Psychology as a Science

Psychology as a Science

1. Theories provide understanding an explanations by organising facts

2. Theories provide a basis for research, generating predictions and hypotheses

3. Process of deriving new hypotheses from theory is - Hypoithetico-deductive method

4. Popper believed a theory should be falsifiable and subjected to attempts of refutation

5. Paradigm

   • A set of assumptions about a subject
     • scientific study of human and animal behaviour and mental processes
       • provides greater knowledge and understanding at a theoretical level
     • Evidence and fact gathered through scientific procedures are objective
       • these can be used to support a theory of hypothetical statement
     • applications of scientific approach to the study of people brings benefits to people's lives
       • helps them adjust better to change and cope with trama in their lives
     • scientific procedures used by one psychologist can be replicated by another psychologist
       • Peer Review
     • The study of human beings is inherently interesting and fascinating in its own right
       • understanding about ourselves & the society
   • Kuhn- argues a subject cannot be a science unless it has a paradigm
   • Psychology is a pre science as there are too many theoretical approaches
   • Palermo - psychology has gone beyond being a science

6. Theory and hypothesis testing

7. Empirical Methods

   • If it is not subject to empirical methods it cannot claim to be scientific
   • Direct experience, experimental, factual, verifiable, objective
   • Popper (1972) observation is always pre structured

8. Replication

   • When following the same procedure, findings should be repeated
   • Harder in psychology than other sciences because it is subject to human behaviours
   • If replicated validity & generalisability is increased and practical application is improved

9. Generalisation

   • The ability of the researcher to make a justified extention of their conclusions, applying them to members of the target population and other situations
   • Must be a representative sample
   • Should have ecological ability
   • Must be able to be replicated

10. Overt Behaviour

    • behaviour that is open and detectable
    • Can be internal but must be observed from responses

11. Subjective private experience

    • Internal and unique to each person
    • Cannot be accessed or replicated
    • William James
      • "stream of conciousness"
        • an internal monologue that id always present, unique, private and accessible only by the individual

12. Role of Peer Review

    • Theories and research findings must be communicated through..
      • Journals and conferences to other scientists in order to...
        • Validate- quality of research and relevance of ideas
        • Evaluate-research proposals for financial support with future work

13. Strengths

    • Respectively due to a scientific status
    • Objective and provides reliable findings that can be generalised
      • to large groups of people- this also increases validity
    • Theories provide general laws of behaviour
      • allow psychology to progress as a science
    • Resulted in applications which can improve people's lives and help solve problems

14. Weaknesses

    • Demand characteristics- as human behaviour is the subject matter
    • Ethical restrictions may constrain psychological research
    • Strives for objectivitiy and control but can cause artificial environment and lack of generalisability
      • lacks ecological validity
        • has both nomothetic and idiographic features
          • uses idiographic features to make nomothetic assumptions
    • Cannot control all variables so completely accurate predictions are impossible
    • Deterministic and reductionist
    • Much is unobservable: cannot be measured