PSYC 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Internal Validity, Novum Organum, Baconian Method
24 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Empiricism is at the heart of the scientific method. Dogmatism people who cling to their assumptions. Empiricism the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation. Empiricism is the essential element of the scientific method. Scientific method suggests that when we have an idea about the world, we should gather empirical evidence relevant to that idea and then modify the idea to fit with the evidence. Usually refer to this idea as a theory. When developing a theory, scientists generally follow the rule of parsimony: the simplest theory that explains all the evidence is the best one . Rule often credited to william ockham -> plurality should not be posited without necessity . Theories make specific predictions about what we should observe in the world. Example if bats navigate by making sounds and listening for echoes, we should observe that deaf bats can"t navigate: should statement is technically known as a hypothesis.
