Week 1 Flashcards
What three things lead to the conclusion of causation?
- Temporal precedence
- Covariation of cause and effect
- Alternative explanations
What is temporal precedence?
The temporal order of events precedes the effect.
What is the covariation of cause and effect?
When the cause is present, the effect is present. When the cause is not present, the effect is not present.
What are alternative explanations?
Nothing other than a causal variable could be responsible for the observed effect.
What does basic research do?
It tries to answer fundamental questions about the nature of behaviour.
What is applied research?
Conducted to address issues in which there are practicable problems and potential solutions. Often can be a program evaluation.
What are the goals of behavioural science?
- Description of behaviour
- Prediction of behaviour
- Determination of the causes of behaviour
- Explanation of behaviour
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency for people to search for confirmation of what we already believe.
What is reason?
Sound premise leads to sound conclusions
What is empiricism?
Knowledge gained through direct observation
Explain parsimonious
Good theories should be parsimonious - the simplest information that explains a phenomenon should be embraced
What is a theory?
A statement about how different concepts are related to one another. They help us make sense of the world. From a theory, I can derive hypotheses and make predictions about behaviour. After I make a prediction, I can make systematic observations to test how well my predictions and hypotheses stack up.
What is the availability heuristic?
People misrepresent probabilities based on how memorable an event is.
What are the goals of science?
Describe, explain, predict and control
What are ethical guidelines?
Institutional ethical musts
