PSYC 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Ontario Highway 403, Scientific Method, Behaviorism
Document Summary
Problem- mind - not directly observable; infer from behaviour. Behaviour is a product which causal factors to influence us. Bias we are the subject matter of our science if it feels good, it must be right . Meehls maxim: best prediction of future is past predictions are probabilistic (not certain: behaviour is multiply determined. Many causes influence behaviour not just one: method of inquiries investigates effects of a single variable. Be sceptical: single variable explanations incomplete simplify to persuade: multicollinearity. Difficult to determine which factors play unimportant role in determining a behaviour: influences are unknown. Causal factors influence our behavior below the level of awareness. Problem with asking people why they do what they do: people affect each other"s behavior. Reciprocal determinism (non-linear: psychological concepts are difficult to define or measure. Jangle fallacy: measure with same label measure the same thing (iq tests) Difficult to compare across studies: people know they are being studied.
