Psychology and Scientific Method Essay

There ar many arguments that debunk the idea that psychology could unceasingly be a virginal comprehension. In any event, psychology has been touted by many a philosopher as a pseudo- scientific discipline. This is primarily because science itself has a fixed method by which they conduct scientific experiments. We wrangle precisely what it is that makes a theory scientific, how theories give the sack be link to render and the principal issues involved in evaluating a theory. We in like manner look at what it is that a science of psychology should study.What aspects of psychology fuck be delimit as scientific and what aspects are thoroughly found on anticipate? Can we really call psychology a scientific spiritualist? The observable is what science studies. Freud was initially concerned with studying the unseen, while detect behaviors (Hays, 1964 27). He believed that the insanity that is presented to the outside world was due to a confused internal mental mechanism ( Hays, 1964 27). However, Freud also fell short of unrivalled thing, hard reason that these mental processes existed.Scientific method determines that there are 4 or 5 steps the searcher has to take in order to make the experiment valid in the eyes of the scientific community. Physics lecturer Jose Wudka states that these steps include 1. Observation 2. Hypothesis 3. prognostication 4.Test the prediction with experiment (Wudka, 1998). The last step may be that the prediction needs to be retested and the hypothesis revisited. If we take Freud as an display case, his experiments were base almost entirely on observation with no empirical information to every exclude or disprove his hypotheses. conjecture stops however a theory until is proved as fact. Theories are therefore related to evince in a crucial way. Firstly, there has to be render of something that dissolve be studied for instance in criminal justice we have a bullet cap left behind at a crime. This bullet may be lying in a certain way and with the added presence of gunshot residue (cordite) can table service investigators to formulate a hypothesis about what happened with the accompaniment crime. With the suit of clothes of Freud for instance, we can observe behaviors of children or even adults, scarce we can non say where it comes from without getting deep down the head.This makes the evidence inadmissible and the theory remains just that a theory. Secondly, evidence that is presented, has to be tested. This convey that the evidence must relate to the theory it is attempt to legitimate. In this vitrine, the evidence either proves the theory or it forces the experimenter to return to the theory and rework it. A theory can be evaluated by means of this same test procedure, key issues being predominantly about validity, verifiability and reliability. strickle for instance the normal experimental procedure for empirical research that includes the launching of a valid sample group t hat is anonymous and whose records are either thus or confidential. An example of theory testing in psychology that does follow the scientific method is that of medical and electrical testing. One particular research example in psychology is that of Electro thump Therapy. In this case the treatment studied is reversed in that the EST was used to treat asthmatics, successfully.This case studied asthmatics brought in for EST by and by intense supervision prior to hospitalization. The patients were monitored before, during and after the treatment to see whether there is a relationship between vehemence and asthma (Cohen and Holbrook, 1947 213). In this case the patients themselves provide the data necessary for testing the hypothesis. The hypothesis was that there was a relationship between hysteria and asthma. The results showed not only a relationship, hardly I significant reaction to Electro Shock Treatment (Cohen and Holbrook, 1947 214).In early(a) research, EST is studied for its effect on schizophrenic overturn rather than the usual bipolar disorderliness. This research revealed that EST may be recyclable in the treatment of this psychotic illness. This especially when combined with medication ( apprehensionDaily, 2005). These research projects were conducted under strict supervision and with documentation the entire process. On the other side of the coin, there are arguments that also dispel scientific method. William McComas of the Rossier inculcate of Education cites 15 myths about scientific method that he considers to be principal issues.In the scope of this paper we cannot discuss all of McComas issues but a few will be discussed. The first of these is that hypotheses become theories and whence become laws. This is not always the case since sometimes the evidence does not uphold the hypothesis. He also says that theory is not always secure. Theory can only be absolute if there are no exceptions and in psychology particularly, there are almo st always exceptions. Science and scientific method are also not always absolute proof, nor does it always answer all the questions (McComas, 1998 2-9).In tune with the fact that the evidence does not always support the hypothesis, science does also not always represent reality but functions as a model round which scientific developments can be do (McComas, 1998 9-18). Furthermore and specifically in psychology terms, these theories are flouted by the presence of some elements in a patient that do not fit the textbook description of a certain ailment. For instance, it could be said that most cases of borderline personality disorder come from focal ratio to middle class sectors and develop this type of disorder as a textbook concern, not all BPD patients are upper to middle class.This is merely an example of the type of issue that faces the social sciences where individuals cannot be controlled in the way that plant slides or blood tests can be. The science of psychology is about people and the nuances thereof. It is aware that pieces are moody and also subject to the actions of other people. This means that psychology can be studied as an observation, by viewing the behaviors of people and documenting them. Psychology cannot be studied in the same way as other sciences can be, despite the fact that in empirical sciences there are also issues of compliance.If we consider that communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids can be physically examined, that blood cells and antibodies can be made transparent and studied in their physical form, psychology is not the same. Inroads have been made to attempt to clarify tests done decades earlier, such as Pavlovs learn studies, but unless a method becomes available to view thought processes, these theories remain unproved. The visible is the first step to studying science, but psychology hits a wall after that.We know certain aspects of psychology, such as dementia praecox is as much a neurological disorder as a psychiat ric one, but there are other psychological issues we do not know. This means that psychology has to be studied in a multidisciplinary way, rather than as purely scientific. In qualitative research as in quantitative, issues of evaluation are the same. In some psychiatric cases, a patient may also have medical problems, such as diabetes, epilepsy or malnutrition and these can be physically seen.There are hence ways in which psychology fails the test of scientific method, and therefore waterfall into the category of pseudo science. However, there are issues in pure sciences that also fall short of the elitist idea of science. Films such Stanley Kubricks A Clockwork Orange explore the idea of experimentation with the human brain, but to bear with such testing even with the consent of volunteers, would be considered inhumane. It seems to be good to test chemicals on animals or to test explosives in remote areas, but not ethical to perform potentially dangerous tests on human brains.T his leaves psychological testing with the likes of psychometric testing and theories, yet again. As discussed, scientific method is reliant on having the evidence to back it up, whereas psychological is based on assumption to a large extent. Psychological profiling is an example of this in that given the evidence presented, a criminal can be profiled by the marks he leaves behind. Seldom is this knowledge enough to prove someone is guilty of not.