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Summary SLK Chapter 2 Notes (University of Pretoria) CA$7.66
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Summary SLK Chapter 2 Notes (University of Pretoria)
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  • Course
  • SLK 110
  • Institution
  • University Of Pretoria (UP)
  • Book
  • Psychology: Themes and Variations

The notes cover all the necessary information within Chapter 2 of the prescribed SLK/Psychology 110 textbook. The notes are able to provide the student with in-depth knowledge about the work in this chapter.

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  • No
  • Chapter 2
  • June 22, 2023
  • 46
  • 2022/2023
  • Summary

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  • psychology

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Chapter 2


Psychology as a Science

● Psychologists assume that behaviour is governed by distinct laws or principles.


Goals of a Scientific approach

● Psychologists share 3 sets of Interrelated goals:

○ Measurement and description.

○ Understanding and prediction.

○ Application and control.


Measurement and description

● Commitment to observation requires that an investigator finds a way to measure

the phenomenon under study.

○ Psychologists can't investigate whether a man is more or less sociable

than a woman without first developing some means of measuring

sociability.

● The first goal in psychology is to develop measurement techniques that make it

possible to describe behaviour clearly and precisely.

,Understanding and Prediction

● Comprehension is a higher-level goal of science.

● Scientists believe that they understand events when they can explain the

reasons for the occurrence of the events.

○ In order to evaluate understanding, test predictions called hypotheses

must be made.

● Hypothesis: A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more

variables.

● Variables: Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics or behaviours that

are controlled or observed in a study.

Eg. If we hypothesised that putting people under time pressure would lower

the accuracy of their time perception, the variables in our study would be time

pressure and accuracy of time perception.


Application and Control

● Once people understand a phenomenon, they often exercise more control over

it.

● Psychology attempts to apply research findings to practical problems in schools,

businesses, factories and healthcare facilities.

Eg. A school psychologist might use findings about the causes of maths anxiety

to devise a programme to help students control their maths phobias.


● Psychologists do not set out just to collect isolated facts about the relationships

between variables.

○ To build toward a better understanding of behaviour, they construct

theories.

● A theory: A system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.

Eg. Using a handful of concepts such as natural selection and reproductive

fitness, evolutionary theorists in psychology attempt to explain a diverse range

, of known facts about mating preferences, jealousy, aggression, sexual

behaviour and so forth. So, by integrating apparently unrelated facts and

principles into a coherent whole, theories permit psychologists to make the

leap from the description of behaviour to the understanding of behaviour.


● A scientific theory must be testable.

● The foundation of science is its commitment to putting ideas to an empirical test.

○ Most theories are too complex to be tested all at once.

● Research methods are the most important part of the social sciences, as they

explain how intellectual functioning can be enriched.


A Scientific approach

● The aim of the scientific method is to make observations of phenomena of

special interest in order to collect data and improve the quality of human lives.

● Scientists observe nature in a systematic way and follow the rules of evidence.

● Psychology is empirical, as it uses direct observation rather than pure intuition or

reasoning as a means of gathering knowledge about behaviour.

○ Psychology is the study of behaviour and the factors that influence it.

● 4 Goals of psychologists as scientists:

○ Describe how people and animals behave.

○ Understand and explain the causes of these behaviours.

○ To predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions.

○ To control behaviour through knowledge and control of its causes.

● Neuroscientists produce brain lesions in an animal’s brain in order to make

reference about the functions of the damaged region from changes in the

animal's behaviour.

, Steps in a Scientific investigation




Step 1: Identify a Problem (Problem statement)

● Without a statement of problem, the scientists can rarely go further and expect

to be fruitful.

● The problem statement is presented in the introduction section of a research

report.


Step 2: State the Rationale

● It is important to provide motivation on why the problem is worthy of

investigation.

● Through the rationale, the researcher justifies why and how the study could

advance knowledge.


Step 3: Develop a Research question

● A research question seeks to answer and address the problem that was

identified.

● It is narrowed down to be as brief and clear as possible. (Focuses on the purpose

of the study).

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