Psychology Reseach Methology

Research Methodology *Mosso table *Intuition *Ex of drunk driving What is Scientific Inquiry? *Scientific method: an objective examination of the natural world *Four goals: -What happened? -When it happened? -What causes it to happen? -Why it happens? *First goal: description = observation *Second goal: prediction = when it occurs *Third goal: causal control = systematically varying the situation *Fourth goal: explanation = understanding why it happens Scientific questions can be objectively answered *Empirical questions: questions that can be answered …

…cyclical interaction between theses three elements Theory: Alcohol intoxication impairs driving skills. Data: Measures seconds a person can stand on one leg after drinking alcohol Hypothesis: People who are intoxicated will show less motor coordination Theories should generate hypotheses *Good theory: testable hypotheses, simplicity *Ex: Jean Piaget: infant child development * Sigmund Freud: Interpretation of Dreams *Law of parsimony: when 2 competing theories exist to explain the same phenomenon, the simpler of the 2 theories is generally preferred