PSY100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: B. F. Skinner, Scientific Method, Confounding
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Intro to psych: lab 1: scientific method measurement and experimental design. Psychology is a science and science must be measurable, thus we must be able to measure that behaviour while observing. Ex: b. f skinner was interested in complex behaviour (what happens in the mind) The independent variable (x) is the only variable in the experiment that is changing, and the (y) variable is the dependent variable or what we"re observing. Confounding variables happen when other things happen. The number of paragraphs will remain the same, but the amount of comprehension required is what is changing in the experiment. Thus, the z variable or control variable will be the number of paragraphs. Length of paragraph affects behaviour, thus all paragraphs will be the same. Other control variables that may affect one"s reading speed is; breathing, computer, etc (but these things don"t need to be mentioned) The scientific method is about proving causation, as we want to prove that x causes y.
