Test 1

Question 1

What science is not:

Answer 1

Not defined by a discipline, isn’t defined by apparatus or equipment or gear you wear.
The APA organizes psychology in to sub disciplines.
Science is not defined by any sub disciplines it is a method.

Question 2

What is science:

Answer 2

Science is a way of thinking that includes use of systematic empiricism, Production of public knowledge and the examination of solvable problems.
Science in this country has been used to deal with current problems. WW1 saw use of it to figure out people’s roles in the military. A similar role was found in WW2 both for personnel and making easy to use weapons and material.

Question 3

Systematic:

Answer 3

It is structured

Question 4

Empiricism:

Answer 4

observations

Question 5

Systematic Empiricism:

Answer 5

Structured observations that reveal something about the underlying nature of the world.

Question 6

Knowledge:

Answer 6

Knowledge gained through the scientific endeavors doesn’t exist until it is shared publicly.

Question 7

Two key aspects of publicly verifiable knowledge:

Answer 7

Replication: findings are presented in a way that can be attempted by others to obtain the same findings.
Peer review: procedure in which scientists, knowledgeable about the content of the research, critique the study.

Question 8

Empirically solvable problems are testable theories.

Answer 8

Problem: The answer is possible even if we don’t have one yet
vs Mystery: Can’t conceive what an answer might look.

Question 9

Theories must have a chance to fail!

Why is having the chance to fail important?

Answer 9

Theory (modification), begin with a problem -> Prediction, (develop a hypothesis about what will happen)-> Test (Put the Hypothesis to the test) -> Theory (Based on the results of the test, refine the theory) and the cycle goes on.

Question 10

What is pseudoscience:

Answer 10

Pseudo: fake
Pseudoscience: A system of theories, assumptions, and methods erroneously regarded as scientific.
Examples: Polygraph, MBTI
It lacks a fundamental respect for research and evidence
e.g: falsifiability
It poses as science to garner respect for itself.

Question 11

Characteristics of Pseudoscience:

Answer 11

1 outward appearance of science:
Science defines its terms.
Pseudoscience uses jargon, scientific language without defining terms.
Gives the appearance of credibility.

2 Absence of skeptical peer review:
Healthy skepticism is key to good science.
Pseudoscience lacks anything more than token skepticism.

3 Reliance on a personal experience (testimonials, anecdotal evidence):
In science, anecdotes may suggest hypotheses but are not evidence in themselves
In pseudoscience, great faith is placed on anecdotes.

4 Evasion of risky tests
Science proposes risky tests that false hypotheses will not pass
In science, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Pseudoscience uses weak tests because disconfirming evidence hurts it.

5 pseudoscience retreats to the supernatural
Science is grounded in the natural world, even if an underlying mechanism is unknown at the time.
Pseudoscience cites the supernatural if claims are found to be false.

6 Claims that “unexplained” equals “inexplicable”
Science recognizes that something that isn’t explained can be eventually.
Pseudoscience uses what is unexplained a evidence of a true mystery.

7 Tolerance of inconsistencies
Science is designed to eliminate contradictions.
Pseudoscience tolerates them.

8 Appeals to authority
Because science is publicly verifiable, anyone can consume the research.
Pseudoscience has only weak data so relies on “authorities” to convey a claim.

9 Promising the impossible.
Science, being bounded by reality, recognizes natural limitations.
Pseudoscience often makes claims that disregard these limitations.

10 Stagnation
Science is constantly changing, updating.
Pseudoscience stays rigidly unchanging.
That is often touted as a virtue.
11 Placing the burden of proof on the critic.
In science, the proponent of the claim must provide the proof.
In pseudoscience, the proponent turns the burden of proof over to the critic.

Question 12

Skepticism is

Answer 12

Skepticism is a set of tools, honed by time and field tested by science, into the best instruments we have for discovering the truth.
At its core, it is an attitude of doubt or questioning applied to any topic
Someone who is skeptical=not easily convinced.
Also involves suspended judgment, critical scrutiny, caution, open-mindedness, and continual testing.

Question 13

Skepticism is rooted in

Answer 13

Skepticism is rooted in a hunger for knowledge, fed by rational inquiry, constructive doubt, and the questioning nature of an open, inquisitive mind.
It allows us to find joy and magic in the majesty of reality and yet still allows our hopeful hearts to be open to the possibility of something more.

Question 14

Skepticism is not about

Answer 14

Skepticism is not about disbelief.
Often skepticism is used to mean disbelief and a skeptic is someone who doesn’t believe in something.
Disbelievers are not skeptics.
Remember, skepticism isn’t a position, it’s a process for finding the truth. These examples are incorrect uses of the term.

