Psychology 1000 Chapter 2: Chapter 2
19 Aug 2018
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14 September 2017
Science vs. pseudoscience
Science:
- Peer reviewed - scientists look over and make sure the publishing is accurate and factual
before being released
- Maintain rigorous standards for honesty and accuracy
- Reproducible results demanded - therefore enough detail has o be given so that another
scientist can replicate the experiment and gain same answers.
- Failures are searched for and studied closely - as they could also have information that is
important to us
- Over time, ore is learned about processes under study
- Convinces by evidence or logical reasoning.
Pseudoscience:
- NOT peer-reviewed
- NO rigorous standards for honesty and accuracy
- Results cannot be reproduced or verified
- Failures are ignored, excused or hidden
- Overtime nothing new is learned
- Convinces by faith or belief
Definitions:
- Theories - Frameworks for explaining events
- Formal statements that explain how and why certain events are related to each other
- Theories are broader than hypotheses - Hypotheses usually derived from theories
- Hypothesis - Tentative explanation/prediction
- Variable:
- The factor you want to explore - anything that varies.
- Operational definition
- How you are specifically going to define your variable
- E.g. If we are going to measure Aggression in the playground, how are we going to
define and ultimately measure the variable —> Only physical - # of punches? or even
verbal - # of verbal threats
THEORIES:
A good theory:
- Incorporates existing facts/observations that we know to be true within a single framework.
- Should be testable
- Supported/consistent by new research findings
- Are parsimonious - the simpler the better
*Theories are not necessarily true - only valid to the point that they can be supported by
research findings*
Steps in scientific research:
- Initial observation/question
- From the observation you form a hypothesis - something that has several variables and can
be tested
- Test hypothesis
- Conduct research
- Analyze data
- Do results support the hypothesis?
- Do further research and build a theory
- Adjust theory on the basis of new findings
Formulate theory ———> Derive predictions ———> Test predictions ———> Formulate theory
again
thus it is a cyclical process
WHO? The sample
- Sample - A part o a population, or group that a researcher wants to study and make
inferences about. A subgroup of the whole population (too large of a group to conduct
research on)
- Good samples:
- Random - Each person has equal chances of being in the sample
- Representative - Same characteristics in the sample as in the population, basic descriptors
such as:
- Age
- Gender
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