PSYB01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Scientific Progress, Scientific Method, Empiricism
Document Summary
Science provides an objective set of rules for gathering, evaluating, and reporting information. Empiricism: knowledge based on systemic observations: conclusions about the nature of the world based on collection and evaluation of data that is evaluated in a systemic way. Scientific method provides many rules for collection and evaluation of data. Goals of science: description of behaviour, careful observation, prediction of behaviour o. Systemic regularities in relation of two events: determine the causes of behaviour o o. You need converging data and more than one research (even if it"s an experiment: understand or explain behaviour, why does behaviour occur; explanation of relations. Inferences of cause and effect require: temporal precedence: causal variable should precede the effect. No other plausible explanation: is there a third variable responsible (alternate explanations), need multiply studies. Explanation of behaviour description, prediction, causality, and explanation all closely related;
