PSY 150A1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Empiricism, Phineas Gage, Schizophrenia
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9 Oct 2014
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Psych 150: Structure of Mind and Behavior - Lecture 8: Science, Theory and Methods of
Observation
Tuesday 10/7/14
● What is Science?
○ Science is NOT defined by any particular subject matter, tool or apparatus
○ Science IS a way of asking questions and finding answers
○ Science IS a way of thinking about the world which is governed by certain
characteristics or principles
● Characteristics of Science
○ Systematic Empiricism
■ Contrast with “casual observation”
■ Clever Hans example (1907, Berlin)
○ Public Knowledge
■ Replication
■ Unbiased, objective
○ Testable problems
■ AKA “falsifiable”
○ Set of Attitudes
■ Skepticism
■ Curiosity
● Theory
○ Definition: An explanation that organizes observations
○ The role of theory in research processes: guides it
○ Characteristics of a good theory
■ Testable (Falsifiable) & generates new predictions
■ Organizes known facts
■ Supported by the findings of new research
■ Parsimonious
○ The difference between a theory and a hypothesis
■ Theory is an explanation about why things happen the way they do (i.e.
Schizophrenia is genetically determined.)
■ Hypothesis is a prediction based on that explanation (i.e. There will be a
greater incidence of schizophrenia between identical twins than between
fraternal twins.)
● Introduction to Scientific Method
○ The Bystander Effect (Darley & Latane, 1968)
■ People stand by and watch a traumatizing scene instead of helping.
■ Theory: When people know (or think) that others are present in a
situation, they allow their sense of responsibility for action to diffuse
among those present
■ Hypothesis: Increasing the number of bystanders will suppress helping in
a laboratory emergency