Psychology 1000 Chapter 2: chapter 2 notes- studying behavior scientifically.docx

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Dr.Mike

Document Summary

The scientific method was used by physicists and chemists for several centuries to make great progress in determining the laws of the physical sciences. Psychologists took much longer to adopt the scientific method for behavioral science because the subjet matter is not as tangible as that in the physical sciences. Yet nobody assisted her, and by the time anyone called the police, she had died. Psychologists reasoned that the presence of multiple bystanders produced a diffusion of responsibility, a psychological state in which each person feels decreased personal responsibility for intervening. Understanding through prediction, control, and theory building: if we understand the causes of a given behavior, then we should be able to predict the conditions under which that behavior will occur in the future. If we control those conditions, then we should be able to produce that behavior: good theory: The predictions made by the theory are supported by the findings of new research.