Spelling, grammar and punctuation

[markjay]

Is psychology a science....?

The story goes about one of Europe's Kings, who summoned all the scientists in the land to his court, and was much surprised to see a Psychologist, a then very new area of study.

When challenged as to his attendance, the Psychologist replied:

- "My King, if I were to place a block of ice in the market square on midday on a hot summer say, then come back an hour later, what would I find?"

- "Nothing", replied the King, "you would find nothing. The ice would have melted and the water evaporated. This is science. Everyone knows that".

- "And", continued the Psychologist, "if I were to place a basket full of gold coins in the market square on midday on a hot summer say, then come back an hour later, what would I find...?"



Psychology is a statistical science and as such it is very reliable when it comes to accurately predicting behaviours in large crowds, but not so much when it comes to predicting behaviour of individuals. Very similar to Nuclear science, by the way.

 

[markjay]

Quite. 'not a precise science' - hence not a rigorous discipline - hence 'soft science'. Fails on five or six counts by my reckoning...

The Key Features of a Science

Empirical Evidence
o Refers to data being collected through direct observation or experiment.

o Empirical evidence does not rely on argument or belief.

o Instead experiments and observations are carried out carefully and reported in detail so that other investigators can repeat and attempt to verify the work.

Objectivity:
o Researchers should remain totally value free when studying; they should try to remain totally unbiased in their investigations. I.e. Researchers are not influenced by personal feelings and experiences.

o Objectivity means that all sources of bias are minimized and that personal or subjective ideas are eliminated. The pursuit of science implies that the facts will speak for themselves even if they turn out to be different from what the investigator hoped.

Control :

o All extraneous variables need to be controlled in order to be able to establish cause (IV) and effect (DV).

Predictability :

o We should be aiming to be able to predict future behavior from the findings of our research.

Hypothesis testing :

o E.g. a statement made at the beginning of an investigation that serves as a prediction and is derived from a theory. There are different types of hypotheses (null and alternative), which need to be stated in a form that can be tested (i.e. operationalized and unambiguous).

Replication :

o This refers to whether a particular method and finding can be repeated with different/same people and/or on different occasions, to see if the results are similar.

o If a dramatic discovery is reported but it cannot be replicated by other scientists it will not be accepted.

o If we get the same results over and over again under the same conditions, we can be sure of their accuracy beyond reasonable doubt.

o This gives us confidence that the results are reliable and can be used to build up a body of knowledge or a theory: vital in establishing a scientific theory.

I studied this and you are quite right... this is in fact the cornerstone of cognitive psychology.

What you said above is exactly what we were thought in first year in uni.

 

[markjay]

I don't think you have an issue with understanding what science is, you describe it correctly, I just don't think you fully understand what cognitive psychology is or how psychological research is conducted.

And I do not mean to say this in an offensive way, I just happened to study this - albeit many years ago - I am sure that I am equally uninformed in areas studied by other members here, it is just the way things are, one can not be an expert in everything.

 

[prprandall51]

15/15 when it matters I'm bang on the money, when it doesn't I couldn't give a flying feck

You can't lay claim to 15/15 for your command of the English language, or lay claim to a Masters in the subject, if you can't spot the two glaring errors in your own original post - both of which distorted the basic premise you were espousing, to the point where the issues were turned upon their heads. And I am not referring to the poor use of punctuation; I long since gave up being fussed when people don't know where to place a comma or an apostrophe.

It is only because we, as readers, understood what you meant to say that - when you contradicted your arguments - we could fathom your intended meaning.

 

[E55BOF]

Here we go again.....

Does anyone have a view on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

 

[artyman]

Here we go again.....

Does anyone have a view on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Would that be ballroom or latin

 

[flango]

If psychology is not a science then why is its study awarded with a Batchelor of Science degree???

Of course it is a Science but unfortunately one people don't understand very well except for those practising it

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[flango]

You can't lay claim to 15/15 for your command of the English language, or lay claim to a Masters in the subject, if you can't spot the two glaring errors in your own original post - both of which distorted the basic premise you were espousing, to the point where the issues were turned upon their heads. And I am not referring to the poor use of punctuation; I long since gave up being fussed when people don't know where to place a comma or an apostrophe. It is only because we, as readers, understood what you meant to say that - when you contradicted your arguments - we could fathom your intended meaning.

