[PSYCH 112] - Midterm Exam Guide - Everything you need to know! (24 pages long)
Document Summary
Psych 112. 007 lecture 1 philosophy of science and research methods. The same psychological process that help us can dispose us to errors in thinking: heuristic rules of thumb. Science is: not a subject, an approach to evidence, a way of thinking about the world, probabilistic. We can"t definitively prove anything outside of math and logic. Scientific theory: explanation of large number of findings in the natural world. Hypothesis: specific prediction base on theory that can be tested. Scientific method: define a question, gather information and resources, make a hypothesis, gather data, compare findings and predictions. Scientific skepticism keeping an open mind but need evidence. Scientific thinking: rule out rival hypothesis and other explanations, falsifiability, replicability, extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence, occam"s razor. Least complicated explanation is usually right: correlation does not equal causation. Research designs: case study small number of people over time. Low external validity: naturalistic observation don"t manipulate.
