EVALUATION OF SCIENCE

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LIMITATIONS

1. ARTIFICIALITY

  • doesn't mirror the real world as it is in an artifical situaiton. the enviroment is set up so lack mundane realism and ecological valdidity... problem generalising these results.
  • the use of experiments.. increase risk of demand characteristics.. could guess the true aim and act. this could happen more in repeated measures and each p does each condition. This could make it less reliable and less realism so lacks external validity.. less able to generalise 
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LIMITATIONS

2. BIAS

  • bias sample.. could come from selection process.. did we use opportunity for convenience? Piaget had issue with same as used his own children or friends children so bad cross selection.. unrepresentitive. Kohlberg used all males, limited to generalise to females--> could reduce external validity
  • researcher bias.. eg when carrying our obersations a reseacher may interpret. eg Mead already had an idea of what she was looking for/ wanted. Micheals snooker.. but this can be countered as had good inter- related reliablity as had more than one obervser who was trained etc.
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LIMITATIONS

3. ETHICAL ISSUES 

  • researcher should conform to the ethics requirements laid down by British psychological assocation.. this means there are restrictions when using p's eg decieve, provide right to withdraw etc. eg Milgram decieved as wasnt actuallt getting electrucated and was an acter 
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LIMITATIONS

4. OBJECTIVITY

  • ie without bias
  • attempts to provide accurate measurements of humans/animals with results that are replicated. However, problems like operationalise behaviour ie happiness. how can a reseacher be natural + objective + without their own bias
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LIMITATIONS

5. REDUCTIONIST

  • believing all complex behavior can be broken down into basic component parts eg Behaviourists.. S-R connections and Cognitive S-O-R etc.
  • the scientific model fo humuns sem to take away an essential aspect that make us humans ie self-awareness
  • Humanists argue we should consider all parts of of a person within social context and only by examining behaviour from a phenomenlogical view can we truely understand someone behaviour 
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LIMITATIONS

6. CONTROL: scienctific deterministic

  • looking at C+E and once links are made sees peopple as predicitable and able to reduce laws and aplly to all.
  • can we control all varibles. we may not be aware of other variale affecting results (confounding + extraneous) eg weather
  • also the more control we have the more artificial so lacks mundane realism 
  • ethcis.. when controlling humans as some say its dehumanising and unacceptable to manipulate eg Asch.. niave made deliberatly uncomfortable
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STRENGTHS

1. PRODUCES THEORIES

  • produces theories about human thought and behaviour. this leads to hypthoesis which are tested using empirical methods which in turn support or refuse the theory. this progresses psychology as a science 
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STRENGTHS

2. OBJECTIVITY

  • ie without bias
  • if we can objectively tested ideas we can provide accurate casual links which will lead to prediciting future behaviours
  • eg Kolhberg.. morals 
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STRENGTHS

3. RANGE OF APPLICATIONS

  • help solve problems and improve lives
  • eg cognitive interview... get purest memory
  • Aversion therepy
  • OCD treatments
  • Token economy
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