1.3: How Do You Know?

Before we talk about the scientific method, though, let's look at the bigger picture about what is considered knowledge. Philosophers call these questions (and broader ideas) about the ways of knowing information epistemology (link to Wikipedia). Take a minute to ponder some of what you know and how you acquired that knowledge. For example, maybe you have a feeling that summarizing your professor's lecture is more helpful than writing down everything that they say but you don't really have any experience comparing these two ways of taking notes and haven't read about others' research on this topic. Or, perhaps you know that reading whole chapter of your textbook in detail is important because a parent told you this is what you should do. Or, maybe you've reasoned that face-to-face classes provide information during the class sessions, and learning information will help you pass the exam, so attendance in the class will help you pass the exam. You could also ask your fiends what study strategies work them to decide which ones may work for you. Or, your professor could randomly assign some students to get printed lecture notes and some students to get online lecture notes, then compare the paper grades to see which type of notes work best. But should we trust knowledge from these sources?

Methods of Knowing

The paragraph above gave examples of methods of acquiring knowledge. Below are brief descriptions with each method's strengths and weaknesses. Your research methods course will provide you with an in-depth examination of how psychologists use the scientific method to advance our understanding of human behavior and the mind.

Intuition

The first method of knowing that we’ll discuss is intuition. When we use our intuition, we are relying on our guts, our emotions, and/or our instincts to guide us. Rather than examining facts or using rational thought, intuition involves believing what feels true. The problem with relying on intuition is that our intuitions can be wrong because they can be driven by cognitive and motivational biases rather than logical reasoning or scientific evidence. While you may feel that summarizing lectures is useful, you don’t actually have any evidence that this practice is effective. However, weighing alternatives and thinking of all the different possibilities can be paralyzing for some people and sometimes decisions based on intuition are actually superior to those based on analysis.

Authority

Perhaps one of the most common methods of acquiring knowledge is through authority. This method involves accepting new ideas because some authority figure states that they are true. These authorities include parents, the media, doctors, priests and other religious authorities, the government, and even your professors! While in an ideal world we should be able to trust authority figures, history has taught us otherwise and many instances of atrocities against humanity are a consequence of people unquestioningly following authority (e.g., Salem Witch Trials, Nazi War Crimes). On a more benign level, while reading the whole chapter of your textbook in detail worked when your parents’ generation were attending college, this may not make as much sense for students who work full-time, take care of family members, and are used to quick bursts of information through popular media and social media. Instead, students who had had access to the internet their entire lives may be better at skimming large blocks of text to find the key information that they need to accomplish their tasks. These examples illustrate that the problem with using authority to obtain knowledge is that they may be wrong. Nevertheless, much of the information we acquire is through authority because we don’t have time to question and independently research every piece of knowledge we learn through authority. But we can learn to evaluate the credentials of authority figures, to evaluate the methods they used to arrive at their conclusions, and evaluate whether they have any reasons to mislead us.

Rationalism (Reason and Logic)

Rationalism involves using logic and reasoning to acquire new knowledge. Using this method premises are stated and logical rules are followed to arrive at sound conclusions. For instance, if you acknowledge the premise that face-to-face classes are designed to share information through in-person lectures and activities and the premise that participating in lectures and activities leads to higher exam scores, then you can come to the rational conclusion that attending class will lead to higher exam scores. The problem with this method is that if the premises are wrong or there is an error in logic then the conclusion will not be valid. For instance, the premise that information is shared in class is incorrect for “flipped classrooms” in which the lecture information is reviewed individually at home while the homework and activities are completed in class with the instructor. Also, unless formally trained in the rules of logic, it is easy to make an error. Nevertheless, if the premises are correct and logical rules are followed appropriately then this is a sound means of acquiring knowledge.

Empiricism (Data or Experience)

Empiricism involves acquiring knowledge through observation and experience. If you see how your friends study, you may decide that what they are doing is the best option. You could even try something out to see how it works for you. However, this is not a systematic way to gain knowledge. Plus, we are limited in what we, personally, can experience and observe. Moreover, our prior experiences can alter the way we perceive events. Nevertheless, empiricism is at the heart of the scientific method. Science relies on observations. But not just any observations, science relies on structured observations which is known as systematic empiricism.

Scientific Method

The scientific method is a process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and answer questions. While scientists may use intuition, authority, rationalism, and empiricism to generate new ideas, they don’t stop there. Scientists go a step further by using systematic empiricism to make careful observations under various controlled conditions in order to test their ideas and they use rationalism to arrive at valid conclusions. While the scientific method is the most likely of all of the methods to produce valid knowledge, like all methods of acquiring knowledge it also has its drawbacks.

One major problem is that it is not always feasible to use the scientific method; this method can require considerable time and resources. Another problem with the scientific method is that it cannot be used to answer all questions.

Another issue is that the focus of these methods of knowing, and the scientific method in particular, is based on Western (e.g., European) conceptions of science. Others have noted that Indigenous scholars find that their cultural approaches to knowledge to do not fit into these categories, primarily because Indigenous knowledge tends to be relational by emphasizing relationships with the land and relationships with the community (Held, 2019) but the strength of scientific method is controlling the environment to try to get “standard” results. While there is no one set of Indigenous methods that encompass all ways that cultures gain and recognize knowledge due to the diversity of tribal nations and cultures (Simonds & Christopher, 2013), Held (2019) argues that Indigenous research has a common understanding of interconnectedness and interdependence amongst individuals, communities, and their local land. Additionally, storytelling is considered a method of knowing in some Indigenous cultures (Simonds & Christopher, 2013).

Consider for Yourself:

Where would you put storytelling as a method of knowing?

If you would incorporate storytelling into one of the five categories above, which category would you add it to and why? If you would not incorporate storytelling into one of the five categories above, why not?

---

The title of this section (How do you know?) is based off of the song "That's How You Know" (link to YouTube) from the movie Enchanted.

References

Held, M. B. E. (2019). Decolonizing research paradigms in the context of settler colonialism: An unsettling, mutual, and collaborative effort. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1-16. DOI: 10.1177/1609406918821574

Simonds, V. W., and Christopher, S. (2013). Adapting Western research methods to Indigenous ways of knowing. American Journal of Public Health, 103(12), 2185-2192. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301157