Your post proves exactly the psychologists point of view on this subject and agrees with paragraph 4 of my OP life is full of moaners who was take delight in berating other people on this subject. Did I ever say I couldn't spot the errors in my post? Where did I ever say I had a Masters in English? Please get your facts correct before lambasting others.

Just in case I was not clear enough in my earlier posts I couldn't give a flying feck about your opinion if you feel so superior good on you but I won 't lose a nano seconds sleep over it

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[prprandall51]

Where did I ever say I had a Masters in English?

This is a great example of the importance of using the English language to its fullest extent in order to precisely convey the correct meaning and avoid misunderstanding. You wrote:

Now its not that I don't know how to use the English language (I have a Degree and Masters)...

And I read that to mean that you were saying that your Masters was in English. I was wrong but, as the writer, the tools were available to you to make your text unequivocal, and it wasn't; you should really have qualified your qualifying statement with more detail.

Of course, reading your original post, I should have known that your Masters couldn't have been in English because of the two syntactic errors. So, dipping into the lexicology of the young to illustrate how woefully our language is being corrupted on a daily basis:

My bad, dude. Sos.

 

[NDFR]

Oh Gaawwwwd

 

[developer]

Did anyone see that Pistonheads article about gullwing SLS prices going up, to the point where some people have regretted selling "early".

 

[Ted]

You missed out a question mark there John!

 

[ringway]

My mate was dyslexic.

He's dead now.

He choked on his own Vimto.

 

[E55BOF]

Dyslexia? Ah Bumhug!

 

[Bellow]

It's a scientific term so should have a capital.

Only if derived from a person's name.

 

[balge]

http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=6884

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/13/news/la-ol-blowback-pscyhology-science-20120713

http://www.arachnoid.com/psychology/

Not going round this Mulberry bush again. The argument, for anybody interested.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I don't know anything about psychology so I'm not entering into that discussion. But I do know a little about the subject of the original post: spelling, punctuation and grammar. Not because I gained my O level in English language when I was 14 (54 years ago), but because I spent ten years preparing technical proposals for consultancy opportunities throughout the world. In most cases those proposals were directed at people who didn't have English as their first language. I soon determined that it was important for them to be able to understand the full content with ease. That is what communication is all about - ensuring that the audience understands as much of the message as you feel necessary.

Basically, if you can't be bothered to put your message across clearly, then the reader is likely to put as little effort into understanding it. So the whole thing becomes totally pointless.

I'm not saying that all the nuances of grammar should be followed rigidly, else I wouldn't have broken as many rules as I have here. I'm just suggesting that a little care can avoid a lot of misinterpretation and possible ensuing aggravation. If the message doesn't matter, you may argue that the spelling and structure don't matter. My response would be to ask why write it in the first place.

I'm certain I've missed out on a lot in this forum because of poorly constructed posts. Mostly I'm sure it doesn't matter, other than me missing out on some humour or perhaps a valid point of view. As soon as I start to struggle with reading a post, I move on to the next one. It's unfortunate that I can't be bothered to make the effort. But why should I? Just as I didn't bother with flango's original piece of psycho nonsense, which may well have made a very valid point. But I did understand the essence of what he was saying, because the rest of the post that preceded it was clear to me.

Like another poster here, I do have a mild form of dyslexia. I don't use it as an excuse for anything, instead accepting that it means I have to make a bit more effort than most. What it does mean is that when a writer can't be bothered to use the correct form of "their", "there" or "they're" for instance, the whole flow of the sentence gets lost on me and I have to start again - perhaps a few times. Those without English as their first language will usually experience the same difficulty.

So yes, I do think that spelling, grammar and punctuation are important. Without their considered use, we may as well return to grunts in the hope that some grunts will be understood by some of our audience. Not bothering with spelling and grammar is no different to lane hogging, tailgating, not using indicators and lack of courtesy on the road.

As Lynne Truss wrote in "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation":

Truly good manners are invisible: they ease the way for others, without drawing attention to themselves. It is no accident that the word "punctilious" ("attentive to formality or etiquette") comes from the same original root as punctuation.