PSY 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Scientific Method, A Priori And A Posteriori, Testability
Document Summary
A set of methods use to answer questions. Overall goal, is to contribute to theory. Four primary canons (principles that guide a field of study: empiricism: knowledge gained by observation. Gives researchers better understanding of causes of behaviors. Survey ( respond to items that help measure mood) Come into a lab and observe (test their memory for different types of information: determinism: behaviors have identifiable causes. By observing behavior, an understand factors that cause behaviors. What causes anxiety: parsimony: simpler explanations of behavior are more likely to be correct. Helps scientists test ideas more easily: testability: explanations of behavior can be tested and falsified through observation. Only explanations that can be tested with the scientific method can be contradicted with observations of behavior. Well-established principle developed to explain a phenomenon. Describes a scientific relationship and how variables interact. All theories are subject to revision or replacement based on new findings.
