Psychpt2

Hypothesis

________ is a tentative explanation or prediction about some phenomenon.

Objectivity

________ is an ideal rather than a be- all end- all thing.

Dependant

________ variable- the reaction to the change in independant variable.

Independant

________ variable- the variable that's changed by the scientist.

Confederant condition

________- certain actors instructed to act a certain way but are disguised as other participants.

Occams razor

________- is the idea that, in trying to understand something, getting unnecessary information out of the way is the fastest way to the truth or to the best explanation.

Hindsight bias

________ is when people are overconfident in how likely it is that they would have correctly predicted something when they dont think about the question until theyve already received the result.

Hindsight

________- one approach to understanding behaviour Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards- kierkegard One approach to understanding behaviour relies on ________, or trying to understand why something happening by speculating about it after the fact People tend to be overconfident in how likely it is that they would havec correctly predicted something when they don't think abou the question until after they already know th result.

Principles of this method

curiousity (why does something happen

Independant variable

the variable that's changed by the scientist

Dependant variable

the reaction to the change in independant variable

Confederant condition

certain actors instructed to act a certain way but are disguised as other participants

Occams razor

is the idea that, in trying to understand something, getting unnecessary information out of the way is the fastest way to the truth or to the best explanation

Scientific method step 1

Identify question of interest

Scientific method step 2

Gather information and form hypothesis

Scientific method step 3

Test hypothesis by conducting research

Scientific method step 4

Analyze data, draw tentative conclusions, and report the findings

Scientific method step 5

Build a theory and a body of knowledge

General Characteristics of Theories

Broader than any one prediction, are dynamic and old ones are constantly being replaced by new ones, and that change is generally incremental but paradigm shifts do occur.

Paradigm shift

An important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way, such as learning that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa.

Properties of good theories

Utilizes information in a meaningful way, are testable and falsifiable, have predictions supported by research, conform to occam's razor, and generate principles that can be applied to new scenarios.