PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Cognitive Revolution, Mental Chronometry, Cognitive Neuroscience
Document Summary
Psychology: scientific study of behavior, thought and experience, and how they can be affected. Chapter 1. 1: the science of psychology by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors. The scientific method: way of learning about the world (scientific research) through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions: hypothesis testing and construction of theories. Hypothesis: a testable prediction about the processes that can be observed and measured (can be supported/rejected, no need to prove, and must be testable) Should not be confused with pseudoscience: an idea that"s presented as science but doesn"t actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure. Theory: an explanation for a broad range of observations that also generates new hypotheses and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole; must be falsifiable (can be proved false with new evidence) Theories are not the same thing as opinions/beliefs.
