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    IB TOK Essay

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    Issac Li
    The document discusses how methodologies used in economics and psychology can shape the knowledge produced in those fields. In economics, while different methods exist, they often rely on shared foundational assumptions developed over centuries, so variations in methods do not significantly impact results. For example, the expenditure and output approaches to calculating GDP use different data but shared assumptions, typically resulting in very similar GDP values. The extent to which knowledge is determined by methodology depends on the assumptions and perspectives that guide method selection and interpretation.

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    IB TOK Essay

    Uploaded by

    Issac Li
    47 views2 pages
    The document discusses how methodologies used in economics and psychology can shape the knowledge produced in those fields. In economics, while different methods exist, they often rely on shared foundational assumptions developed over centuries, so variations in methods do not significantly impact results. For example, the expenditure and output approaches to calculating GDP use different data but shared assumptions, typically resulting in very similar GDP values. The extent to which knowledge is determined by methodology depends on the assumptions and perspectives that guide method selection and interpretation.

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    IB TOK essay

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    The document discusses how methodologies used in economics and psychology can shape the knowledge produced in those fields. In economics, while different methods exist, they often rely on shared foundational assumptions developed over centuries, so variations in methods do not significantly impact results. For example, the expenditure and output approaches to calculating GDP use different data but shared assumptions, typically resulting in very similar GDP values. The extent to which knowledge is determined by methodology depends on the assumptions and perspectives that guide method selection and interpretation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    47 views2 pages

    IB TOK Essay

    Uploaded by

    Issac Li
    The document discusses how methodologies used in economics and psychology can shape the knowledge produced in those fields. In economics, while different methods exist, they often rely on shared foundational assumptions developed over centuries, so variations in methods do not significantly impact results. For example, the expenditure and output approaches to calculating GDP use different data but shared assumptions, typically resulting in very similar GDP values. The extent to which knowledge is determined by methodology depends on the assumptions and perspectives that guide method selection and interpretation.

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    To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use?

    The human sciences strive to elucidate the complexities of human behavior, either at the
    individual or collective level. Among these disciplines, economics delves into the intricacies of
    resource allocation and the decision-making processes of various stakeholders. Similarly,
    psychology aims to describe, explain, predict, and potentially modify cognitive and behavioral
    patterns. Unlike the natural sciences, where direct physical measurements—such as the
    dimensions of a cell—are often feasible, the human sciences rely on designing appropriate
    methodologies, which refers to the collection and interpretation of empirical evidence as the
    result of the assumption underlying these methods. This essay will explore the extent to which
    methodologies shape the knowledge generated in economics and psychology and will analyze the
    factors that causes variation in methodologies.

    In economics, models and assumptions serve as essential tools for simplifying complex economic
    systems into understandable constructs that can guide decision-making for societal prosperity.
    While it's true that different methodologies exist within the field, the impact of method variations
    tend not to be significant, largely because they often rely on a shared set of assumptions. These
    foundational premises have been developed and refined over the past two centuries based on
    rigorous quantitative data. As a result, the knowledge derived from these different methodologies
    often exhibits only minor differences.

    For example, Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the value of aggregate output within
    an economy, GDP is often used to assess the general health of the economy and allow the
    government to make decisions to promote long-term economic growth. Two methods are typically
    used to calculate GDP ——Expenditure approach and output approach. The former focuses on the
    demand side of the economy, which adds up consumption, investment, government spending and
    net export to know the total spending on goods and services within an economy. The latter
    investigates the supply side of the economy by measuring the value of all final goods and services
    (e.g., agriculture, manufacture industries) produced in an economy. Despite two approaches use
    different method, they usually get very similar results in real-life. According to The Bureau of
    Economic Analysis, US GDP in 2019 is calculated to be $21.43 trillion USD for both methods,
    therefore suggesting variations in method doesn’t heavily influence GDP calculated.

    In this case, both approaches are based on the same established assumption that models the
    economy into a ‘circular flow of income,’ which is a model that simplifies the economy into
    components and particularly useful as it has been shown able to be used to understand and
    influence market mechanism effectively in the past century. Therefore, despite the two methods
    collect data from completely different components and came up with different interpretation of
    each index they measured, they both followed the shared macroeconomic knowledge which
    allows them to use their distinctive data to get a very similar result, making the economic
    knowledge determined by methodologies used to a small extent.
    Different,
    expenditure approach interprets value of to

    Because of assumption
    Assumption, demand can look GDP, supply can see GDP.

    GDP is often used as an indicator of the general health of the

    economy.
    Easily & quantified
    Quantified, Concluded from past experiences
    Interprete, verify
    简单证伪，基于过去
    Description of example: expenditure, output, similar number, e.g., 2021, 5%.
    Because share similar assumptions, because of something.
    Answer to prompt, not much,

    Description of cause of depression, serotonin, environment..


    Assumption/Perspective
    - Attitude, intrinsic
    - Educational background
    A lot

    Decide whether assumption or perspective.


    The decision of method depends on assumption
    Why different assumption?

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