Objective 3
Describe the
characteristics of a good (reliable) theory.
Explanation:
According to my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules, a theory is defined as an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. In my own words a theory organizes ideas to explain and predict things. One characteristic of a good theory is a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a testable prediction. A hypothesis starts research by letting us test our theory. Based on our results we can reject or revise it. Our own theories can bias our observations. A good theory would have no bias. To eliminate bias we use operational definitions which define research variables. If you use operational definitions, others can replicate the theory. So a theory is good and reliable if it organizes observations and has a hypothesis that can test predictions. A good reliable theory is really important to psychological research.
According to my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules, a theory is defined as an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. In my own words a theory organizes ideas to explain and predict things. One characteristic of a good theory is a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a testable prediction. A hypothesis starts research by letting us test our theory. Based on our results we can reject or revise it. Our own theories can bias our observations. A good theory would have no bias. To eliminate bias we use operational definitions which define research variables. If you use operational definitions, others can replicate the theory. So a theory is good and reliable if it organizes observations and has a hypothesis that can test predictions. A good reliable theory is really important to psychological research.
Example:
One example of bias in a theory comes from my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wanted to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which made them have a bias opinion. That led intelligence analysts to wrongly interpret observations which lead to the Iraq war. This is a good example of how a good reliable theory should be able to overcome bias.
One example of bias in a theory comes from my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wanted to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which made them have a bias opinion. That led intelligence analysts to wrongly interpret observations which lead to the Iraq war. This is a good example of how a good reliable theory should be able to overcome bias.
Example:
An example of operational definitions comes from my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules. Operational definitions need to define research variables. One example is hunger. Instead of using “hunger” use “hours without food” because people’s definition of “hunger” is different, but “hours without food” would be the same. “Human intelligence” could be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures” and “generosity” could be defined as “money donated.” Operational definitions are important because with them people can replicate a theory.
An example of operational definitions comes from my textbook, Psychology Tenth Edition in Modules. Operational definitions need to define research variables. One example is hunger. Instead of using “hunger” use “hours without food” because people’s definition of “hunger” is different, but “hours without food” would be the same. “Human intelligence” could be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures” and “generosity” could be defined as “money donated.” Operational definitions are important because with them people can replicate a theory.