approaches

• nature vs nurture

  whether certain factors are inborn or occur naturally regardless of environment influences
• holism vs reductionism

  holism considers the interconnectedness of behaviour whereas reductionism seeks to isolate and study individual components
• types of features of science

  theory construction and hypothesis testing, objectivity and the empirical method, falsifiability, paradigms and replicability
• theory construction and hypothesis testing

  gathering evidence via direct observation and the scientific testing (systematic + objective) of a precise prediction based on the theory
• objectivity + the empiricial method

  science must be objective : unaffected by feelings and experiences of the researcher
• falsifiability

  the opportunity to prove something as false is needed
• paradigms

  a shared set of assumptions and methods of studying those assumptions
• paradigm shift

  scientific revolution that occurs when many scientists question the current paradigm e.g. newtonian theory to general relativity
• replicability

  a theory is only scientific and trustworthy if they can be repeated several times and the same results can be achieved by different researchers in different circumstances