GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
Please make sure you review the following terms/ concepts from this chapter. This includes not
just knowing the definitions, but also that you feel confident with your knowledge of the terms/
concepts and your ability to apply them critically.
Scientific Method – The method by which scientists conduct research is based on the
following six processes: (OPTICR)
o Observe
o Predict
o Test
o Interpret
o Communicate
o Replicate
Thinking scientifically – science is more of a way of thanking or an attitude than it is of a
collection of facts. Scientific involves the reasoning skills required to generate, test and
revise theories. There at least five characteristics of scientific thinking:
o Keep belief and evidence distinct
o Make testable claims
o Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the evidence
o Try to disconfirm your idea after it’s been confirmed
o Have your belief follow the best evidence
Science vs pseudoscience (which encourages open skepticism of its findings?) – people
often claim that there is “scientific evidence” for supernatural phenomena, but that does not
mean that the evidence is truly scientific. There is also false science, or Pseudoscience.
Which refers to practices that appear to be and claim to be science, but do not use the
scientific method to come to their conclusions. What makes something pseudoscientific
, GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
comes more from the way that it is studied rather than content area. According to
pseudoscience practitioners:
o Makes no real advances in knowledge
o Disregard well-known and established facts that contradict their claims
o Do not question or challenge their own assumptions
o Tend to offer vague or incomplete explanations of how they came to their conclusions
o Tend to use unsound logic in making their arguments
Components of any study-population, sample - Sampling is the process of selecting a
representative group from the population under study. The target population is the total group
of individuals from which the sample might be drawn. A sample is the group of people who
take part in the investigation. The people who take part are referred to as “participants”.
Representative sample - A representative sample is a group that closely matches the
characteristics of its population as a whole. In other words, the sample is a fairly accurate
reflection of the population from which the sample is drawn.
Data collection – case study, naturalistic observation, survey - information for a case
study is gathered by observing one person, often over a long period of time. much wisdom
and knowledge of human behavior can come from careful observation of one individual over
time. A second kind of descriptive method is naturalistic observation, in which the researcher
observes and records behavior in the real world. The researcher tries to be as unobtrusive as
possible so as not to influence the behavior of interest. Naturalistic observation is more often
the design of choice in comparative psychology by researchers who study the behavior of
nonhumans (especially primates) to determine what is and is not unique about our species.
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
Please make sure you review the following terms/ concepts from this chapter. This includes not
just knowing the definitions, but also that you feel confident with your knowledge of the terms/
concepts and your ability to apply them critically.
Scientific Method – The method by which scientists conduct research is based on the
following six processes: (OPTICR)
o Observe
o Predict
o Test
o Interpret
o Communicate
o Replicate
Thinking scientifically – science is more of a way of thanking or an attitude than it is of a
collection of facts. Scientific involves the reasoning skills required to generate, test and
revise theories. There at least five characteristics of scientific thinking:
o Keep belief and evidence distinct
o Make testable claims
o Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the evidence
o Try to disconfirm your idea after it’s been confirmed
o Have your belief follow the best evidence
Science vs pseudoscience (which encourages open skepticism of its findings?) – people
often claim that there is “scientific evidence” for supernatural phenomena, but that does not
mean that the evidence is truly scientific. There is also false science, or Pseudoscience.
Which refers to practices that appear to be and claim to be science, but do not use the
scientific method to come to their conclusions. What makes something pseudoscientific
, GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 NOTES
comes more from the way that it is studied rather than content area. According to
pseudoscience practitioners:
o Makes no real advances in knowledge
o Disregard well-known and established facts that contradict their claims
o Do not question or challenge their own assumptions
o Tend to offer vague or incomplete explanations of how they came to their conclusions
o Tend to use unsound logic in making their arguments
Components of any study-population, sample - Sampling is the process of selecting a
representative group from the population under study. The target population is the total group
of individuals from which the sample might be drawn. A sample is the group of people who
take part in the investigation. The people who take part are referred to as “participants”.
Representative sample - A representative sample is a group that closely matches the
characteristics of its population as a whole. In other words, the sample is a fairly accurate
reflection of the population from which the sample is drawn.
Data collection – case study, naturalistic observation, survey - information for a case
study is gathered by observing one person, often over a long period of time. much wisdom
and knowledge of human behavior can come from careful observation of one individual over
time. A second kind of descriptive method is naturalistic observation, in which the researcher
observes and records behavior in the real world. The researcher tries to be as unobtrusive as
possible so as not to influence the behavior of interest. Naturalistic observation is more often
the design of choice in comparative psychology by researchers who study the behavior of
nonhumans (especially primates) to determine what is and is not unique about our species.
