Science

Science

1. Characteristics

   • Purpose
     • Achieve a thorough undersatnding of the phenomena under study
       • Description
         • A collection of facts about the observed events that can be quantified, clasified and examined for possible relations with other known facts
       • Prediction
         • When systematic covariation between two events is found, this relationship can be used to predict the relative probability that one event will occur, based on the presence of other event.
         • Applied behavior analysis compares the relative rates or conditional probabilities of two or more observed variables.
       • Control
         • Functional relation: The ultimate product of a natural scientific investigation of the relation between behavior and its determining variables
           • A specific change in one event (dependent variable) can reliably be produced by specific manipulation of another event (independent varable), and the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result od other extraneous factores (confounding variables)
   • Acttitudes
     • "The definition of science lies [...] in the behavior of scientists"
       • Determinism
         • The scientist first assumes lawfulness and then proceeds to look for lawful relations
       • Empiricism
         • The pracitce of objective observation of the ohenomena of interest
           • Objective observation based on thorough description, systematic and repeated mesurement, and precise quantification of the pheneomena of interest
       • Experimentation
         • Method for isolating the relevant variables within a pattern of events
           • Carefully conducted comparasion of some measure of the phenomenon of the dependent variable under two or more different conditions in which only one independent variable differs form one condition to another
       • Replication
         • The primary method with which scientists determine the reliability and usefulness of their findings and discover their mistakes
       • Parsimony
         • Law of Parsimony: "One shuld not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything".
       • Philosophic doubt
         • Requires the scientist to continually question the truthfulness of what is regarded as a fact
           • "Accept no eternal verity"
       • Others
         • Thourghness, curosity, persevarence, diligence, ethics and honesty.

2. Definition

   • Science is a systematic approach to undersandung of a natural phenomena - as evidenced by description, prediction, and control - that relies on determinism as its fundamental asumption, empiricism as its prime directive, experimentation as its basic strategy, replication as its necessariy requierement for believability, parsimony as its conservative value, and philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.

3. Conclusion

   • Applied behavior analysis has its roots in science and philosophy, both of those define its characteristics,such as purpose and attitude, therefore a definition of science can be proposed.