L6 HYPOTHESIS

• tentative explanation of an event or behavior

  experimental hypothesis
• explains the effects of specified antecedent conditions on a measured behavior

  experimental hypothesis
• can be either true or false, from the field of logic

  synthetic statements
• hungry students read slowly

  synthetic statement
• should be avoided at all costs

  nonsynthetic statements
• 2 categories of nonsynthetic statements

  analytic

  contradictory
• one that is always true

  analytic statement
• i am pregnant or i am not pregnant

  analytic statement
• statements with elements that oppose each other, always false

  contradictory statements
• i have a brother and i do not have a brother

  contradictory statements
• when it can be stated in what is known as the "if...then" form

  hypothesis (synthetic statement)
• the means for manipulating antecedent conditions and measuring the resulting behavior must exist

  testable
• hypotheses need to be worded so that failures to find the predicted effect must be considered evidence that the hypothesis is indeed false

  falsifiable
• simplest explanation is preferred

  parsimonious
• it leads to new studies, when we can think of new studies that will become important if the hypothesis is supported

  fruitful
• example of a fruitful hypothesis

  classical conditioning (Watson and Rayner 1920)
• process of reasoning from specific cases to more general principles

  inductive model
• by examining individual instances, we may be able to construct an overall explanatory scheme to describe them

  inductive model
• basic tool in theory building

  induction
• set of general principles that can be used to explain and predict behaviors

  theory
• researchers construct theories by taking bits of empirical data and forming general explanatory schemes to accommodate those facts

  induction
• process of reasoning from general principles to make predictions about specific instances

  deduction
• most useful when we have a well-developed theory with clearly stated basic premises

  deductive model
• example of the deductive method in psychology

  equity theory
• important in research, useful in formulating hypothesis for study

  induction and deduction
• devise general principles and theories that can be used to organize, explain, predict behavior

  induction
• rigorously test the implications of theories

  deduction
• experimenters test the hypothesis under ___

  controlled conditions
• excellent source of hypotheses

  prior experimental research
• knack of finding things that are not being sought

  serendipity
• can be useful in generating new hypotheses only when we are open to new possibilities

  serendipity
• not just a matter of luck, but also a matter of knowing enough to use an opportunity

  serendipity
• knowing without reasoning

  intuition
• closest to phenomenology

  intuition
• intuition is most accurate if it comes from experts

  Herbert Simon (1967)
• believes that good hunches are really an unconscious result of our own expertise in an area

  Herbert Simon (1967)
• the more we know about a topic, the better our ___ are likely to be

  intuitive hypotheses
• periodicals that publish individual research reports and integrative research reviews

  psychological journals
• another good source of information, found in either journals or edited volumes

  meta-analysis
• statistical reviewing procedure that uses data from many similar studies to summarize research findings about individual topics

  meta-analysis