Question 15

Skepticism is NOT opposing claims just to oppose them.

Answer 15

Inquiry and NOT opposition is what drives skepticism.
Skeptics Do oppose some things but not because of a default automatic mechanism. Opposition is due to carefully evaluating evidence and finding it lacking.

Question 16

Skepticisms default is to

Answer 16

Skepticisms default is to reserve judgement until evidence can be examined, not outright opposition.

Question 17

Skepticism is NOT about debunking.

Answer 17

Debunking does occur, it is not the purpose of it.
Skepticism separates those things that are untrue from those things that are true.
Finding the things that are untrue is a necessary outcome of the process.

Question 18

Skepticism is not about believing nothing.

Answer 18

Good, well applied skepticism can lead to either belief or disbelief in a given claim.
But like debunking disbelief is not the goal/purpose of skepticism.
Skepticism teaches you HOW to think not WHAT to think

Question 19

Other misconceptions about skepticism.

Answer 19

It doesn’t make you more intelligent than non-skeptics
There is a correlation between education and skepticism
Doesn’t mean that one requires the other.
Smart people are better able to argue for their beliefs true or not.
It doesn’t make you immune to error.
Skeptics are just as susceptible to being fooled as anyone else.
Indeed, failure to be humble can lead to being fooled.

Question 20

Why is skepticism important?

Answer 20

It allows you to wonder about the natural phenomena of the universe while demanding evidence for their existence.

Question 21

Psychology is merely common sense.

Answer 21

“the duh files”-Psychological findings just confirm common sense.
Examples:
Expressing pent up anger reduces anger (66%)
Strange behaviors are especially likely during fool moons(65%)
People with skizophrenia have multiple personalities(77%)
Human memory acts like a tape recorder (27%)
The polygraph is a highly accurate detector of lies(45%)
Hypnotized people blindly follow the suggestions of tests(44%)
On a MC test one should stick with the original answer even if it doesn’t seem correct(75%)

Question 22

Lay knowledge relies on

Answer 22

Lay knowledge relies on folk wisdom (body of knowledge rooted in beliefs or opinions of ordinary people)
Look before you leap ect
There are many examples that conflict though.

Question 23

Folk wisdom often contradicts itself making it

Answer 23

unfalsifiable

Question 24

Why is folk wisdom attractive?

Answer 24

It seems to have stood the test of time.
These bits of folk wisdom have been passed down for generations.
It is widely agreed upon
We all agree that these bits of folk wisdom are true.
We can easily think of examples
It’s easy to recall examples of these bits of folk wisdom.

Question 25

But folk wisdom accounts for

Answer 25

But folk wisdom accounts for everything and as a consequence, nothing.

Question 26

Folk wisdom is a barrier to

Answer 26

Folk wisdom is a barrier to viewing psychology as a science because it offers psychologically satisfying explanations without the requirement of critical thinking and scientific explanation.

Question 27

These (and other) Psychological misconceptions call into question

Answer 27

These (and other) Psychological misconceptions call into question the reliance on common sense and folk wisdom over scientific findings when distinguishing fact from fiction.

Question 28

Another reason for that belief that psych is common sense is

Answer 28

Another reason for that belief that psych is common sense is hindsight bias.
The I knew it all along effect.
The tendency to perceive outcomes as foreseeable once we know them.
Once we learn of a psychological outcome, it appears self evident.

Question 29

Psychology does not use scientific methods.

Answer 29

ALLEGEDLY

Question 30

Psychology uses the same research and statistical methods as other sciences:

Answer 30

Randomized control group
Blind and double-blind procedures
Placebo control groups.
Correlational statistical methods
Multiple regression models.
Structural equation modeling techniques.
All these procedures minimize bias and illusory correlation.
They are safeguards against human error.

Question 31

Psychology cannot yield meaningful generalizations because everyone is unique

Answer 31

Though people are not all exactly alike they are similar on a key feature that reveals the pattern.

Question 32

Psychology is not useful to society

Answer 32

Though the contributions from some of the “hard sciences” have been significant and enduring, saying that psych is useless is unwarranted.

Question 33

Falsifiability

Answer 33

Theory> prediction> test>

Hypothetics are more important and can be based on a theory.

Question 34

Theory:

Answer 34

: Is an interrelated of concepts that explains a body of evidence
AND can be used to make predictions about the future.

Question 35

Hypothesis:

Answer 35

Hypothesis: Specific predictions that are derived from theories.

Question 36

A theory is more general and comprehensive than a hypothesis.
Scientists use theories to generate hypotheses.
A hypothesis is more specific than a theory.
Results of tests of hypotheses.

Answer 36

A theory is more general and comprehensive than a hypothesis.
Scientists use theories to generate hypotheses.
A hypothesis is more specific than a theory.
Results of tests of hypotheses.

