Term
What are the aims of psychology as a science?
(Four aims) |
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Definition
Understanding - understand cause and effect
Control - control and change behaviour
Prediction - predict behaviour when certain stimuli is present
Description - objectively describe events |
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Term
What are the assumptions of psychology as a science?
(four assumptions) |
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Definition
Order - the world has order so patterns are present
Determinism - everything is caused by something
Empiricism - evidence should be observable
Parsimony - explanations should account for all known facts in an economic way |
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Term
What are the characteristics of psychology as a science?
(five characteristics) |
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Definition
Control - control of variables
Operational definition - concepts such as anxiety need to be carefully defined so they can be measured
Replicability - the research can be repeated to produce similar results
Use of theory - theories should be built, modified and falsified as research continues |
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Term
What are the strengths of psychology as a science?
(five strengths) |
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Definition
-Objective
-Empirical support
-Allows for understanding, control and generalisation
-Refutable
-Replicable |
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Term
What are the limitations of psychology as a science?
(eight limitations) |
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Definition
-Influence of participants - may respond in different ways to 'prove' or 'disprove' hypothesis
-Demand characteristics
-Biased sample
-Ungeneralisable
-Reductionist
-Ethics make some research impossible
-Deterministic |
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Term
| What is meant by replication in research? |
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Definition
| Replication is when the study is done again in the same way to see whether the results are similar or not. |
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Term
| Why is replication forms an essential part of the scientific approach? |
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Definition
| Replication ensures the research is able to be generalized, the theory is strengthened due to multiple attempts to falsify it. |
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Term
| Why is generalization an important principle of the scientific approach? |
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Definition
| The scientific approach aims to find general laws in behaviour to make predictions from them so they must be applicable to all people and situations. |
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Term
| What two problems may arise when making generalizations on the basis of psychological research findings? |
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Definition
Information from experiments may not be generalisable to other situations and environments due to the artificial environment of the lab
The information may only be generalisable in the same time period that the research was conducted. A study conducted in 1960 may have very different results to if it was conducted today due to changes in society. |
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Term
| What is meant by a paradigm in science? |
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Definition
| A paradigm is a unifying view or assumption underlying the methodologies of a scientific subject |
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Term
| What is one role of hypothesis testing in psychology? |
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Definition
| The role of the hypothesis is to test a theory. If the prediction in the hypothesis is not backed up by the evidence, the theory is not supported. |
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Term
| What is the role of peer review in validating research? |
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Definition
The reviewers, who don't know who the researcher is and have similar qualifications and knowledge on the subject, validate the quality and relevance of the research.
The research is checked for validity, ethical issues, potential sources of bias and appropriateness of the conclusions drawn.
They give criticism, can request minor changes or stop the research from being published.
It can also be used to decide whether proposed research should be funded. |
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