PHILOSOPHY & METHODS OF SCIENCE Overview of Basic Concepts, Roles, and Goals
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Overview of Basic Concepts, Roles, and Goals What is Psychology? Comprehensive discipline in which practitioners focus on understanding human behavior.
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Overview of Basic Concepts, Roles, and Goals
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What is Psychology? Comprehensive discipline in which
practitioners focus on understanding human behavior its underlying
emotional, mental, and physiological processes. According to the
APA: Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. The
discipline embraces all aspects of the human experience from the
functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child
development to care for the aged. In every conceivable setting from
scientific research centers to mental health care services, "the
understanding of behavior" is the enterprise of psychologists.
(About APA, 5)
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Misunderstandings Regarding Psychology Psychologists are
mind-readers Psychologists analyze and diagnose every person they
meet The differences between psychologists and psychiatrists
Bachelors degrees in psychology are useless One does not have to
understand statistics and research methods to be a psychologist Dr.
Phil is a good example of a psychologist. What have you heard?
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Psychology and the Lay Person How the general public is exposed
to psych or forms opinions about psych: Self-help books
Television/Radio talk-shows Mass Media (News, TV, and Movies)
Experts in interviews Character portrayals Maybe an AP Psychology
or PSYC 101 class Maybe through personal experience (counseling or
mediation)
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Psychology is a Science Grounded in Empiricism: Observation,
Measurement, and Analysis Engaged in the replication of findings.
Methods section of a manuscript Participants, Procedures,
Instruments/Tests, Variables measured, etc. Engaged in peer review
and evaluation. Most reputable journals peer review articles
Reviewers are professionals There are standards Must not withhold
research data for review ( see APA Code, 8.14) Falsifiability
Researchers in psychology use the scientific method.
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Classical Definition (Roger Bacon, 13 th century) Science is a
set of procedures, based on mathematics and experimentation, to
establish NATURAL explanations for events in the natural
world.
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Classical Assumptions: 1. No event in the universe just happens
(I.e., events are caused by other events)
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Not Hugged Feel Insecure Work-a- holic
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Classical Assumptions: 1. No event in the universe just happens
(i.e., events are caused by other events) 2. There is an order, a
set of principles, governing reality. Not all things are
possible.
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Objects in motion
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1. No event in the universe just happens (i.e., events are
caused by other events) 2. There is an order, a set of principles,
governing reality. Not all things are possible. 3. Simple
(knowable) rules govern even complex events (i.e., there is
parsimony to the rules of reality) Classical Assumptions:
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Corollaries to Basic Assumptions: Physical reality exists and
can be observed and measured, however imperfectly (pragmatic
realism) Statements about that reality should be limited to what
can be observed and measured
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Sciences Rules of Evidence: 1. Physical (empirical) evidence
trumps all other formsempirical 2. No claim about reality ever is
proven to be TRUE; all claims are subject to reinterpretation,
modification, and possible disproof 3. Therefore, all claims must
be stated such that they can be tested and falsified if false 4.
Therefore, detailed methods of acquiring evidence must be provided
so that they may be replicated, so that claims may be tested
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Scientific (Constructive) Skepticism vs. Cynicism: Cynicism:
Doubt everything, because someone always has something to gain from
any claim Scientific Skepticism: Demand evidence for everything;
accept no claim without it; accept no claim that cannot be
replicated by skeptics; accept no claim as ABSOLUTE TRUTH
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The Goal of Modern Science: Build a less inaccurate map of
reality by means of 1. Hypothesis testing (What is an hypothesis?)
2. Theory construction (What is a theory?)