Theory and science in Psychology

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Psychology and Scientific Method

There are many arguments that debunk the idea that psychology could ever be a `pure science . In any event , psychology has been touted by many a philosopher as a pseudo-science . This is primarily because science itself has a fixed method by which they conduct scientific experiments We discuss precisely what it is that makes a theory scientific , how theories can be related to evidence and the principal issues involved in evaluating a theory . We also look at what it is that a science of

br psychology should study . What aspects of psychology can be defined as scientific and what aspects are thoroughly based on conjecture ? Can we really call psychology a scientific medium

The observable is what science studies . Freud was initially concerned with studying the unseen , while observing behaviors (Hays , 1964 : 27 . He believed that the insanity that is presented to the outside world was due to a complex internal mental mechanism (Hays , 1964 : 27 . However Freud also fell short of one thing , hard evidence that these mental processes existed . Scientific method determines that there are 4 or 5 steps the researcher has to take in 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 Prediction 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...