Section 4.4; Issues & debates

Psychology as a science

What you need to be able to do:

• Describe the debate over what science is and how far psychology fits the definition

• Evaluate whether psychology should be called a ‘science’

• Compare the 5 approaches from units 1 & 2 according to how scientific their contents and methods are

• (Specification, pg. 64, ACs 5 b & c)

So, what IS the debate?• First, let’s consider – what is ‘science?’

• Think of some words that come to mind when you hear the word ‘science’ – do any of these apply to any aspects of psychology? Which aspects and how?

Scientific terms

• Hypothesis/hypotheses• Variables• Controls• Reductionism• Falsification

Traditional view of science:

• Objective• Involves careful observation and

experimentation• Produces general laws

An updated definition• Key features – • The hypothetico-deductive model (theory →

hypothesis → testing → theory confirmed/amended/rejected)

• Controlled observation• Objectivity (free from personal views and feeling)• Falsifiability (theories should be able to be disproved)• Replicability (only the findings from methods that can

be replicated by others are accepted)• Empirical data (refers to the senses)

Goals of science

• Understanding• Prediction• Control

Psychology a science? Who cares?!• Psychology is a relatively new subject

discipline and it has often struggled to be taken as seriously as ‘traditional’ science subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics – why do you think this is?

• If psychology was to be regarded as a science then: – there is the possibility that the subject could have

a greater status– it also helps us to think about what psychology is

and how psychology should be done

Applied to psychology ...

• How can any or all of these features/definitions/goals be applied to psychology?

• Let’s focus on the 5 approaches:• Biological• Cognitive• Behaviourism• Psychodynamic• Social

Activity 1 - • 5 groups (3 x 4s and 2 x 3s) – you may work with

whoever you wish to• Each group must fill in the table for the

psychological approach named at the top under the headings (1. main theories, 2. research methods, 3. relation to features and goals of science, 4. write a short passage explaining how scientific this approach is – you must justify any points made)

• Groups of 4 – 1 heading each per member, when heading 2 is complete, this member can help complete heading 3

Activity 1 -

• Groups of 3 - 1 heading each per member; when heading 2 is complete, this member can work on heading 4

• Each group member will have a different colour pen – I expect to see contributions from ALL members!

• When you have finished, pass to the next group who must note any additions/challenges/questions to the table; this will continue until all tables have been passed around to all groups (25 minutes)

So, is psychology a science?• All sciences share a common method of

investigation1. Systematic empiricism (“data-driven”)2. Production of public knowledge (“objectivity”)

– a) replication – b) peer review

3. Examination of solvable problems (not looking for the meaning of life); “empirical questions”

• Why? • You can’t just assume that things will happen the

way that you think they will (biases). You need to have evidence!

Psychology as a science …• Psychology uses the scientific method to study the

full range of human and non-human behaviour, and its applications are scientifically based

Psychology is not just Freud! The full range of behaviour encompasses many topics; the logistical methods are very different, but systematic observation is common to all topics

• the above lead to further study and replication

Psychology as a science …

Production of public knowledge for peer review• publications (journals, books)• presentations, talks, posters

Asks solvable questions• uses operational definitions (terms of measurement)

to test hypotheses (predictions) derived from theories (concepts that explain data and predict future events)

Theory→ experiment→ theory

Reasoning ...

• Inductive process- Reasoning from particular to general E.g. Scientists may observe instances of a natural phenomenon and derive a general law (inductive)

• Deductive process- Reasoning from general to particular. E.g. Start with a theory & look for instances that confirm this (deduction)

Arguments for ...

Scientific research is desirable- Those who sought to create a science from psychology were able to do so by producing verifiable evidence

Certain areas of psychology are scientific. E.g. physiological, behaviourist psychology

Arguments against ...Psychological experiments lack external validity.

That is finding from experiments are not always supported by real life observations

Psychological experiments lack internal validity, that is, the observed effects may result from variables other than experimental manipulation

• What other problems do psychologists face when conducting experiments??

We need to consider ...

• As psychologists are we looking for the same achievements as other scientist's?

• X causes Y in physics but can we say the same for human behaviour?

• Falsibility- Freud's theory is not falsifiable…if a theory is cannot be falsified it is not scientific

In addition ...• There are success stories in psychology based

upon lab experiments i.e. bystander behaviour• But – can we study humans in lab conditions the

same as we can study substance/gases/plants, etc? – behaviour can be different under artificial conditions

• However - Similar problems occur with other sciences Heisenberg (1927) argued that it is not possible to

measure subatomic particle without altering it’s behaviour by doing the measurement

Should Psychology be a science?

• Should psychologists it be trying to have it accepted as a science?

• Some would say NO!• Humanistic approach - values private, subjective

conscious experience and argues for the rejection of science; objective reality is less important than a person's subjective perception and subjective understanding of the world

• Humanists place little value on scientific psychology, especially the use of the scientific laboratory to investigate both human behaviour

Barriers - • Portrayal of psychology in popular entertainment– stereotypes promoted in TV, movies (“Dr. Dippy”,

“Dr. Evil”, “Dr. Wonderful”, “Dr. Rigid”, “Dr. Line-Crosser”)

Misconceptions about methods

• Freud’s fame

A new definition of science?

•Do we need a new definition of science to incorporate all aspects of Psychology?

Activity 2 - • In your groups, design an activity

which we can use for revision (quiz/test/wordsearch/crossword/cryptogram) – you can test each other on it next Wednesday!• Have a fab weekend