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hypotheses, and observation. (It is of course true that some psychologistsmaintain that these elements are part and parcel of human behaviour ingeneral). In the previous chapters concepts and constructs were described asthe most elementary symbolic constructions by means of which human beingsare able to classify and categorize their experiential worlds. In other words,concepts are collective nouns that are used to label units of experience.In very general terms, hypotheses may be described as suppositions,expectations or statements concerning anticipated results. As we indicatedearlier in this book, it is customary to distinguish between different types ofhypotheses, but that distinction is not an important element in the presentdiscussion.In general terms observation may be defined as that form of behaviour bymeans of which a researcher is able to register information from his or herenvironment. Clearly, it can assume a variety of forms which may vary fromphysiological measurements to reporting dreams.We indicated in Chapter 1 how scientific statements differ from everyday prescientificstatements. We shall discuss the same theme here, with the differencethat we shall indicate that each of these components is situated on a continuumon which varying degrees of the scientific character are represented. In figure7.1 below, there is a schematic representation of this in terms of concepts,hypotheses, and observation.FIGURE 7.1Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zaCOMPONENTS OF RESEARCHEVERYDAYSURPLUSMEANINGINTUITIVEEVERYDAYOperationalSpecificityCONCEPTSTestibilityHYPOTHESISControlOBSERVATIONSCIENTIFICEMPIRICALREFERENTSFORMALEXPERIMENTAL157