Is Psychology A Science
Is Psychology A Science In order to answer this question it is important to understand the definitions of both psychology and science. The word 'psychology' comes from the Greek 'psyche' (or soul) and 'logos' (or study), which came to be known as the 'study of the soul'. The American Heritage Dictionary defines psychology as: 1. the science dealing with the mind and with mental and emotional processes 2. the science of human and animal behavior. In its pure definition the dictionary has provided us with a clue to the answer, it describes science as: 1. systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, etc. 2. a branch of knowledge, esp. one that systematizes facts, principles, and methods 3. skill or technique In order to prove this claim we have to look at whether or not psychology can fill this definition above. Scientific study is a valid way of coming to an understanding of life, and can be very useful in every area of life. Science develops theories based on what is observed. It examines each theory with rigorous and scrupulous tests to see if it describes reality. The scientific method works well in observing and recording physical data and in reaching conclusions which either confirm or nullify a theory. During the mid-19th century, scholars (although at that time probably termed philosophers) wanted to study human nature with the aim of applying the
Is Psychology a Science?
Is Psychology a Science? Psychology is commonly defined as 'scientific' study of human behaviour and cognitive processes. Broadly speaking the discussion focuses on the different branches of psychology, and if they are indeed scientific. However, it is integral in this to debate to understand exactly the major features of a science, in order to judge if psychology is in fact one. There must be a definable subject matter - this changed from conscious human thought to human and non-human behaviour, then to cognitive processes within psychology's first eighty years as a separate discipline. Also, a theory construction is important. This represents an attempt to explain observed phenomena, such as Watson's attempt to account for human and non-human behaviour in terms of classical conditioning, and Skinner's subsequent attempt to do the same with operant conditioning. Any science must have hypotheses, and indeed test them. This involves making specific predictions about behaviour under certain specified conditions, for example, predicting that by combining the sight of a rat with the sound of an iron bar banging behind his head, a small child will learn to fear the rat, as is the case of Little Albert (1923). Also, empirical methods are used in scientific fields to collect data, relevant to the hypothesis being tested, as is the case in many psychological experiments, such as the
Is Psychology a Science
Is psychology a science? Discuss using evidence from the five approaches. To answer this question I feel it is important to understand the definitions of psychology and science. I will start with definitions of the terms psychology and science and will briefly review the methods of psychology. I will outline the behaviourist approach, the psychoanalytical approach, the cognitive approach, the humanistic approach and the biological approach. In order to confirm whether psychology can fulfil the definition of science I will outline the five approaches and use evidence from the approaches to support my findings. There are numerous definitions for the word psychology, Benson (1998: 5) describes the discipline of psychology as 'the scientific study of the mind and behaviour of humans and animals' whereas Hayes (1998: 1) identifies psychology as 'the study of the mind, the study of behaviour, the study of human information processing', and the study of 'why human beings act as they do'. The two descriptions highlight how definitions differ although it is widely agreed that psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour. As with psychology there a various definitions for the term science, however they all appear to be based on creating theories or explanations which rely on evidence. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia (2005) includes a number of definitions, firstly stating that
Psychology as a Science
Describe and Discuss the historical development of psychology as a science. According to Russell & Jarvis(2003: 469) "the word 'science' comes from the Latin word 'scire', meaning 'to know'"; thus it is the knowledge of specific study. Psychology was defined by Atkinson et al. (2000: 3, cited by Mestre. et al. 2002: 811) as the "scientific study of behaviour and mental processes". Psychology has been universally recognised as a science since the late 1800's when James (1890, cited by Gross 1999: 3) stated that 'Psychology is the Science of Mental Life". Though many praise the study of psychology for it's findings and achievements there will always be those who are sceptical of these findings and whether or not they can be seen as 'solid'. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) is widely seen as the 'founding father' of 'new psychology', in which we mean psychology as a separate scientific discipline, rather than it had been previously; a part of philosophy. Wundt created 'structuralism', this is the study of the mind by breaking all chains of thought down in to such things as images, feelings and sensations, for example, if one were to think of chocolate, one may picture the bar, have a feeling of desire for the bar which may produce the sensation of hunger. By studying the conscious mind using introspection he would record the results of his studies, these would be performed under
Is Psychology a Science? According to one of the articles read in class, Is psychology a science? by Ellie Dommett, many suggest that psychology is indeed a science as it uses scientific methods.
Is Psychology a science? According to one of the articles read in class, 'Is psychology a science?' by Ellie Dommett, many suggest that psychology is indeed a science as it uses scientific methods. Psychologists who defend their subject also use this as an argument. Initially, when looking into this question I believed that psychology is a science to some extent; it really depends on what approaches are used in psychology. I would first think that when only biological factors (e.g. hormones in the role of attraction) are used to explain a certain human behaviour, then that would make psychology a science. However, the human mind (especially over the recent years with exposure to media) is too complex to be explained with the Biological Perspective solely. These days, the cognitive perspective seems to be more popular for explanations of the human behaviour, and unfortunately the cognitive approach (internal processing of the mind) cannot be so easily studied, as it is the study of 'unobservable mental processes'. If we later refer it back to the definitions of a science, its seems that the Cognitive Perspective so far diverges quite far way from being a science, which needs to be 'observable'. So far, it can neither be 'proved' as well. Psychology as a whole therefore cannot really be pinpointed down into the term 'science;. Although in psychology, the scientific method
Can Psychology be a Science?
