AO1 - Features of Science

• The acronym to remember features of science is THEPROF
• T - Theory construction

  • A theory is an explanation for describing a phenomenon, which is based on observations about the world (1)
  • Theories help us to understand and predict things around us (1)
  • Theory construction allows us to make a prediction about behaviour and then create a hypothesis and test it empirically (1)
  • We can use this to support/refine our original theory and progress through the scientific cycle of enquiry (1)
• H - Hypothesis testing

  • All hypotheses should be testable and falsifiable, in other words being able to test if it is true or false
  • A testable hypothesis allows us to refine theories through acceptance or rejection of an experimental hypothesis or a null hypothesis (1)
• E - Empirical methods

  • Information is gained through direct observation or experiment rather than opinion (1)
• P - Paradigm

  • A paradigm is where scientific disciplines have a shared set of assumptions and methods (1)
  • Psychology lacks a universally accepted paradigm and is best seen as a ‘pre-science’. Psychologists argue that psychology has a number of different paradigms e.g. behaviourism, cognitive approach etc.
  • Paradigm shift = when there is a revolutionary change in scientific assumptions where the old paradigm is replaced with a new one (1)
  • For example, a paradigm shift could be the move away from behavioural psychology to cognitive psychology which happened in the early 1960’s (1)
• R - Replicability

  • Ability to repeat the research using the same methods/procedure (1) to check for similar findings (1)
  • Procedures must be operationalised and detailed in order to do this, it is an important aspect of science because repeating research allows us to check findings are externally valid (1)
  • This may sound like reliability but rather than using the same sample, psychologists test a different group of people to see if similar behaviour is observed - this helps to generalise the theory to a wider population, (1) which increases confidence in results (1)
• O - Objectivity

  • Where research is not affected by the expectations of the researcher (1)
  • Using factual measurements and measurable data or controlled condition to reduce subjectivity (1)
• F - Falsification

  • The ability to be able to prove a theory wrong (1)
  • This means a testable hypothesis should include an alternative hypothesis and a null hypothesis
• How the features of science fit together: