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,
The aim of the experiment is to investigate the extent to which conformity occurs in the presence of previous estimations.
Introduction Sherif (1935) conducted a study where he investigated the emergence of group norms using the autokinetic effect. This is an optical illusion experience where a person is place in a totally dark room in which a stationary point of light appears to move because the persons perceptual system has no reference for it. Subjects were invited to estimate the amount of 'movement' they observed. They made their estimates in groups where each member could hear the others' estimates. Ultimately, the group members estimates converged into a middle-of-the-road 'group estimate'. This would appear to show an urge to conform. There is a general acceptance that 'social influence' can be seen to consist of two separate components: 'informational social influence', where we gain information from other peoples behaviour as a guide to what's going on, and 'normative social influence', where we conform to what we believe to be the norms of the group in order to be accepted by them and not to stand out. The conclusion was that the study showed that when faced with an ambiguous situation, participants look to others for guidance. Therefore according to this, linked in with 'conformity levels in the presence of peoples estimations' study when faced with the dots my participants should look to the stooges estimates for guidance. Another experiment that is focused on normative social
Effects of distractors on target identification and feature integration theory.
Effects of distractors on target identification and feature integration theory Department of Psychology, University of Warwick Abstract The effect of distractors on target identification was studied using 118 participants, from Warwick University. The experiment was based on work done by Treisman and Gelade (1980), who developed the feature integration theory. Each participant completed a visual search computer program consisting of three conditions. As well as these conditions as a factor there was also the varying display sizes such as 4, 8 and 16, and with the target being either present or absent in the trials. The mean response time and percentage errors were recorded. As predicted the display size had little effect on reaction time. The response rate was faster in the conjunction search condition when targets were present as not all of the distractors would have to be searched. In the single feature colour search the absence/presence of the target had no effect on response rate but it did in the single feature shape condition when the target was absent. Introduction Something that everyone does naturally when they are looking for an object is look out for pieces of relevant visual information. Yet somethings are easy to find whereas other items are not. This could be due to the presence of irrelevant objects or distractor items. An example of this could be
An investigation to study the effects of relationships between words and the ability to recall groups for words
AN INVESTIGATION TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WORDS AND THE ABILITY TO RECALL GROUPS OF WORDS. By Rehana Sattar ABSTRACT The aim of this experiment is to test whether catergorical clustering effects the number of words recalled. This investigation is based on Bousfields (1953) experiment allowing free recall., which is where participants are given the opportunity to recall words in any order they like. Therefore the experimental research method which will be used is an opportunity sample of 20 participants (10 male and 10 female) of students from the sixth form at the school I'm studying at. The experimental hypothesis of this experiment was: A greater number of words will be recalled when categorised in contrast to non-categorised words. The null hypothesis of this experiment was: There will be no difference in the number of words recalled from either list. The findings of this experiment supported the experimental hypothesis and rejected the null hypothesis as the mean number of words recalled from the categorised list was greater than from the non-categorised list. INTRODUCTION Human memory has been studied by many different psychologists in various different ways. Memory is generally defined as "the capacity to store and later recall or recognise events that were previously experienced" Atkinson and Schriffon's multistore model of memory
Qualitative approaches in mass media research
Qualitative approaches in mass media research The qualitative approach to research largely came about as a result of disillusionment with the more scientific and numerically based quantitative approach, and basically sought "to describe and analyse the culture and behaviour of humans from the point of view of those being studied". A number of methods are employed to this end. For example, through the use of unstructured interviews, focus group analysis, case study analysis, and most commonly, particpant observation i.e. where the researcher participates directly in the life of the group/body/organisation that (s)he is studying. It is the purpose of this essay to discuss the extent to which the strengths of qualitative research can be outweighed by the often cited problems of reliability, generalisation and interpretation in the field of mass media research. I will make special reference throughout to two studies by the Glasgow University Media Group, "Bad News" and "More Bad News". Both studies employ the use of qualitative content analysis to analyse the question of bias on B.B.C. and I.T.N. news during the mid to late 1970's, focussing principally on their reportage of economic and industrial relations. Firstly it is perhaps necessary to define the terms reliability, generalisation and interpretation in the context of qualitative research. The notion of generalisation here
Milgram Evaluation
Lizzie Franks 28th October 2002 Milgram Evaluation Milgram's work showed the level of punishment on learning. Proposed that a person obeys when they "comply with authority". His subjects were led to believe that the experiment was investigating the effects of punishment on learning. He obtained a level of obedience of 65% of the subjects continued to the maximum shock level of 450 volts. None of the subjects stopped before 300 volts. It is valuable because Milgram's findings suggest that significant numbers of ordinary people were prepared to obey orders that could do others serious harm. Milgram discovered that different types of people have different obedience rates. Participants with a military background tended to be more obedient, and participants who had gone onto higher education were less obedient. However, it has been criticised for being unethical. The participants believed that they were causing serious harm to the 'victim'. Many suffered symptoms of tension through the experiment. Some suffered full-blown, uncontrollable seizures. And one even had a fit so violent that the experiment had to be cancelled. The experiment has been criticised for lack of ecological validity. Due to it being an artificial test of obedience and therefore lacks 'mundane realism'. But Milgram may be justified because although there were important
An Investigation into the Stroop Effect.
