What is Psychology
Study of behaviour, thought, experience and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social and environmental factors
Scientific Method
Way of learning about the world through collecting observations, explaining theory and to make predictions
- Hypothesis
Making testable predictions about processes that can be observed and measured (Has to be falsifiable and supported or rejected NOT proved)
Pseudoscience
Idea that is presented as science but does not utilize principles of scientific thinking or procedure
- Theories
Explanation for a broad range of observations that generates new hypothesis and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole
The quality of theory is NOT related to the number of people who believe it to be true
The biopsychosocial model
Behaviour as psychological, biological and sociocultural factors
Aristotle’s Endeavours
Trying to understand relationship between body and psyche
How did Wilhelm Wundt perform his work
- Measured observations that rely on introspection 2. Experiments
Introspection
Describing feelings and thoughts
Structuralism
Edward Titchener
Using introspection reporting sensations and elements of experience in relation to stimuli that break down mental processes
(First school of thought)
Functionalism
William James
Focuses on the outcome of mental processes, how our body reacts to stimuli and translates that to our behaviours
Behaviourism
B.F Skinner
Focuses on behaviours as the only way to derive general principles of psych among consistent behavioural patterns through conditioning (interaction with the environment)
Cognitivism
Jean Piaget
How the mind receives, processes, organizes, stores, and retrieves information
Why is bias induced
- Helps us function
- Helps make decisions
- Protects how we view the world
- Easy, effortless, quick and satisfactory
3 Attitudes Towards Understanding
- Curiosity
- Skepticism
- Humility
Critical Thinking
- Asses nature and quality of the source of informations
- Question your own biases
- Avoid emotional reasoning and oversimplification
- Tolerate ambiguity
- Generate alternate explanations
Quantitative Approach Steps
- Phenomenon
- Theory
- Hypothesis
- Collect Data
- Test Hypothesis
- Share the findings and mobilize the knowledge
(Steps 2-5 can be repeated in order until conclusions are made for step 6)
- Phenomenon
Something observed - interesting enough to be bases of research
- Collect Data
Quantitive research to examine hypothesis, with many different methods and types
Ex. Self-report surveys, observations, “big data”
- Test Hypothesis
- Statistical analysis of tests to support theory or not support theory
- draw conclusions (suggests not proves)
- Knowledge Mobilization
- Tell others in journal and receive peer critique
- Decide best method to reach target audience (ex. Social media, papers, journals, blogs, documentaries, etc.)
6 Key Principles of Scientific Theory
- Falsifiability - Can it be disproved?
- Replicability - Can the results be duplicated?
- Extraordinary Claims - Is evidence as strong as the claim?
- Occam’s Razor - Does a simple explanation explain the data just as well?
- Ruling out Rival Hypothesis - Are there alternative explanations?
for the finding been excluded? - Correlation vs. Causation (Codependency) - Do we know that one is causing the other?
Replication
Process of repeating a study, sometimes using same/similar protocol but never identical
Knowledge Mobilization
Putting knowledge generated through research to active use
(People and communities, knowledge producers, knowledge users, application and implementation and evaluation)
