Psychology as a Science

• Objectivity

  The findings are a matter of fact, rather than opinion
• Falsifiability 


  In principle it would be impossible to prove the findings false
• Replicability

  If the study is repeated and the same results are obtained
• Strengths of scientific research

  • Quantitative data is often gathered which can be analysed to see significant effects
  • Scientific research is less vulnerable to being affected by researcher bias
  • Controlled laboratory experiments can be repeated to see if findings are reliable
• Weaknesses of scientific research

  • Scientific research often lacks qualitative data (and therefore its explanatory power is reduced)
  • The research is often reductionist because it tries to test the impact of a single factor; as such, it can miss out on other factors that might be involved
  • Scientific studies are often conducted in tightly controlled laboratory settings, which can reduce the ecological validity of the findings