PSY309H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pseudoscience, Ad Hoc Hypothesis, Falsifiability
Document Summary
Behavioural research: basic research: understand psychological processes (may or may not have a immediate application), ex. using fmri to learn more about brain functioning, applied research: problem focused approach, ex. using fmri to detect lies. Goals of behavioural research: describe behaviour: age related changes in aggressive behaviour, ex. Science vs. pseudoscience: there are many ways how you can distinguish these two: empirical vs. non-empirical: relies on observations to draw conclusions about the world. Systematic observation differentiates the science and the pseudoscience. Science includes empirical, systematical observations such as experiments or observational studies: public veri cation vs. unveri able: systematic observations conducted in ways that allows others to replicate the work, it prevents fraud and allows for self-correction of errors. There must be a question that can be answered and refuted. Testable: must involve a hypothesis that can be observed with real world data. Refutable: it must be possible to observe results that are contrary to the hypothesis - falsi able.
