Why Science Matters: Understanding the Methods of Psychological Research

Table of Contents:
Preface for Instructors viii Preface for Students x Part 1: Major Methodological Changes in Science from Antiquity to the Present 1 Chapter 1: Understanding Science: The Armchair versus Practice 3 Introduction 3 Justification of methodological practices 4 Precursors to contemporary science: an historical overview 8 Research paradigms, programs, and traditions 14 Naturalism: a brief introduction 16 Remainder of book 18 Chapter summary 19 Chapter 2: Major Issues to Emerge in 20th Century Approaches to Science 20 Introduction 20 Logical positivism 21 Operationism 26 Popper’s falsificationism 27 Kuhn’s psychologism and historicism 33 Chapter summary 38 Chapter 3: Methodology in the Postpositivist Era 39 Introduction 39 Naturalism in science 41 Lakatos’s sophisticated falsificationism 43 Laudan’s research traditions and normative naturalism 46 Giere’s cognitive approach 49 The rise of relativism 51 Chapter summary 54 Part 2: Naturalism and Modern Science 55 Chapter 4: Theory Testing 57 Introduction 57 Scientific theory 58 Types of theory 60 Hypothesis testing 63 Induction and deduction 70 Abduction and theory construction 72 Chapter summary 78 Chapter 5: Inference to the Best Explanation 79 Introduction 79 Evaluating theories: a critical evaluation of criteria 81 Resolution of ambiguity over time 83 Natural selection 85 Brain function and cognitive neuroscience 89 Consilience 92 Chapter summary 95 Chapter 6: The New Means of Understanding Science 96 Introduction 96 Empirical methods for better understanding science, scientific practice, and scientists 97 Chapter summary 118 Part 3: Applying Naturalism to Contemporary Methodological Issues in Psychology 119 Chapter 7: Postmodernism and the Rejection of the Conventional Conception of Science 121 Introduction 121 Underdetermination and incommensurability 122 Postmodernism 126 Our critique 137 Chapter summary 141 Chapter 8: Qualitative Research Methods 142 Introduction 142 Rationale for qualitative methods 145 Varieties of qualitative methods 151 Chapter summary 163 Chapter 9: Critical Evaluation of Qualitative Inquiry’s Approach to Qualitative Methods 164 Introduction 164 Justification of qualitative methods 167 Misunderstanding of positivism 170 Specific positions of qualitative researchers 172 Chapter summary 179 Chapter 10: Internal and External Validity 180 Introduction 180 Applications of scientific psychology 183 Scientific psychology opposes pseudoscience 187 Chapter and book summary 191 References 195 Glossary of Terms 210 Glossary of Names 217 Author Index 221 Subject Index 226

About the Author :
Robert W. Proctor is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychological Science at Purdue University at West Lafayette. He has been teaching and conducting research in the field of attention and human performance for nearly 30 years. His publications include Attention: Theory and Practice (with Addie Johnson, 2003) and Skill Acquisition and Human Performance (with Addie Johnson, 1995). E. J. Capaldi is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychological Science at Purdue University. Dr. Capaldi is a leading researcher in the field of learning and memory. He is the co-author of numerous articles and contributor to books such as The Blackwell Handbook to Research Methods of Experimental Psychology.

Review :
"This book is an excellent exposition of historical and contemporary issues in the philosophy of science, and is particularly useful for psychologists and other behavioral scientists. Its core ideas will be useful to students, practitioners, and researchers alike." --Craig A. Anderson, Iowa State University "This book provides a comprehensive, fascinating, and up-to date account of what underlies the process of science. While there are many books on the nature of science written by philosophers, sociologists, historians and psychologists, this is the first volume that provides a sweeping vista of all these different approaches. Proctor and Capaldi have written a book that is a must-have for anyone who wants to understand the enterprise that we call science." --Kevin Niall Dunbar, Dartmouth College"This is a sophisticated, important, readable, and timely treatment of both the philosophy of science and the science of psychology. It would be a valuable addition to any advanced seminar on research methods in the behavioral sciences." --David Klahr, Carnegie Mellon University