Module 2: Empiricism

Research methods as the Foundation of understandingOrganise

Learning any subject is similar to building a fort. We must have a strong foundation on which to build or else the things you learn later won’t have anything left to stand on. Psychology is no different. To build the best foundation for learning about psychology, we will first spend some time understanding how psychologists come up with the claims they make. We will learn about ethics in psychology as well as scientific methods, how to recognize them, and how psychological research is done outside the confines of a classroom. At the end of this module, you will have the foundation you need to understand the science that is psychology and will have begun developing the tools you need to think critically about human behavior, thoughts, and feelings. 

The Key Integrative Themes in this module:

The Ethical Psychologist

Key Theme: Ethical principles guide psychology research and practice.

Psychologists work in research, in treatment settings, and in organizations and schools. In each of these roles, psychologists are guided by the responsibility to act in ethical ways. These ethics are there to protect us, our participants, and any other people we work with. Students too, need to consider how their actions affect them and the people around them.

The Psychological Scientist

Key Theme: Psychological science relies on empirical evidence and adapts as new data develop.

The field of psychology is constantly evolving. We use scientific methods to determine what we know in a methodical and organized way. In this book, we lean heavily on the methods and reasonings behind the research psychology is built upon. and as such, psychological research is woven throughout this book.

By the end of the module, the reader should be able to begin answering the question “How do psychologists learn about human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?”