Features of Science

• paradigms and paradigm shifts

  • a paradigm is a shared set of assumptions and methods within a science
  • a paradigm shift is when researchers begin to question the paradigm and the shift occurs when there is too much contradictory evidence to ignore
  • according to paradigms, psychology may not be classed as a science due to there being so many conflicting paradigms
  • psychology has gone through a shift from Wundt's structuralism to cognitive neuroscience
• theory construction and hypothesis testing

  • a theory is a set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events of behaviours
  • theory construction is important because it provides evidence and data for a theory to be accurate and valid and it explains irregularities in behaviour
  • deduction is deriving a new hypothesis from an existing theory
  • hypothesis testing is important because it strengthens a good theory or shows that a theory might need to be revised or revisited
• objectivity and empiricism

  • objectivity is when all sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process
  • objectivity is important so they must not allow their personal opinions or biases to discolour the data they collect or behaviour of participants they are studying
  • the most objective types of studies are lab experiments
  • empirical methods emphasise the importance of data collection based on the direct sensory experience
  • experimental and observational methods are good examples of empirical methods
• replicability and falsifiablity

  • a pseudoscience is a science that can't be falsified
  • falsifiable means that when a theory holds itself up for hypothesis testing has the possibility of being proven false
  • it is important that a theory is repeatable because it has to be trusted across a number of different contexts and circumstances