Emergence of Psych as a Science

Question 1

FOR Psychology as a Science

Answer 1

1) Relies on objective and systematic methods, so is more than the passive acceptance of facts.

2) Can establish causes through use of methods that are empirical and replicable.

3) Psychologists are always replicating each other’s work so poor theories become redundant quickly.

Question 2

AGAINST Psychology as a Science

Answer 2

1) Concentrates too much on objectivity and control so tells us little about how people act in more natural environments.

2) A lot of subject matter in psychology is unobservable, so cannot be measured with any degree of accuracy.

Question 3

1879 - Wundt

Answer 3

• Opened the first lab.
• Psychology emerges as its own discipline.

Question 4

1900s - Early Behaviourists Rejected Introspection

Answer 4

• Watson argued introspection was subjective, in that it is influenced by personal perspective.
• According to Behaviourists, ‘scientific’ psych should only study phenomena that can be observed & measured.

Question 5

1913 - John Watson

Answer 5

• Carries out ‘Little Albert’ study & along with the work by Skinner, the Behaviourist approach is established.

Question 6

1930s - Behaviourist Scientific Approach Dominated Psych

Answer 6

1) Skinner brought the language and rigour of the natural sciences into psychology.
2) The behaviourists’ focus on learning, and the use of carefully controlled lab studies, would dominate psychology for 50 years.

Question 7

1950s - Rogers & Marslow

Answer 7

• Humanistic approach is developed.

Question 8

1960s - Cognitive Years

Answer 8

• Popularity of computers gives psychs metaphor of human brain being like a machine.
• Research is now more scientific than Wundt’s time.
• Bandura suggests cognitive & behavioural approaches can be linked through his Social Learning Theory.

Question 9

1980s - Biological Approach

Answer 9

• Improvements in science & medical technology led to an increase in the understanding of brain function & other biological processes.

Question 10

New Millennium

Answer 10

• Cognitive Neuroscience emerges as its own discipline.

Question 11

Strength

Answer 11

RESEARCH IN MODERN PSYCH CAN CLAIM TO BE SCIENTIFIC

1) Psychology has the same aims as the natural sciences - to describe, understand, predict and control behaviour.
2) Learning, cognitive & bio approaches all use scientific methods e.g. lab studies are controlled and unbiased.
—> Throughout the 20th century and beyond, psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline.

Question 12

Limitation

Answer 12

1) Humanistic approach does not formulate general laws of behaviour.

2) Psychodynamic approach uses case studies with unrepresentative samples.

3) Psychs study humans who are active pps and therefore respond to demand characteristics.
—> Therefore a scientific approach to the study of human thought and experience isn’t desirable or possible.