IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TMXnh2wtUY

Bordens and Abbott(2008)Three types of explanation of human behaviour

Commonsense

Experience Intuition not tested

Belief-based Religion Political Personal Consistent with a

framework of beliefs

PseudosciencePresented as

scientific but not

VagueNot reproducedEvidence minimal

What is science?• Body of systematic knowledge that covers

general truths, principles and laws.• Found and tested using ‘scientific methods’ –

systematic process designed to obtain objective information.

• Based on observable phenomena not opinion• The idea that psychology is all common-sense is

misleading – what would you tell a prospective student?

These are the official criteria of a science

• It must have a unified Paradigm• It must use a scientific process of devising

theories and testing hypotheses• The testing of Hypotheses must be empirical• Tests must be replicable and valid• The findings should be generalizable and

applicable to be of some use.

The role of paradigms Kuhn (1996)• Kuhn believes that psychology does not yet have a

unifying paradigm - A shared set of assumptions about the subject matter of discipline and the methods used to study it. What do you think ?

• If contradictory evidence about a theory questions a paradigm the evidence will be refuted until eventually there is too much evidence – scientific revolution (Newton-Einstein in physics)

• A revolution can cause a paradigm shift – What paradigm shifts have already taken place in Psychology?

Paradigm war

Normal science (one paradigm)

Revolution (new paradigm

accepted)

Paradigm Shifts (Palermo 1971)

• Structuralism /introspection (Wundt) to Empiricism /experimentation/observation

• Psychodynamic (Freud) to ………..• Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner) to………..• Cognitive Psychology (most popular) to…….• Biological (brain structure/genetic)• Recently a slight shift towards social constructionist/

discourse analysis and phenomenology/subjective experience.

• What does this mean for Psychology as a science?

Science vs Non-Science• Empirical Biased

• Collection of data is systematic and controlled• Intuition

• Unbiased Objective subjective

• Hypothesis testing

• Collection of data is random and uncontrolled

In groups of 3-4

• Think of some phenomena and devise a testable theory to explain them !

The scientific process – Theory construction and hypothesis testing

Observations Observations

Testable hypothesis

Conduct a study to test the hypothesis

Draw conclusions

Propose theory

Propose theory

Testable hypothesis

Conduct a study to test the hypothesis

Draw conclusions

Induction Deduction

Hypothetico-deductive methodproposed by Karl Popper (1935), suggesting that

theories/laws about the world should come first and these should be used to generate expectations/hypotheses which can be falsified. Falsification is the only way to be certain – as Popper pointed out:

‘No amount of observations of white swans can allow the inference that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion’

Hypothetico-deductive methodIdentify a problem

Develop a hypothesis – predictable and testable

Devise a study to test the hypothesis

Analyses and Evaluate the results

Modify and repeat the process

Develop a theory

Empirical Testing

• Empirical means ‘of direct experience’ and therefore does not rely on argument, belief, ideas, hearsay, faith or superstition !

• Test can be repeated to see if findings are the same – replication.

• Methods used must be objective. What does this mean?

• Can Psychology ever be value free? What do you think?

Activity in operationalizing concepts

• How will you empirically test your own hypotheses ?

• Work this out in your groups

• Which of the psychological approaches do this and which do not?

Things that might make Psychology less objective ….and therefore less scientific!

• Confirmation bias• Researcher bias• Publisher bias• Demand characteristics• Cultural bias• We cannot stand outside of human nature to

study it – we are it !!• ‘Only the shallow know themselves’

Application and Generalisation

• To apply Psychological research we have to be able to generalise it to a wider population than our sample of participants.

• Think of some examples of research and what problems there might be with generalising e.g sample, species, culture, historical, geographical. Think Core Studies !

Conscious experience or private subjective experience ?

• Cognitive processes such as memory are referred to as conscious experience and can be studied empirically. Private subjective experience is something different and more idiographic

• William James (1890) Stream of consciousness. James theorised that this is inaccessible to study because once a moment has been experienced it has gone – retelling it changes it slightly.

• However, Watson (1913)(Behaviourism) said none of this matters because subjective interpretations are not scientific at all.

Can psychology claim to be a science?

• Scientific research is desirable• Psychology shares the goals of all sciences, but does using the scientific

method turn psychology into a science?• Miller claims it is ‘dressing up’ – pseudoscience• Kuhn claims it cannot be a science as it has no single paradigm unlike other

sciences. A paradigm is a set of shared assumptions, in psychology there are a number of different paradigms or approaches to explaining behaviour.

• Can behaviour be measured objectively? Both experimenter bias and demand characteristics compromise validity. But Heisenberg found that you cannot even measure a subatomic particle without altering its behaviour (uncertainty principle).

• Psychology does explore issues like obedience in experiments where common-sense predictions are wrong.

Objections to the scientific approach in psychology

• Cannot measure people in the same way as physical phenomena.

• Study people in unnatural conditions• Control, isolation of variables not possible in

people• Ignores subjectivity of behaviour, superficial• Objectivity impossible, past experiences,

beliefs and ideas influence behaviour

Do we really want to be a science?• The scientific approach is reductionist, simplifying complex

phenomena and theories down to basics.• Science is also determinist in its search for causal relationships, i.e.

if X determines Y.• Science also takes the nomothetic approach looking to make

generalisations about people and find similarities. Some psychologists argue the idiographic (individual)approach is more suitable when treating patients. Currently psychology has only moderate success when treating mental illness.

• Qualitative research is seen as less than scientific but triangulation can make this method more objective.

• Also qualitative researchers must be reflective about their influence on their own research.

• Listen to the story of the woman wearing a burkha !!

Validating new knowledge using peer review

• Peer review is the assessment of research by others who are experts in the same field (peers). This is usually done before research is published.

• This is an essential check to prevent incorrect or faulty data from entering the public domain.

• It is also necessary where any application for funding is concerned so it affects not just the researcher but also the university department that employs them.

• Every researcher should be prepared for their work to be scrutinised. Peer review is a way of establishing the validity of scientific research.

UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (2002)

• Fabrication (data made up)• Falsification (data is altered)• Plagiarism (work copied from others)

To consolidate your knowledge of this Controversy

• Timed essay 25 minutes• Write an essay plan for next week

• Discuss the claim that Psychology is a science, use evidence to support your answer (22 marks)