0.26. Psychology as a Science

Question 1

Obectivity

Answer 1

• Researchers must keep a critical distance during their research
• No personal opinions should be allowed to discolour the data or influence the ppts
• Factual to reduce bias

Question 2

Replicability

Answer 2

• If a scientific theory is to be trusted, the findings must be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexts
• Testing it over and over to produce similar or the same results, in order to be able to generalise

Question 3

Theory construction and deduction

Answer 3

• A theory is set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events/ behaviours
• Testing a theory depends on being able to make a clear and precise statement on the basis of the theory
• The hypothesis is then tested
• This is deduction, developing a new hypothesis from an existing theory

Question 4

Paradigm and paradigm shift

Answer 4

• A paradigm is a set of shared assumptions and methods
• Kuhn argued that the social sciences are what’s called a ‘pre-science’ as they lack a universal accepted paradigm
• A paradigm shift happens when there is a scientific revolution, there is new research that questions the accepted paradigm, that questions it too much to be ignored

Question 5

Empirical method

Answer 5

• Emphasises the importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience
• Experiments and observations are excellent examples
• A theory cannot claim to be scientific unless it has been empirically tested

Question 6

Falsifiability

Answer 6

• Scientific theories should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proved false
• Pseudoscience cannot be falsified therefore does not fit psychology as a science