PSY 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Scientific Method, Participant Observation, Falsifiability
Document Summary
Four primary goals of science: description, prediction, control, and explanation: what causes it to occur and why it occurs. Critical thinking: question information answer questions how accurate is the evidence offered by the source (scientific or intuition?) Descriptive research: observing behaviors to describe that behavior objectively and systematically. Ex: record the types of foods that people eat in the cafeteria. Case studies: intensive examination of an unusual person or organization. Ex: n. a. accidentally got a fencing foil jabbed up his nose and into the brain which caused him to not be able to learn new information. Case studies helped develop new models of the brain mechanisms involved in memory. Findings from case studies do not necessarily apply to the general population. Participant observation: the experimenter is involved in the situation. Can cause reactivity/hawthorne effect (people feel compelled to make positive impressions on an observer, altering the results)
