1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
Harlamova29_29 [7]
3 years ago
10

Why do psychologists always develop a hypothesis at the beginning of a research project?

Biology
1 answer:
Arte-miy333 [17]3 years ago
6 0

Answer: If you have an isolated piece of data, there is a near infinite number of hypotheses that can explain that piece of data. This is called “Underdetermination”.

Therefore, just going out and collecting bits of data doesn’t really advance our understanding of the universe. A near infinite number of possible explanations? We’re overwhelmed. Therefore, data without a hypothesis to relate it to can’t be evaluated.

BUT, one of the things you do when testing a hypothesis is to figure out what data you are looking for. Instead of collecting just any data, you are looking specifically for particular data.

If the hypothesis is true, then there is data that should be present if you look for it. For instance, say my hypothesis is that people who smoke have less lung capacity than non-smokers. What do you need lung capacity for? Well, blowing out birthday candles. Or blowing up a balloon. So a deduction is that non-smokers will not be able to blow up a balloon with one breath as a non-smoker. That is a deduction.

So now you can look for a specific fact: ability to blow up a balloon on a single breath.

Get a pack of balloons (spherical ones are best), and at least 20 people: 10 non-smokers and10 smokers. Then have each person take a deep breath and try to blow up a balloon. Measure the circumference. Have each person do it 3 times. Average the circumference measurements of all the tries of all the people in each group. Compare.

(My ENT has a fancy machine to measure lung capacity, but the balloon thing will work. I picked this because I saw a student use it once in a high school science fair. I thought it was pretty clever.)

If it turns out that the circumference is the same between the groups, you have managed to falsify the hypothesis. You at least know it is wrong.

What you also can do when you have a hypothesis and experiment is that you can design the controls to eliminate as many of those alternate hypotheses that we can think of. For instance, we would also expect younger people to have greater lung capacity than older people. And men are generally bigger, with bigger lungs, than women. So you could make sure you matched up ages and gender between the smokers and non-smokers so you can eliminate those other hypotheses.

So now the data means something — because it is related to a hypothesis. You don’t just have the circumference of balloons blown up by 20 random people. That could mean anything. Instead, those circumferences tell you something about the effects of smoking on lung capacity.

Explanation:

You might be interested in
A gene on a chromosome lies close to another gene controlling a different trait. This indicates that the genes are _. The first
umka2103 [35]

My guess:

I do not know the options to the blanks, but I'd say that the answer to the first one is "strongly linked". Think of a chromosome as a phylogenic chart → 2 species that are beside each other are strongly linked, if compared to 2 species 3 spots apart form each other. So, 2 genes that are close to each other are strongly linked.

I do not know the options to the blanks, but I'd say the answer to the second one is epistasis → which is the interaction between two different genes (different means they're not linked alleles).

Hope it helped,

BioTeacher101

7 0
3 years ago
Read 2 more answers
How will this change in the environment most likely affect the mouse population?
Rashid [163]

Answer: i think it’s D

Explanation:

4 0
3 years ago
The enzyme produced in the kidneys that may play a role in essential hypertension by promoting vasoconstriction is called ______
NARA [144]

Answer:

the answer is Renin

Explanation:

3 0
2 years ago
Though they are constantly changing, ecosystems are naturally
liubo4ka [24]
Though they are constantly changing, ecosystem are naturally BALANCED.
An ecosystem is said to be balanced, when the components of the ecosystem are in harmony. Two of the principal processes that usually throw ecosystems out of balance is pollution and hunting.
4 0
3 years ago
Which organism is most specialized? A. Bacteria B. Unicellular algae C. Cat D. Ant
Tatiana [17]
The answer would be (C.cat) because <span>For the cat has the most advanced biological system, whereas the unicellular algae and bacteria are microscopic in size, and while the ant does have a system and is a multi-cellular organism, the cat has a much more advanced biological system with many more functions and organs. 

Hope it helps! 

</span>
3 0
3 years ago
Other questions:
  • Why to igneous rocks have the same minerals different names
    6·1 answer
  • Name 3 characteristics that make the gas giant planets so different from the terrestrial planets.
    7·1 answer
  • A tree grows and increases its mass explain why it is not a violation of the law of conservation of mass
    5·1 answer
  • what probability do we have of obtaining a purple flower (Rr), when we combine two blue flowers (rr) in an incomplete Dominance
    8·1 answer
  • Explain how competition promotes resource partitioning
    12·1 answer
  • A group of hikers find a fallen tree in a forest. The dead tree trunk is covered by mushrooms and other fungus. Later, they find
    10·2 answers
  • • How the knowledge of classification be applied to assess the characteristics of different organisms when visit to zoo, herbari
    12·1 answer
  • A powerful appetite stimulator that has been shown to cause people to hoard food is
    14·2 answers
  • Catfish are freshwater fish that have "whiskers" with taste buds, as well as a keen sense of smell for locating prey in murky wa
    10·2 answers
  • Please help!!! What problem do researchers hope to solve with their genetic modifications of the glittering gold seahorse?
    6·2 answers
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!