Psychology as a science

• what can psychology be defined as? (AO1 INTRO)

  The science of mind and behaviour
• Psychology as a science (AO1 INTRO)

  • Based on empirical evidence
  • Psychologists create hypotheses and test them using studies
  • Uses genuine scientific methods like tightly controlled and standardized experiments that can be replicated to check for reliability
• Psychology may not meet all of the requirements of a science
• Studying complex human behavior is challenging and may lack objectivity
• As soon as people know they are being studied they alter their behaviour
• Much of the subject matter for psychology (e.g. emotions and opinions) cannot be directly observed, so we have to infer what people are thinking
• There are many examples in psychology of methods, such as qualitative approaches and theories, which are clearly not scientific
• The scientific method involves making observations, forming hypotheses, testing those hypotheses through experiments or other research methods, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating findings.
• not a science - lack of falsification (AO1)

  • must be falsifiable / theories must be proven to be false
  • just because a theory cannot be falsified, doesn’t mean it must be true
  • no theory is completely correct
  • if it can be falsified and supported, it can be accepted as truth
• freud - falsification (AO3)

  • id/ego/superego - though they seem reasonable cannot be proven to exist
  • freud says unbalanced id/ego/superego results in disorders like anxiety/aggression
  • they cannot be measured/observed directly so is unfalsifiable
• case studies - falsification - counter (AO3)

  • case studies on brain damaged patients can be useful in falsifying theories of memory
  • e.g. Clive Wearing - does not remember he was a musician (episodic) but remembers how to play the piano (procedural)
  • shows that there are more than 2 LTM stores than Tulving suggests - making his theory insufficient
• is a science - empiricism (AO1)

  • data has to be directly observable
  • so that it can be recorded and analysed
  • involves use of scientific methods like experiments (deliberate manipulation of IV and direct observation of DV)
• raine - empiricism (AO3)

  • use of brain scans (PET) to investigate brain abnormalities in murderers compared to controls
  • he was able to observe active brain areas and draw the conclusion that NGRI patients have brain abnormalities
• sherif - empiricism - counter (AO3)

  • used self-report questionnaires to investigate the boys’ feelings/opinions on the outgroup
  • this is less empirical as it is not easy to directly observe the boys’ feelings/attitudes using self report
• is not a science - lack of objectivity (AO1)

  • must have a high level of objectivity
  • difficult to achieve when using non-experimental techniques
  • e.g. observation, self-report techniques, case studies.
• rosenhan - objectivity (AO3)

  • used observation to investigate whether clinical professionals can distinguish between those who are genuinely mentally ill and not
  • observation relies on subjective interpretation of behaviour
  • reduces objectivity
• loftus & palmer - objectivity - counter (AO3)

  • use of quantitative data analysis (chi-squared test)
  • came up with percentages
  • e.g. 32% in ‘smashed’ condition reported seeing broken glass compared to 14% in the ‘hit’ group
  • increases objectivity
• is a science - replicability (AO1)

  • easy to replicate if lab/field experiments are used in a study
  • increases likelihood of study being reliable
• baddeley - replicability (AO3)

  • use of standardised procedure
  • e.g. same set of 10 words for each participant in the condition (accoustically or semantically similar/dissimilar)
  • e.g. shown the words for the same amount of time of three seconds
  • increases reliability
• case studies - replicability - counter (AO3)

  • the complexities of case studies make them hard to replicate