PSY 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Scientific Law, Belief Perseverance, Confirmation Bias
9 Dec 2016
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Lecture: topic 4 scientific inquiry & critical thinking. Science: a set of systematic ways to answer questions about nature by directly examining nature. Not a body of knowledge (e. g. chemistry or physics) It abandons relying on opinions, biases, dogma, authority, superstition, or using only abstract thought. It is a set of attitudes and skills designed to keep us from fooling ourselves. Rationalism: knowledge acquired through mental operations or principles (rules of logic) Psychology attempts to understand the way people behave: By talking to them and asking them why they do what they do 52% Scientific law: consistently observed relationship between two or more classes of empirical events which is amenable to public observation (no secret knowledge) and verification. Correlation laws: how classes of events vary together (predictions) Causal laws: how events are causally related (explanation and control) Major goal of science- discover the cause of natural phenomena. Highly complex and requires substantial experimental research.
