Paradigms, theories, and the choice of question

• What are paradigms and how do they influence science?
• Key definitions:

• paradigm: "A philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within which theories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments used to support them are formulated"
  • A framework or set of ideas that determine how you think about things
• hypothesis: A prediction based upon an understanding of PROCESS.
• process: The underlying mechanism explaining why something happens.

• pubertal status
• Are kids who are in the process of puberty different than kids who haven't entered puberty or who have completed puberty?"
• Implicit hypothesis:
• pubertal tempo
• Are kids who go through puberty quickly moodier than those who go through it more gradually?
• Implicit hypothesis:
• pubertal timing
• Are kids who go through puberty early better adjusted than their peers?
• Are kids who go through puberty late better adjusted than their peers?
• Implicit hypothesis:
• pubertal deviance
• Are kids who go through puberty off time less well adjusted than their peers?
• Implicit hypothesis:

• When reading, pay attention to implicit theories
• normative development v. individual differences imply different questions

Key points about theories:

• different theories can lead to the same prediction
• different theories can lead to opposite predictions
• successful theories must capture key aspects of the phenomenon to be studied

To test theories . . .

• if theory is correct, hypothesized process must make predictions that match knowledge