PSYC232 Week 1

Epistemology

The study of knowledge, exploring what we know, how we know it, and how we use that knowledge.

Null Hypothesis (H0)

A statement that there is no effect or difference; in this case, it states that aggression will be no different between people.

Alternative Hypothesis (H1)

A statement predicting that there will be an effect or difference; for instance, aggression will be higher in people who ruminate compared to those who are distracted.

Operationalization

The process of turning abstract ideas (such as anxiety or intelligence) into measurable entities.

Categorical/Nominal data

Data that consists of groups or categories with labels, such as gender or marital status.

Ordinal/Ranked data

Data that can be ordered or ranked, but the distances between data points are not mathematically meaningful, like a satisfaction scale from 1-5.

Interval data

Data with equally-sized distances between measurement points, but no meaningful zero point, e.g., temperature.

Ratio data

Data with equally-sized distances and a true zero point, indicating the absence of the measured variable, such as age or weight.

Goals of Psychological Science

To describe, predict, explain, and control behavior.

Reliability

The consistency of a measurement, meaning that the same measurement would yield the same results under consistent conditions.

Validity

The extent to which a measurement accurately reflects the concept it is intended to measure.

Deductive process

Theory → Hypothesis → Data

Inductive process

Data → pattern identification → theory

What do we do when science can’t prove anything?

Theory → hypothesis → data → pattern identification and generalization