Methods of Acquiring Knowledge Tenacity Similar to superstitions May be promoted by “mere exposure” Problems with knowledge acquired by tenacity May be inaccurate Does not provide mechanism for correcting inaccurate knowledge Used in science when a researcher persists in the belief of a good idea

Intuition—knowing without reasoning Used in forming some hypotheses (hunches) Problem—no mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate knowledge Authority—facts stated from a respected source Can be used in the design phase of a study Problem—authority can be wrong

Rationalism—knowledge from reasoning Used to derive hypotheses Empiricism—knowledge from experience Observation used to collect data in science Problem with this method of acquiring knowledge Perception of the cause of our experience can be biased

Science Just another way of acquiring knowledge Assumed to be better than other methods Because it is void of bias Testing procedures open to public inspection Not just one universal method of science Methods of science has changed over the centuries

Advantage of the Scientific Method Allows us to make objective observations Allows us to establish the superiority of one belief over another

Characteristics of the Scientific Approach Control—eliminating the influence of extraneous variables Operationalism—representing constructs by a specific set of operations

Operationalism focuses on features used to represent a construct Is essential for communication Are many different ways of representing constructs

Replication— reproduction of results Reasons for failure to replicate By intergroup observations By intersubject observations By intrasubject observations Reasons for failure to replicate Effect doesn’t exist Replication study is not an exact replication

Objectives of Science Description—describing the variables Explanation—identifying causes Prediction--forecasting Control Definition—manipulation of conditions that determine a phenomenon Different meanings of the word control Comparison Eliminating the influence of extraneous variables Guidance

Basic Assumption Underlying Science Uniformity in nature or determinism Axioms underlying assumption of determinism Reality in nature Rationality—logical reason for events Regularity Discoverability

Role of Theory in Science Summarize and integrate existing data Guide research

Role of Scientist in Science Curiosity Patience Objectivity Change