PSY 1001 Lecture 11: Chapter 2 Notes
7 Jun 2018
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Chapter 2 Notes
• Remember:
o Characteristics of science
▪ Empirical
▪ Verification
▪ Testable hypotheses
• Characteristics
o Empiricism
▪ Relies on observation
▪ Psychology uses structured empiricism
• Observations structured around a specific question or hypothesis
o Verification
▪ Conclusion checked by others
▪ Methods used in psychology
• Peer review
• Publication of results sharing data
• Replication
o Makes science self-correcting
o Catches mistakes, falsification and lying
o Testable Hypotheses
▪ Questions must have observable or measurable answers
▪ Examples of untestable hypothesis:
• String theory
• God exists
o Cant observe
• Principles of Scientific Thinking
o 6 Principles we can use to evaluate research claims
o Good research can meet all of these principles
▪ Standards for evaluating research
o Replicability
▪ Can the results be duplicated in other studies?
▪ If not, should be skeptical of results
o Ruling out rival Hypotheses
▪ Have alternative explanations for the findings been ruled out?
▪ If other explanations are possible, then NO conclusions can be made, can
only be one winner
o Falsifiability
▪ Can the claim be disproved?
▪ We are a science of falsifiability
▪ Cannot prove anything, only support until it is untrue
o Occam’s Razor
▪ Does a simpler explanation explain the finding?
▪ Also called the Law of Parsimony
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