PSC 41 Study Guide - Comprehensive Final Exam Guide - Dependent And Independent Variables, Null Hypothesis, External Validity
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PSC 41 Full Course Notes
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Psc 41: humans constantly gather/organize info about the world, we generate theories about how the world works, scientific theory vs opinion, scientific theory is supported w/ data and evidence, opinion is more subjective. Intuitive knowledge (i feel that it"s so: authority (a respected source says that it"s so, empiricism (believe it when i see it, rationalism (logically it follows that , empiricism + rationalism = scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge: describes relationships between variables, variables = any characteristics that vary. Is objective: strives to overcome subjective bias, makes predictions and tests them, based on rationalism and empiricism (theory-data cycle, rationalism = logical reasoning, deduction, empiricism = knowledge collected through the senses (observation, experience) Goals of research in psychology: describe behavior (frequency claims) Identify the relationships between variables: strength of relationship leads to degree of confidence in prediction, explain behavior (causal claims, understand the cause and effect relationships, develop theories about why things occur the way they do, test the theories.
