PSYA01H3 Chapter : PSYA01 - CH 2 TEXT NOTES
Document Summary
Chapter 2: the ways and means of psychology. To explain behaviour we must use a method that is both precise enough to be clearly understood by others and general enough to be applied to a variety of situations. Scientific method: a set of rules that governs the collection and analysis of data gained through observational studies or experiments. The rules of the scientific method are based on logic and common sense and apply to a form of research that identifies cause-and-effect relationships; experiments. Experiment: a study in which the researcher changes the value of an independent variable. Only experiments can confirm the existence of cause-and-effect relationships among variables. Identify the problem and formulate hypothetical cause-and-effect relations among variables. Involves identifying variables and describing the relations between them in general terms. N the hypothesis states that something about the first affects the second: design the experiment. Involves the manipulation of indep. variables and the observation of dep.