Access Psychology: Can Psychology Be a Science? To answer this question, a definition of science must first be established. This is not as straightforward as one might think as interpretations vary, and are the cause of some debate. The American Heritage Science Dictionary appears to encompass the general consensus, and defines science as: "The investigation of natural phenomena through observation, theoretical explanation, and experimentation, or the knowledge produced by such investigation. ? Science makes use of the scientific method, which includes the careful observation of natural phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis, the conducting of one or more experiments to test the hypothesis, and the drawing of a conclusion that confirms or modifies the hypothesis." Put simply, it seems that for a field to be considered a science, it must utilise observation and experimentation to confirm or falsify a hypothesis. The word science itself comes from the Latin word scire, meaning know, implying that knowledge is gained through science. To question psychology's status as a possible science, it is necessary to examine theories related to the field that are possible to falsify or to repeat; to see if they can be tested using scientific methods of hypothesis, observation and experimentation. Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget's influential Theory of Cognitive Development has
Could or should psychology be called a science?
Could or should psychology be called a science? Hannah Richards The advantages of calling psychology a science are huge. It allows us to state that it contains objective facts, correct our mistakes and build on previous discoveries. However many refute giving psychology the tile of 'a science' believing that humans are far too complex in their processes to be explained in generalised terms. The key assumptions of 'science' are; Invariance, in science a set of laws don't change, Determinism, meaning that everything can be explained using these laws and that there is a reason for everything and finally Operationalism, trusting in an objective and accurate set of measured variables. Many psychologists believe that these key principals conflict with those of human cognitions; which are often complex and seem to fail to follow any set rules of nature. People inevitably change over time; this fact challenges the principal of 'Invariance' from the scientific point of view. However there is a difference in changes found on behaviour and those found in 'laws'. For example trends of music have changed with time and culture, but the underlying psychological cognitions behind those changes haven't been altered; group pressure still remains. Science asserts that one set of rules can apply for everyone; determinism. However a psychologist would state that its very founding principals of
Is psychology a science? Should it be? Do different parts of psychology need different answers to this question?
Is psychology a science? Should it be? Do different parts of psychology need different answers to this question? Psychology is an integral part of our modern society, and its influence is quite widespread. Many important decisions, which are made in our society, can be based on psychology - decisions which affect the lives of many people. Which parent should get custody of a child or children when a marriage breaks up, who is fit to be a police officer, whether prisoners up for parole should be freed, and whether a teenage girl is fit to take care of her newborn baby are just some examples of these decisions. This is why it is important to determine whether or not psychology is a science. In this essay I will contend that psychology is not a science, and I will present arguments to support this view. In order to sufficiently answer the question, I will define science, and then psychology can be contrasted with science, in order to identify the differences between the two. This will make it clear that psychology is not a science. Defining science is not an easy task, yet everyone seems to know what science and its derivatives mean. For this essay science is the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena, through objective means (Webster, 1992). There are several aims of science - description,
Discuss whether psychology should be called a science. (12 marks)
Discuss whether psychology should be called a science. (12 marks) Science is producing explanations for the natural world, whereas psychology is the science for humans and animals and producing explanations for their behaviour. However, sometimes psychology isn't seen as a science, as it relies heavily on research methods such as questionnaires, surveys and individual case studies to back up its theories. Also, psychologists are more interested in emotions, personality and thinking, which are hard to be measured. Therefore, it isn't seen as objective. Objectivity means that all sources of bias are minimized and that personal or subjective ideas are eliminated. Science implies that the facts will speak for themselves, even if they turn out to be different from what the investigator hoped On the other hand, there are some parts of psychology, such as biological and cognitive, laboratory studies are used to investigate theories. These are very controlled, therefore, researchers can't manipulate. However, for approaches, such as psychodynamic, the researchers use case studies which can't be generalised and are based on interpretations from the researchers. They also use methods such as dream analysis, which involve personal interpretations, therefore making them subjective. Carrying on, science has to be observable. For example, in biology, the living world is studied. With
Debate to what extent psychology meets the criterion for a science?
It is common knowledge that psychology involves the scientific study of human mental processes, motivations and behaviours (Heffernan., 2015); however, just a few people understand the scope of modern psychology or even understand what psychologists do. There is also more awareness of the roles that psychologists have in a clinical, mental, school or even workplace settings, contrasting with psychologists as laboratory scientists. In fact, modern psychology became entirely different from its humble beginnings in Wundt's lab in 1879, where a scientific approach to the study of the human mind and behaviour was taken for the first time. Consequently, establishing psychology as a science separate and distinct from the fields of philosophy and biology (Benjamin, 2000). When people think about psychology, they partly think about Freud’s psychoanalysis, and therefore, understandably argue that it is not a science since it does not follow the scientific method. Even to the eyes of people that work in the ‘harder’ sciences, it is perhaps hard to understand the scientific aspects of psychology. Accordingly, this essay aims to assess to what extent does psychology meets the criterion for science. In order to tackle this issue, we must start by defining science; very broadly speaking science consists of systematically observing natural events, developing laws and principles, which
