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What is a Science?

The word science can be used in different ways and contexts such as the following:

Scientific Knowledge:

As a body of scientific knowledge or content in disciplines such as

• physics

• chemistry

• metallurgy

• geology

• astronomy

• biology

• medicine

• or psychology.

Scientist: As an occupation, an individual who practices, applies or studies the sciences.

Scientific Process:

As a process or method for systematically* investigating and testing claims or beliefs about nature. When scientists make a claim, they go conduct experiments and/or observe the world around them to collect empirical data to support or refute their claim. Scientific claims need to be falsifiable and empirically testable. Scientific knowledge should be consistent with what is known (unified).

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Scientific Attitudes and Scientific Inquiry Key terms:

• Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it is based on (page 37). Often it is a specific and tentative statement about the relationship between two variables. These predictions need to be testable and falsifable.

People often use the word “theory”, when they mean hypothesis (see page 37 for a description of theory).

A scientific hypothesis needs to have / needs to be:

• An operational definition: A definition that quanlifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively (page 43). In other words, a relatively precise description of how the variable or concept in a study will be manipulated, measured or identified.

• Testable: A hypothesis needs to be testable. This means you can assess it and collect empirical data.

• Data, Empirical Process or Empirical Evidence: Measurable outcomes of research studies (page 34). A discussion of the empirical process (scientific method is on page 37)

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Testing Claims

One of the great strengths of science is the collection of data (empirical evidence) to test claims and answer questions. However, several questions may look alike but may be quite different. For example, Question 1: You have flipped a coin and gotten 5 heads. What are the odds the 6th flip of the coin is heads?

Question 2: What are the odds of flipping a coin and getting 6 heads in a row?

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Attention and Being Precise

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Movie Theater Plays Wrong Guardians Movie Three Times In a Row

Fans eager to see Guardians of the Galaxy got a disappointing surprise at a Regal Cinemas this week. The debut-seeking crowd watched in horror as the screen before them played the open scene not of the badass comic-based movie, but of 2012's Dreamworks kids flick, Rise of the Guardians. Not the same!

Newspaper celebrates MLB's first amphibious pitcher By Bill Hanstock � @sundownmotel on Jun 8, 2015, 6:49p

45

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Testing Claims: Hypotheses

To discover information about the natural world, scientists make a specific prediction about some phenomena—they generate a hypothesis.

• Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it is based on (page 37). Often it is a specific and tentative statement about the relationship between two variables.

Usually, a hypothesis is a specific prediction about some phenomena. A hypothesis often takes the form of an “if-then” statement. Hypotheses can be generated from theories—our understanding of the world around us. People often use the word “theory”, when they mean hypothesis

• Theory: A model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events. Theories are based on empirical evidence (page 37).

Examples of hypotheses: 1. If we make cars more fuel efficient, then it will make them

less safe. 2. If we have our employees wear backbelts, then we can

reduce the number of workplace injuries 3. Driving while using a hands-free cell phone increases the

risk of accidents 4. Drug testing reduces workplace accident.

5. Negative emotions (anxiety, fear, and anger) decreases creativity and critical thinking while increasing selfishness.

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Examples of non-hypotheses: 6. If you go to the bar, I will divorce you

There are no variables that vary naturally. This is more of a contingency statement, not a prediction. If it were, the hypothesis would be people who go to bars are more likely to get divorced.

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Testing claims: Data (Empirical Evidence)

Once a scientist has a hypothesis and operationally defined their variables, the hypothesis must be tested, and data (empirical evidence) collected. A testable hypothesis is one that can be assessed. When assessing a hypothesis, scientists rely on the collection of data (empirical evidence) to assess claims (think mythbusters ).

Data (Empirical evidence): Measurable outcomes of research studies (page 34).

The belief that dogs dream, but can’t tell the difference between dreams and reality isn’t testable and empirical evidence cannot be collect to support or dispute the claim.

Apply the idea of empirical evidence to these hypotheses: • If we make cars more fuel efficient, then it will make them

less safe.

• If we have our employees wear backbelts, then we can reduce the number of workplace injuries.

• Driving while using a hands-free cell phone increases the risk of accidents

• Drug testing reduces workplace accident.

• Can chicken’s activate an iPad?

• Magnets ruin credit cards.

• 3- person samurai sword

• Carts that lock the wheels when leaving the parking lot

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Testing claims: Operational Definitions When the scientist tests the claim or hypothesis, they must operationally define (page 43) the variables they are testing by identifying variables and quantifying them so they can be measured. In other words, a relatively precise description of how the variable or concept in a study will be manipulated, measured or identified. These definitions should be such that they could be assessed by anyone and produce similar results.

Image source: unknown

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A “bad boy” means different things to different people. We need to define it in a way that we are using consistent definitions that allow us to identify “bad boys”.

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Testing claims: Operational Definitions

Examples of operational definitions:

• Intelligence is operationally defined as a score in the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale).

85 100 115

Below average intelligence

Normal intelligence Above average intelligence

• An unsafe driver is a driver who has gotten into 3 accidents within a one-year span.

• An Oregon citizen is one who has lived in Oregon for 3 months.

• The executive branch of the federal government wants to operationally define “fast food” jobs as “manufacturing jobs” (why?).

• Use of inappropriate language

• A serving size is defined as…

• A person who displays most of the symptoms of major depression (see Chapter 14) for two or more weeks is considered to have a major depressive disorder (compared to normal depression)

• A conformist is someone who…

• A team player is someone who…

If you don’t have operational definitions, you run into problems such as the following results:

• 60% of surveyed high school students rated themselves in the top 10%

• 25% rated themselves in the top 1% They used different operational definitions of what is best, such as math, sports, music, art, glee club, social friends

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Testing claims: Operational Definitions

Image source: Classics of Western Literature, Bloom County 1986-1989, (1990), Berke Breathed What would be some operational definitions of the hypotheses mentioned earlier?

• Taco Bell: What constitutes beef?

• Subways: What is a foot-long sandwich?

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In-Class-Exercise (1) Identify three jobs you have had in the past OR jobs

you plan on having in the future. Write one hypothesis that is relevant for any of the three jobs you listed in #1.

• You don’t have to do one for each job

• You don’t have to relate your three jobs When writing a hypothesis:

• Make sure there are at least 2 variables

• Make sure you state how these variables might be related

• Do not write a contingency statement that looks like a hypothesis.

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Testing Claims: Collection of Empirical Data Why collect empirical data to assess claims—why do we take so much care in collecting data? We can be easily fooled. With the following, it is easy to see the illusion and how we are fooled, but sometimes, we don’t know how we are being fooled and won’t take the corrective actions.

Müllen Lyer Illusion Moon Illusion

Image source (left): unknown Image source (right): Feist

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Testing Claims: Collection of Empirical Data Even experience can shape our perception without our knowledge. If we make judgments outside our realm of experience, we may have difficulties.

Image source: Psychology: Science and Practice ( ), Passer and Smith

Western cultures see a window above the woman’s head (left image) and see the archer as shooting at the antelope (right image). Non-western cultures see the square sitting on a woman’s head (left image) and see the archer shooting at a baby elephant (right image). In many illusions, we can actually test our claims (are the lines longer, are the moons of different sizes). There is a physical reality. However, when it comes to psychological reality, we may fool ourselves into believing something that is not true.