Paper Topic:

Cognitive psychology

ANSWER Question 1

Causal inference is the basis of most , if not all researches . The ability to see the association of events to each other and hypothesize the cause and effect relationships between and among them is called causal inference . Causal inference is not a shot-in-the-dark pursuit the assumptions that result from a causal inference are based from close observation , sound analysis , and informed decisions . From these causal inferences , researches are then designed made to validate or prove the assumptions

Ecological validity on the other hand , refers to the extent to

which the results of a research can be applied in other areas aside from the actual setting of the original study (Searle , 1999 ) It means that a study and its results have potential for far-reaching applications that go beyond study 's original setting . The study can be used in other situations and it would yield parallel results . Some researches have high ecological validity , while others by nature score very low on ecological validity

Causal inferences and ecological validity can be contradictory of each other . While causal inferences can be made in all areas because of the causality that is inherent in all aspects of life , not all causal inferences have ecological validity . In fact , if we based the value of researches on ecological validity alone , very little would be left because there are causal inferences that hold true only for that particular instance

For example in researches about attention , while there are many causal inferences that would inspire all types of studies , the ecological validity of researches in attention may be limited by a lot of factors An example of a limiting factor is age the findings of a research about attention based on age would not necessarily hold true across all age groups

ANSWER Question 2

The terms rationalism and empiricism are polar opposites of each other While the two are both philosophical approaches that allow us to derive answers about life and the world we live in , the two approaches are in

Rationalist philosophy believes that knowledge or cognition can take place purely through reasoning alone , without any actual experience or research necessary . For rationalists , the human mind is capable of discerning truth all by itself through enlightened reasoning and judgment , and does not need any sensory proof to arrive at such truths Among the foremost rationalist is Rene Descartes who said the eternal lines , I think , therefore I am

Empiricists uphold the philosophy that physical and sensory proofs must accompany any form of substantial knowledge . For empiricists like John Locke , knowledge that exists outside of our own thoughts requires actual experience to be accepted as a truth (Carruthers , 2003 ) They see the mind as a tabula rasa , a blank slate that can only find meaning through interaction with the environment . That the mind , while indeed capable of discerning truth , cannot do so entirely on its own . Empirical philosophers believe that we need actual experience to arrive at answers

As I see it , I think that these...

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