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Summary Psychology 243 Test Notes
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- Psychology 243
- Institution
- Stellenbosch University (SUN)
Psychology 243 Test Notes, which covers chapters 1,2,5,6 and 10
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MADE BY DARYAN.VDWPsychology 243
Chapter 1: different methods of acquiring knowledge
WEEK ONE
Introduction:
• Research – to look again
• Social - people/ human beings and the world they inhabit
• Sciences – process of systematic inquiry (gaining knowledge)
§ Makes sense (logical)
§ Has a reference (observed evidence) and gives an explanation (theory)
• How does society progress?
§ By constantly generating new knowledge
§ Formulating specific questions and finding answers to them
§ Understanding ourselves and our environment
• Epistemology à the study of ways of knowing about the world (“what is
knowledge?”)
§ Non-scientific and scientific methods
Non-scientific methods: (Mainly based on faith/worldview)
Method of authority
• Relying on the knowledge and “wisdom” of prominent people (religious leaders,
politicians, elderly people, technocrats etc.)
• The statements of these people are rarely questioned or challenged
• Once individuals are placed in such positions, they rely on certain strategies to
justify and keep their position of authority (via impressive rituals, a way of
expression, or by emphasizing their position)
• Critique: allows individuals to hide the superficiality of their knowledge, its
underlying ideologies, and weaknesses in judgment
Mystical method
• Based on text or supernatural source
• The “knowledge producers” are seen as authorities because of their ability to
transmit the knowledge given to them by supernatural forces.
• Their credibility is related to the level of education and the general knowledge of
the audience and often lose influence when better/alternative explanations are
found
Intuitive method
• Ordinary reasoning through instinct/intuition
• People make judgement based on what “feels” right for them, for these feelings
help guide them in their lives
• Critique: depends on the individual and their personal understanding of the
issue, furthermore this method cannot be easily communicated to others, thus
the decisions and conclusions are not easily replicable
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Conventional wisdom
• Accepted knowledge of the world
• “Common sense” understandings of the world
• However, these “common wisdom” statements are often contradictory
§ “Out of sight, out of mind” vs “absence makes the heart grow fonder”
§ No systematic way of determining which of these statements is accurate
However, the rationalistic and empirical method:
• Do not attribute special aptitudes to particular persons
• Differ only in importance given to reasoning and observation
The rationalistic method
• Based on human reason and logic - the basis of knowledge is correct reasoning
• Discovers laws through purely intellectual processes
• Enables us to know what is true by principle (pure mathematics used to develop
theories about the world)
The empirical method
• The opposite of the rationalistic method
• Facts objectively observed in nature are the foundation of knowledge
• Knowledge is based on only what is observable / perceived by our senses
• Used to test theories about the world
The Scientific method:
• Is a combination of the Rationalistic method & the Empirical method
• It uses rationalism to develop its theories
• Uses empiricism to test its theories
• Science – continuous interplay of rational thought and empirical observation
• The scientific method – the process of knowing
A Priori knowledge
• “from the earlier”
• A priori knowledge is knowledge that we can have "prior to experience".
• A priori knowledge or justification is independent of experience.
A Posteriori Knowledge
• “from the later”
• A posteriori knowledge is knowledge that we can have only after we have
certain experiences.
• A posteriori knowledge or justification is dependent on experience or
empirical evidence
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The scientific method – the process of knowing
1. Step one
Daisy • A Description of the object, relationship, or situation (empirical) is
required.
2. Step Two
Eats • An Explanation or statement of the relationship between the described
facts should be expressed (rationalistic)
3. Step three
Pie • A Prediction of future events under well-defined conditions should be
permitted by the stated explanation.
4. Step four
• Intelligent Intervention, based on correct explanations leading to the
Impressively ability to predict events.
