PSYC 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1.1: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Scientific Method, Falsifiability
Document Summary
Psychology the scientific study of behavior, thought, and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social and environmental factors: the scientific method. Scientific method a way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions. The scientific method involves a dynamic interaction between hypothesis testing and the construction of theories: hypothesis: making predictions. Hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) a testable prediction about processes that can be observed or measured. Hypothesis can be supported or rejected (you do not prove a hypothesis), and scientific hypothesis must be testable. Pseudoscience an idea that is presented as science but does not actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure: theories: explaining phenomena. In fact, any scientific theory must be proven falsifiable; just as researches can discover evidence that is in support of the theory, they can also discover evidence that challenges the theory.