Question 37

Falsifiability Criterion

Answer 37

The principle by which evaluating new evidence (relevant to a theory) must always include the possibility that the data will falsify the theory.

Question 38

A theory should tell us

Answer 38

A theory should tell us what should happen and what should not happen.
If the things that shouldn’t happen do happen then we know that something is wrong with the theory.
You should be able to evaluate whether or not a claim is falsifiable.
Why?
Because we want to know whether the claim is credible.
In what Contexts?
In science, hypothese must be falsifiable, otherwise the findings aren’t credible.
Extraordinary claims must be falsifiable to produce credible evidence.

Question 39

Karl Popper Philosopher of science:

Answer 39

Scientific claims are bold in that they make testable claims that future observations may reveal to be false.
This boldness amounts to a willingness to take a risk and be wrong.
This makes science more robust; claims that can be falsified improve a scientific theory and hone in on the true state of affairs.

Question 40

A claim that is falsifiable can be

Answer 40

true- in which case, attempts to make an observation that falsifies the claim will come up empty.

Question 41

A claim that has been falsified is known to be

Answer 41

false (because there has been an observation that demonstrates that the claim must be false).

And, it must have been a falsifiable claim_ one for which there was observable evidence we could turn to in order to test the claim- else we could not have falsified it.

Question 42

An unfalsifiable claim might be true, and it might be false.

Answer 42

However, there is no possible observational evidence we could turn to in order to demonstrate that the claim is false.

Question 43

Three things that make a claim good:

Answer 43

It is specific.
Predictions occur in advance.
It doesn’t only yield confirmatory results.
Scientists focus on things that are unknown.

Question 44

Operationalism.

Answer 44

If a thing exists, it exists in some amount; and if it exists in some amount, it can be measured. -E.L Thorndike
Concepts in scientific theories must be grounded in observable events that can be measured.
Operationalism: Philosophical viewpoint that scientific concepts should be defined in terms of the operations used to measure them
Not everyone will agree with how you operationalized your variables.
Sometimes studies measure the same variables multiple ways.

Question 45

Why are operational definitions important?

Answer 45

Overcomes the pre existing bias problem.
Everyone has a personally held theory about human behavior and personality.

It standardizes the definition of a construct
Terminology: many psychological constructs use terms used in everyday language and they don’t always mean the same thing.

Question 46

Construct:

Answer 46

Hypothetical attributes, characteristics, or mechanisms that cannot be directly observed. Are useful for describing and explaining behavior.
Directly versus indirectly observing variables.

Question 47

Can psychological constructs be measured?

Answer 47

We regularly make judgements about constructs. Implicit in this is quantification!
To achieve this, we must create an operational definition.
It identifies the procedure for measuring an observable behavior and uses the resulting measurements as a definition of a hypothetical construct.
A good operational definition defines procedures so precisely that another researcher can replicate them by simply following the description.

Question 48

Developing an operational definition:

Answer 48

1. Answer the question “how do I know it when I see it?”
2. Don’t define a construct with a construct.
3. Create it within the context of the study.
4. Make it sufficiently specific
5. Ultimately, you must quantify the construct, so determine what the value means.

Question 49

A construct consists of Hypothetical attributes, characteristics, or mechanisms that cannot be directly observed and are useful for describing and explaining behavior. To operationalize a construct, we must go about defining the observable or measurable parts of a specific construct and there are many ways of operationalizing said constructs. Some ways include self-reported surveys, testing, interviewing, biological measurements and many more. I for one think that in a study it would be best to use multiple ways of measuring a construct. It is unlikely to begin with that a given method will be the best at capturing a construct completely so it may be better to cover more bases that way.

Answer 49

A construct consists of Hypothetical attributes, characteristics, or mechanisms that cannot be directly observed and are useful for describing and explaining behavior. To operationalize a construct, we must go about defining the observable or measurable parts of a specific construct and there are many ways of operationalizing said constructs. Some ways include self-reported surveys, testing, interviewing, biological measurements and many more. I for one think that in a study it would be best to use multiple ways of measuring a construct. It is unlikely to begin with that a given method will be the best at capturing a construct completely so it may be better to cover more bases that way.

Question 50

In the term systematic empiricism, systematic refers to and empiricism refers to
.

Answer 50

structured

observations

Question 51

Psychology uses the same research and statistical methods as other sciences.

Answer 51

True

Question 52

What is the principle that says evaluating new evidence relevant to a theory must always include the possibility that the data will disconfirm the theory?

Answer 52

Falsifiability criterion.

Question 53

One of the benefits of operational definitions is that they allow for:

Answer 53

Replication