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BHS 204-01 Methods in Behavioral Sciences I

BHS 204-01 Methods in Behavioral Sciences I. April 4, 2003 Chapter 1 – What is Science?. Science as a Way of Knowing. Science limits itself to solvable problems: It may not be the best way to answer some questions (e.g., what is the meaning of life?).

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BHS 204-01 Methods in Behavioral Sciences I

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  1. BHS 204-01Methods in Behavioral Sciences I April 4, 2003 Chapter 1 – What is Science?

  2. Science as a Way of Knowing • Science limits itself to solvable problems: • It may not be the best way to answer some questions (e.g., what is the meaning of life?). • Science is one way of knowing, but not the only way. Other ways are used in: • Art • Literature • Philosophy • Religion

  3. Some Other Ways of Knowing • Tenacity – acceptance of traditional knowledge. • Accuracy may not ever be examined. • No means for correcting erroneous information. • Authority – deferring judgment to another source who is more expert or knowledgeable. • Authority can be incorrect. • The basis for authority must be examined.

  4. More Ways of Knowing • Reason and logic – basic methods of philosophy. • Original assumptions must be correct. • How do you test the accuracy of assumptions? • Common sense – based on past experience and perceptions of the world. • Can be influenced by biases of various kinds. • Less helpful when we encounter new situations. • Truth can be counter-intuitive.

  5. What is Science? • Like common sense, science is based on experience. • Unlike common sense, the experience must be public, available to anyone – not personal. • Other people must be able to repeat the observations of any scientist -- replication. • Science is a self-correcting process. • Logic is combined with observation to rule out incorrect assumptions and correct mistakes.

  6. Newton’s Rules • Law of parsimony – natural events should be explained in the simplest way possible. • The same effects will have the same causes -- nature functions the same way everywhere. • Experimental results can be generalized. • Theories are true until contradicted by evidence, not alternative but untested hypotheses.

  7. Table 1.1. (p. 15)

  8. Studying Internal Experience • Self-report • Judgments – psychophysics studies of color perception. • Inferences from behavior. • Marker variables – observation of an event that occurs along with a studied process. • Rapid eye movements during dreaming. • Electrodermal activity (GSR).

  9. Behavioral Sciences • Psychology and sociology are both behavioral sciences because they use the scientific method to answer questions. • The actual research techniques used in each field depend on the kind of question to be answered, not the field of study. • Building a large repertoire of research skills permits any researcher to answer more kinds of questions.

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