PSYC1040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Empiricism, John Stuart Mill, Null Hypothesis
Document Summary
Lecture 1 introduction to statistics and the four pillars. Hypothesis testing: setting up null/alternative hypothesis, collect data, decide whether finding is rare enough to reject the null hypothesis. Sample size: the number of participants in the study, what determines this number, resources (costs, availability, guidelines in research. Power: the ability to correctly reject the null hypothesis. What unifies psychology: the quest to understand behaviour using the methods of science. Principles of science: empiricism - careful observations, skepticism - something can be falsified, openness - new things can occur, understanding, tentativeness - can never be certain. Independence from authority - don"t trust authority, trust evidence. Goals of science: describe, explain, predict, control. How do we know about the world: personal experience, authority, the use of reason (rationalism, empiricism. Experiments: formal ways of observing and experiencing the world. John stuart mill: method of agreement: if x then y.