Qualitative research:
• Researcher concentrates on observation and recording of events
• No a priori explanations are given
• No expectations or predictions can be tested
• A posteriori explanations (at the end)
Science assumes the following:
1. The existence of natural and social laws
• These laws exist independently of the observer and they describe the
way phenomena interact or social events occur
2. Laws can be discovered by human beings
• Even though human beings are subjected to these laws
3. Natural phenomena have natural causes
• scientific understanding is based on parsimony of ideas: explanations
for phenomena are based on as few assumptions as possible, they are to
be as simple as possible
4. New knowledge is accumulated gradually and sequentially
• The invention of new instruments of investigation and new approaches
lead to new advances in science and often show the limitations of
previous knowledge
5. Knowledge and truth are founded on evidence
• If evidence is not provided the claim remains at the level of a hypothesis
6. Scientific statements must be distinguished from common-sense
statements
• Common sense statements are the result of non-scientific observations
7. Scientific observation is objective
• Meaning that the result of the observation is independent of a single
observer
8. Scientific observation is systematic
• Meaning that all possibilities are considered one at a time, in a logical
order
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However it is important to note:
• Often some characteristics are unknown
• Can only predict an event when ALL conditions and circumstances are known
• In social sciences it is rare to possess all information
Probability statement:
• If some conditions are satisfied the event will occur more often than if some of
these conditions were not met
Probabilistic explanation:
• Explanations that concede some uncertainty
Characteristics of scientific research:
1. Empirical à each step is based on observation
2. Systematic and logical à observation must be done systematically, and a
logical order followed
3. Replicable and transmittable à anyone placed in exactly the same
circumstances can observe the same event and by reasoning, arrive at the
same explanation and prediction
4. Reductive à all details which are not essential are omitted
• Reductionism has to be used with care because it can lead to bias in the
research
5. Falsifiable à the scientific claim must be testable in such a way that it can be
demonstrated to be false
• It should not only tell us what should happen but also what should not
happen
The Relationship between theory and research:
• Deduction:
§ Going from the general to the specific
§ Using general principles to suggest specific outcomes
• Induction:
§ Going from the specific to the general
§ Using a number of specific observations to formulate general principles
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Chapter 2: The scientific method applied to social reality
WEEK TWO
Distinction between natural and social sciences:
Natural Sciences:
• Investigate the properties and laws of natural phenomena
• E.g. astronomy, geometry, mechanics
• Development at time determined by the needs of production, commerce, and
industry
Social Sciences:
• Investigate the properties and laws of social phenomena
• E.g. psychology, sociology
• Has its roots in the need for general understanding, management, and
manipulation of social affairs
• Introduces methodological challenges:
§ Ethical reasons some experiments cannot be done on humans.
§ Some variables cannot be controlled
® There are so many uncontrolled factors due to the complexity of
social reality that exact laws can rarely be found
® A physicist can express the laws of electricity with a formula and
predict with certainty when a light bulb will glow, BUT: A
sociologist can only predict that, under certain circumstances,
unemployment leads to crime
§ Most results expressed as probability statements
® Can only predict an event when ALL conditions and
circumstances are known
® In social sciences it is rare to possess all information
® Probability statement: If some conditions are satisfied the event
will occur more often than if some of these conditions were not
met
® Probabilistic explanation: Explanations that concede some
uncertainty
Relationship between facts and theory:
Perceptual knowledge:
• Information about the world perceived through our senses
Rational knowledge:
• Based on judgment and logical thought
• Provides explanations or reasons for the relationships between observations
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Fundamental relationship between:
• Facts about the world à verifiable observations
• Theory à explanatory framework
Facts:
• Fact – indisputable set of statements about reality
§ e.g. sun rises in the East and sets in the West
• Facts give rise to theory since they raise the need for explanations of observed
phenomena – should be both selective and meaningful
• Facts allow a researcher to find support for, improve, disprove, or formulate a
theory
Theory:
• Theory – a set of ideas or statements that explain a particular social
phenomenon
§ e.g. learning theory may be used to explain anti-social and maladaptive
behaviour at school
• Theory serves as the basis for the gathering of facts since it specifies the facts to
be systematically observed
• The process of theory reformulation is extremely important to the advancement
of science and therefore of new knowledge
• If new theories were not advanced, deeper understanding of social phenomena
would not be achieved and knowledge would become stagnant
• Theories are typically not proved
§ Theory is tenable – a credible and viable explanation of the observed data
§ Always possible that some observation or data may contradict the theory
• Theory allows for a classification and conceptualization of facts à to
summarize and provide explanations for how relevant facts relate to one
another
• Theory predicts fact à useful theory helps social scientists to make predictions
about future phenomena in the form of probability statements
§ Law of supply & demand à existence of an illegal market
§ Laws of astronomy à eclipse of the sun
Identify facts to
examine, predict facts
FACTS THEORY
Confirm, prove,
improve, redefine,
reformulate
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