Unit 1 Flashcards
what does non-empirical mean?
knowledge gathered without direct observation or experimentation
what does empirical mean?
knowledge gathered through direct observation or experimentation
what are examples of non-empirical thinking?
authority and logic
why do we use authority figures to sell products?
because we listen to someone that is older (we think they know best)
are statements on authority apart of the scientific approach?
Naur! - scientific approach requires lots of evidence and good quality evidence
what is an example of logic?
nate is a man
nate is good at sex
all men must be good at sex
logic but not necessarily true
what are examples of empirical ways of knowing?
intuition and science
what is intuition?
having a gut feeling - eg. love comes when not looking for it
what is an example of intuition?
common sense - relies on informal methods or experience as a way of knowing
is intuition apart of a scientific approach?
no - you need more evidence for scientific approach, intuition is based on observation and has limitations
how does intuition and authority help the scientific method?
useful sources of initial ideas
what is falsifiability?
ideas that can be shown to be false
what is pseudoscience?
uses scientific terms to make claims look compelling and scientific
what is quantitative and qualitative?
quantitative: reported using math
qualitative: rely on verbal reports
its better to use quantitative
what are examples of variables?
gender
hair length
IQ
shoe size
when two variables are associated, what can be said?
the variables are correlated they even be correlated by a third lurking variable
EX.
weight and height
frustration and aggression
violent porn and rape
why study research methods?
- helps you become an informed consumer of news, health care, products and services
- can give you a competitive edge for careers
- helps you be an informed and engaged citizen and participate in debates ( because it influences legal practices and decisions)
- helps you evaluate programs in your community that you might want to participate in or implement
what is illusory correlation?
Ex. when a decision to stop looking for love is closely followed by finding a BF, our attention is drawn to that. when not looking for love is not followed by finding a partner we don’t notice
what are two limits to the usefulness of common sense?
differs across time, place and culture
EX. we believe looking in the eye we can trust them, other cultures think looking in the eye means we can’t trust them
common sense is practical
what are the 6 steps of the scientific method?
coming up with an idea
searching the previous research on the topic that exists already
stating hypothesis
run an ethically approved experiment to solve the problem or answer hypothesis
collect data from experiment and analyze data
draw conclusions based on collected data and write a report to be peer reviewed
what are the 4 characteristics of science and scientific method?
- science is empirical
- science is objective or communality
3.science is open-minded and progressive
- science is skeptical
how is science empirical and what does it rely on?
relies on observation, experience and experimentation
doesn’t rely on authority, logic, common sense
common sense is empirical but not scientific
what does it mean that science is objective?
science is based on objective observations
what is reliability / reliable?
consistency of measure
as more people observe the same result given similar procedures said to be reliable
what is validity / valid?
when all the people agree on results
what does it mean that science is open minded and progressive?
willingness in science to accept new and reliable observations as the truth
what is a theory?
well-defined, logically organized, sets of ideas that describe and explain relationships between certain events
theories develop hypothesis
what is a hypothesis?
specific, testable and refutable predictions or educated guesses about the outcome of events in scientific experimentation
they try to answer how and why
when are falsifiable empirical questions useful?
when they are proven false because they will spur the development of new and better ideas
what is scientific skepticism?
scientists should ideally be critical of work even if it supports their ideas
directly associated with peer review
what occurs in a peer review?
other scientists skeptically evaluate the research looking for major flaws in the experiment
when the study passes the peer review the experiment can be published
what are the 4 goals of science?
- description
- predictions and associations
- understanding the causes of behaviour
4.explanations of behaviour to promote change
what does describing science entail?
stating the behaviour
describe the factors that are thought to be important in the topic
EX. before finding out what causes PTSD, we must carefully describe the behaviours of many people thought to have PTSD
what is the nomothetic approach?
involves establishing broad generalization and general laws
generated by measuring large numbers of participants
uses scientific principles
what is the idiographic approach?
focuses on the individual
uses scientific principles
what does it mean to understand the causes of behaviour?
science searches for the causes that underlie the relationships we observe
what is the experimental design?
employs a high degree of control over the research situation as it manipulates one factor at a time to determine the effect of that factor
what does experimental research results lead to?
cause and effect conclusions
what is the criteria necessary for making a causal claim?
covariation of cause and effect
temporal precedence
elimination of alternative explanations
what does covariation of cause and effect mean?
when the cause is present the effect occurs
when cause is not present the effect does not occur
what does temporal precedence mean?
needs to be an order of events
the cause must come before the effect
what does explanations of behaviour to promote change mean?
say what behaviour is and give reason, normally with “because” or “due to”
determines “why” the behaviours we are observing occur and to use this info to create change
EX. why empathy in doctors related to burnout
what are two main categories of research?
basic and applied
what is basic research?
designed to advance the general understanding of things
focuses on the fundamental structures and processes with the ultimate goal of understanding goal of understanding them
EX. research focusing on how drugs alter brain chemistry
what is applied research?
focuses on creating change or modifying human behaviour
conducted to approve quality of life
EX. cure drug addiction
what is a major area of applied research?
program evaluation, evaluated programs and is designed to produce changes or certain outcomes in a target population
tests the efficiency of social reforms and innovations that occur in government, education and mental health institutions
EX. prevent drug addiction
