PS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Francis Bacon, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning
Document Summary
Two characteristics that all sciences share are similar principles, or beliefs, about how to best understand the world, and reliance on the scientific method as a way to discovering and sharpening knowledge. Two essential beliefs include: the universe operates according to certain natural laws. Scientists believe that things happen in and around us in some kind of orderly fashion that can be described using rules or laws. Psychologists look for the laws that describe mental processes and behaviour: such laws are discoverable and testable. By carefully observing what happens in the natural world, can figure out laws governing those events. Can use these laws to make predictions about what might happen, can then experiment to see whether those predictions come true. Psychology, a natural science, operates according to these two core beliefs but also shares a similar logical approach (to other sciences) to discover and test laws about how things happen: the scientific method.
