PSY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Desirability Bias, Falsifiability, Psy
19 Oct 2016
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What correlations can and cannot tell us. A good theory builds on existing research. States that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. 2 explanations to an occurrence better to choose the simpler explanations. Any theory that you can test runs the risk of being proven. If hypothesis is not testable then you cannot know if it is right or wrong! Scientific methods very rarely produce a definitive experiment which proves a hypothesis. Vast majority of studies can be explained alternatively. Most methods have weaknesses and can be criticised in certain ways. Instead scientists look for converging evidence from many different studies using many different methods to support their hypothesis. Learning goals: outline the goals, techniques and challenges of descriptive research, describe how psychologists conduct naturalistic research, explain the advantages and limitations of surveys, describe the purpose of psychological tests. The operational definition is the concept defined in an easily measurable way: observation, self-report (survey, standardised testing.
