Task 1 Welcome sience Flashcards
Basic research
- investigate issues →confirm/disconfirm theoretical or empirical positions
- acquire general information
applied research
→generate information that can be applied to a real world problem
confirmation bias
looking for information that fits our believes
Post hoc
bringing arguments you cant refute, negative statements
Belief based explanations
devised explanations without evidence, e.g. what happens after death, when evidence conflicts with the explanation the explanation is questioned
circular explanations
An explanation of behavior which refers to factors which only proof of existence is the behavior they are being called to explain, e.g. animals are aggressive because of a tendency to behave aggressively
Method of authority
expert sources (books or people) not always reliable because of biases on both sides. can help to generate new ideas
The rational method
Developing explanations through a process of logical, self-evident reasoning
The scientific Method
1 observing a phenomenon 2 formulating tentative explanations or statements of cause and effect 3 further observing or experimenting to rule out alternative explanations 4 refining and retesting the explanations
Influence= f(SIN)
strength of an influence source (S)
immediacy of an influence (I)
number of influence sources (N)
Ability to account for data
- A theory must account for most of the data in its domain
* Theory can be excused for failing to account for falsified data
Explanatory relevance
Theory must offer good grounds to believe that the phenomena would occur under this conditions
Testability
A theory is testable if it is capable of failing some empirical test
Prediction of novel events
- Should predict new phenomena
* Doesn’t have to be new just new in sight of that they weren’t taken into account in formulation of the theory
Parsimony
• a problem should be displayed in the simplest possible terms and explained with the fewest assumptions possible
confirmation strategy
looking for confirmation of the theory predictions
->likely to happen when the theory only predicts a loosely outcome
Disconfirmation strategy
determine if there are not expected outcomes or not
Rigorously evaluated
try to extend the explanation to cover broader areas
deduction
when you go from a general idea to a specific (top down) e.g. all men are mortal, Earl Grey is a man so Earl Grey is mortal
induction
first observe than forming your idea (bottom up) e.g. every British person you met has been polite so the next British person you will met will be polite
Theory definition
a plausible or scientifically acceptable, well-substantiated explanation of some aspects of the natural world; an organized system or accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena and predict the characteristics of yet unobserved phenomena
Generalization
ability to apply findings from a sample to a larger population
Volunteer participants
Volunteer bias, they might be more interested in the topic so the differ from the general.
Internal Validity
establish that variation in your independent variable causes observed variation in your dependent variable
External Validity
generalise our findings make them applicable for real life situations
Deception
When you mislead participants or withhold information
- Allows you to create interesting situations that are not likely to occur naturally -> study reactions of individuals (faster to create situation, than to wait for one)
- Certain aspects of behaviour can only be studied when caught off-guard
Active deception
Actively falsify the information for the participant e.g. - Mispresenting the purpose of the research
- Making false statements as to the identity of the researcher
- Making false promises to the participant
- Violating a promise to keep the participant anonymous
- Providing misleading explanations of equipment and procedures
- Using pseudo subjects(people who pose as participants but work for the experimenter)
- Making false diagnoses and other reports
- Using false interaction
- Using placebos and secret administration of drugs
- Providing misleading settings for the investigations and corresponding behaviour by the experimenter
Role playing
Role playing: participants are informed about the nature of the research and are supposed to act -> relies on the acting ability !!! Different outcomes than in deception !!!
Debriefing
Inform participants about the nature of deception used + why it was necessary
Steps of debriefing
- Full disclosure of the purpose of the experiment
- Description of used deception + thorough explanation why the deception was necessary
- Discussion of the problem of perseverance of the effects of the experimental manipulations
- Convincing argument for the necessity of deception + convince the participant that research is scientifically important + has potential applications
Alternative to animal research
In vitro methods: substitute isolated living tissues cultures for whole living animals
Computer simulations: mathematical model of the process to be simulated is programmed into the computer
Three basic principles of human research
- Respect for Persons = participants should be autonomous and allowed to make own decisions, participants with limited autonomy deserve special treatment
- Beneficence = participants must have their well being protected: do not harm, maximizing benefits while minimizing harm
- Justice = divides burdens and benefits equally between researcher and participant
Confidentiality (anonymity)
guarantee the security of their response in a experiment
