Below are some key points/issues that AQA have written to enable
students to show a good understanding in a scientific approach question.
These are the types of things they expect to see in your essays and really
highlight what the examiners want to see from your short answer
questions, they are essential to your revision!!
1. What are the features and principles of the scientific approach?
• A definable subject matter or paradigm.
• Theory construction from which hypotheses are derived and tested.
• Empirical methods of investigation.
• General laws.
2. Why is psychology regarded as a pre-science?
There is no one global unifying theory. Psychology is characterised many theoretical
approaches some aspects of which are conflicting and several conflicting methods of
enquiry.
3. The role of theory and hypothesis testing
A theory is an explanation of facts and observations using a set of general principles.
4. Why are theories and hypotheses important in science?
• Theories provide understanding and explanations of facts.
• Theories provide the basis for research (generating predictions / testable
hypotheses- the hypothetico-deductive method). If the predictions are not confirmed
when tested, then the theory is not supported. If the predictions are confirmed then
the theory is supported. However this does not prove the theory.
5. What makes a good scientific theory?
• Allows us to generate new hypotheses
• Testable
• Falsifiable – can be ‘shown to be wrong’ (Popper).
• Parsimonious and fits the facts (in as economical a way as possible).
6. Why does support for a theory (as a result of a hypothesis being accepted) not
prove the theory?
Only one inaccurate prediction is needed to disconfirm the theory. The theory could
yet turn out to be false.
7. Why should a theory be falsifiable?
It is easy to find verifications for a prediction in support of a theory. Attempting
falsification - looking for refuting evidence is a more demanding and rigorous
approach.
8. Why is Freud’s theory is not considered to be falsifiable?
A falsifiable theory means one that is capable of being shown to be wrong. This is
not possible with Freud’s theory as whatever the findings; Freudian theory can offer
an explanation.
9. Give an example of a parsimonious theory and explanation.
Behaviourism is a good example of a parsimonious theory as it does not go beyond
the available empirical evidence and accounts for all the known facts in a neat,
economical way- (classical conditioning).
The behaviourists’ S-R explanation of little Hans’ phobia due to the association of
noise and a horse falling down is more parsimonious than Freud’s based on the
Oedipus complex, the phallic stage of development, unconscious conflicts, castration
anxiety etc.
10. What are empirical methods?
A scientific theory not only explains a particular body of knowledge but has also been
tested empirically.
Empirical methods of investigation refer to methods of conducting research through
direct experience. The experiment is the preferred but not the only method.
Information gathered should be based on facts and also verifiable and objective.
‘Empirical evidence’ covers any evidence that is verifiable i.e. that others can
scrutinise - in other words, open to public scrutiny.
11. What is replication?
Because the scientific approach involves replication, empirical studies must be
reported in detail. If the same procedure is followed with different people and on
different occasions, researchers should be able to repeat the findings of a study (the
results should be the same or similar). Given that the subject matter involves human
behaviour, replication may be harder to achieve in psychology than in other sciences.
12. Why is replicability an important feature of science?
• A theory gains strength
• The validity of the findings is supported.
• The generalisability of the findings increases
• The theory may be of practical benefit.
13. What is generalisation?
The term refers to the ability of the researcher to apply the findings from the sample
in a study to the population from which the sample was taken. In order to
generalise, the sample must be representative of the target population. The results
of the investigation should also apply beyond the immediate setting to other settings
(ecological validity).
14. What is meant by overt behaviour?
Overt behaviour is behaviour that is open to scientific enquiry. It is detectable and
evident to whoever observes it. However it can also include internal processes that
cannot be directly observed but can be inferred from observable responses such as
recordings from P.E.T. scans during problem solving.
Examples of overt behaviour for different psychological approaches:
Behaviourist: time taken to reach a goal box; number of lever presses per minute;
amount of saliva produced.
Biological: Blood pressure readings; GSR recordings; pulse rate.
Cognitive: number of words recalled.
15. What is meant by subjective private experience?
Subjective private experience is internal and unique to the individual. According to
the philosopher William James (1890), a kind of internal monologue or ‘stream of
consciousness’ is always present. Humanistic psychologists investigate a person’s
unique subjective private experience.
16. Why can we not study a stream of consciousness?
• Cannot be fully accessed
• Cannot be replicated
• Unique-cannot be generalised
17. What is peer review?
Peer review involves experts in the field
i) Validating the quality and relevance of research.
ii) Evaluating research proposals to funding bodies for financial support for future
work.
Problems with peer review: reviewers do not always find errors in the papers; it is a
slow process; experts have to be very specialised.