Psychology 2061A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Null Hypothesis, Convergent Validity, Random Assignment

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2061A/B
• Professor: Dr. Alex Benson

Document Summary

There are several ways in which we acquire information non-scientifically, these methods fall into four broad categories (1) method of tenacity: accepting as fact statements that have been made repeatedly over an extended period of time. There is always a starting assumption that serves as the authority for the new knowledge. (4) intuition:a form of rationalization based on vague/fuzzy unstated assumptions (e. g. , gut feelings). Science produces the highest quality information because it is self-correcting since scientific knowledge is constantly undergoing revision. Science accepts causality; the universe is based on a set of orderly relations, which can be described, predicted, and explained. Science is empirical; knowledge is obtained through observation. Science is public; observations are subject to error so knowledge must be made available to others for review and criticism. Any scientific method follows a common strategy: Statement of the problem (most difficult yet important part of the process). Hypothesis: proposition about the relation between two or more things.