Criticasters and alternatives Flashcards
Psychology was promoted as an academic discipline on the basis of what two messages?
(1) Respectful past: it is a continuation of the old and respectful tradition of mental and moral philosophy;
(2) Scientific method: it uses the scientific method, also used in other disciplines.
How did this affect the curriculum?
Because of the emphasis on the 2 messages above, ‘history of psychology’ and ‘research methods’ were major components of the curriculum.
What did psychologists have to do in order to be recognised as a science?
To be accepted as a science, psychologists had to make the case that what differentiated science from non- science was the research methods used (this should be the scientific method), and not the type of problems that are addressed
How did this effort affect psychology?
Because of this emphasis, psychology invested heavily in developing research designs and analysis techniques, at the expense of theory building (methodolatry).
Define methodaltry
Methodaltry = tendency to see methodological rigour as the only requirement for scientific research, at the
expense of theory formation.
Name five factors which explain why psychologists continue to use the scientific method
(1) Systematicity and cumulativeness of knowledge: science stressed the requirement that knowledge builds
on existing knowledge; new findings must be coherent with existing information.
(2) Well-defined methods: information is gathered in line with agreed methods that are clearly outlined.
(3) Clarity: findings are stated in such a way that they are interpreted in the same way by different readers.
(4) Predictability: science stresses the importance of prediction, not just post hoc explanations.
(5) Revisability: scientific knowledge is open and can be revised at all times (falsifying convictions is central).
What is meant by a pseudoscience?
Pseudoscience = branch of knowledge that pretends to be scientific but that violates the scientific method on essential aspects.
Give four reasons against psychology being a science
(1) Stereotypes- There is little overlap between the stereotypical image of a scientist and a psychologist, making it hard for the general public to associate psychologists with science.
(2) Practitioners vs. researchers- Professional psychologists largely outnumber psychology researchers. Practitioners typically have no ambition to be involved in scientific research, they are just critical consumers. According to Dawes, psychologists tend to forget all they have learned in their studies and to return to clinical intuition.
(3) Psychological findings are easy- While science is perceived as difficult, psychology is often seen as accessible
(4) Hermeneutic = approach according to which the task of the psychologist is to interpret and understand persons on the basis of their personal and socio-cultural history. Some argued for this approach and staying within the humanities. The biggest criticism against the experimental study of psychology was that it was too much geared towards unravelling how exactly the mind works, instead of knowing what one thinks, believes, feels and wants.
Name one of the first authors to openly criticise psychologies turn to the natural sciences and his reasoning
Dilthey; According to him, the human mind should be understood, not explained.
What two types of scientists did Dilthey distinguish?
(1) Natural sciences: sought to distil universal laws from a limited set of observations, mainly through
experiments.
(2) Mental sciences: aimed at understanding and interpreting the individual person by an analysis of his/her
personal and socio-cultural history.
What four elements did Dilthey’s approach to psychology contain?
(1) Content based: it should focus on what the mind comprises, not how the brain functions.
(2) Totality of experience: the subject matter was human experience in its totality.
(3) Context: a person’s life is embedded in a context and could not be studied in isolation.
(4) Understanding: the appropriate method was understanding, not the scientific method.
Where did a major source of inspiration for the hermeneutic approach come from?
Freud’s psychoanalysis and subsequent evolutions. Psychoanalysis was aimed at understanding the contents of a person’s mind, which fit hermeneutics.
Who combined the hermeneutic approach with the natural-science approach?
Rogers (who came up with client-centered therapy) combined the hermeneutic approach with the natural-science approach when he insisted that the efficacy of his therapy was to be tested.
Rogers and what other person formed a new psychology?
Abraham Maslow (together with Rogers) was one of the founders of humanistic psychology, which offered an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
What did humanistic psychology consist of?
movement as reaction against psychoanalysis and behaviourism that stresses that people are human, inherently positive, endowed with free will and living within a socio-cultural context.
