Unit 2 SAFMEDS Flashcards
Science
a systematic approach for seeking and organizing knowledge about the natural world
Goals of science
prediction, control, and development of technology
Natural science
empirical phenomena; direct observation and measurement; manipulate independent variables
Types of natural science
physics, chemistry, biology, behavior analysis
Social science
hypothetical constructs outside of the natural realm; indirect observation and measurement; inferential statistics
Types of social science
psychology, sociology, political science
Philosophical assumptions of behavior analysis
determinism, empiricism, parsimony, philosophical doubt, pragmatism
Determinism
the universe is a lawful and orderly place
Lawfulness of behavior
All behavior is determined by the genetic makeup of an organism, its history and its current situation
Empiricism
objective observation with thorough description and quantification of the phenomena of interest, behavior
Experimentation and Replication
2 elements of empiricism
Experimentation
systematic manipulation of an independent variable
Replication
repeating any part of an experiment
Parsimony
requires that all simple, logical explanations for the phenomena of interest be ruled out experimentally before more complex or abstract explanations are considered
Philosophical Doubt
continually question the truthfulness of what is regarded as fact