PSYA01H3 Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Notes
Document Summary
The goal of psychology as a science is the explanation of behaviour. The vast majority of psychologists believe that behaviour, like other natural phenomena, can be studied objectively. The scientific method permits us to discover the nature and causes of behaviour. The scientific method consists a set of rules that dictate the general procedure a scientist must follow in his or her research. Rules were originally devised by philosophers who were attempting to determine how we could understand reality. Three major types of scientific research: naturalistic observation and clinical observation. Naturalistic observation: the observation of people or animals in their natural environment. Clinical observation: observation of the behaviour of people who are undergoing diagnosis or treatment. The two methods above are the least formal and are constrained by the fewest rules. Naturalistic observations provide the foundations of the biological social sciences. Maria montessori formed many of her ideas about child development by watching children in a classroom.
