responses from the boys were very subjective and can be interpreted in many different ways
benefits of research being scientific
- quantitative data is often gathered which can be analysed to see significant effects
-scientific research is less vulnerable to being affected by researcher bias
Drawbacks of research being scientific
-scientific research is often lacking in qualitative data ( and therefore its explanatory power is reduced)
- the research is often reductionist as it tries to test the impact of a single factor, as such, it can miss out other factors that might be involved