An Investigation into the Stroop Effect By Fiona Taylor Introduction Stroop conducted experiments in the 1930s on interference with visual perception. He discovered that participants had difficulties naming colours when they were printed in different coloured inks. In some lists, colour words were spelled and printed in the same ink colours (congruous). Example: RED In other lists the words and colours did not match (incongruous). Example: GREEN Participants in Stroop's experiments took longer to name the incongruous words. He called this the 'Stroop effect'. Aim To investigate the Stroop effect by conducting an experiment to time how long it takes for participants to say the colours of the words on two different lists (congruent/incongruent). To then produce evidence in the form of graphs and data analysis to support or disprove the following hypothesis. Hypothesis The average mean time to complete list two (incongruous) will be greater than the average mean time to complete list one (congruous). IV - lists of words congruent/incongruent DV - time taken to name ink colours measured in seconds Design As quantitative data (time) is being measured, the experiment should be as controlled as possible. A field experiment will allow as many of the possible extraneous variables that may affect the DV to be controlled. If these variables are controlled it is more
Brown and Kulik and Flashbulb Memories
Brown and Kulik and Flashbulb Memories Background Brown and Kulik (1977) found that people could remember important public events such as J.F Kennedy's death emotionally and detailed. Most people could remember where they were, what they were doing, how they felt and happened after. Brown and Kulik also found that flashbulb memories were more likely in unexpected cases for example J.F. Kennedy's death and when people can relate to the flashbulb memory e.g. when Martin Luther King died only 33% of white participants could remember. Aim To follow Brown and Kulik's investigation we decided to investigate if people could recall flashbulb memories. The hypothesis of this experiment is "People can report strong and emotional memories for major events such as Princess Diana's death." This hypothesis is one-tailed because it predicts that the results go in one direction. It is also directional because it states the direction of a difference. The null hypothesis is "People can't report strong and emotional memories for major public events such as Princess Diana's death. This states that any difference in the dependant variable is not due to the independent variable. The independent variable in this experiment-"People's flashbulb memories" here we are manipulating the variable. The dependant variable is the outcome of that manipulation in this case is the
The ethical issues in Psychological experiments.
The Ethical Issues In Psychological Experiments, In psychological tests there is a certain procedure that has to be adhered to. Like a set of guidelines we have to follow. They are known as Ethical Guidelines, put in place to protect ethics. (Cox, E. (2001) Psychology For A Level. Oxford University press, Oxford. Chapter 6 page 144) We will now look at three different cases from Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo, and discuss the ethical issues in their tests. Were ethics taken into account, were ethics ignored? If so can any of the procedures be justified for breaking the code of ethics? Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo all carried out different experiments on conformity. The line test (Asch 1956). Electric shock test (Milgram 1974). Stanford prison experiment (Zimbardo 1973). Each test was different but looked at the same idea conformity and obedience. It was said in the Asch test because the participant did not know that only he was being tested and that also the same in Milgrams test, as the other people there were confederates. They did not give their fully informed consent. This can be justified so not to influence the outcome. Providing that they debrief the participants on all aspects of the procedure after the test. However other ethical issues were brought up in both their tests. Deception, embarrassment, conflict situation, ecological validity, as in the Asch line test
Introduction to Research. The Scientific Method. We will also discuss and compare qualitative and quantitative data and the process of scientific construction and testing.
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH Introduction to Research Psych 540 October 29, 2012 Dr. Patrick Smith ________________ Abstract Psychology is more than the mind and how people behave, but it also entails scientific approaches to help researchers and scientists better understand the concepts it covers. It is important that a person has a full understanding of what the scientific method is and how it can be applied to psychology. In the paper we will also discuss and compare qualitative and quantitative data and the process of scientific construction and testing. ________________ Introduction to Research “Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior” ("American psychological association," 2011). Psychology has been around for many years, dating back to 1879, but there is no certainty of the exact date. There are many theories that have been developed and passed along throughout the years of study. Some of these theories; however, have been revised by other psychology researchers to help adapt with the changing times or the theory was valid but not now. Psychology does have science aspects and has adopted science aspects to help answer the problems that are presented to professionals. Science of Psychology To help attempt to improve people’s lives psychologist s gain understanding and insights by developing theories and conducting research (psychological) to