Paper 2 - The Emergence of Psychology as a Science Flashcards
Define science
A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation with the aim of discovering general laws
Define empiricism
The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
What 2 assumptions was the new scientific approach based on
All behaviour is caused (determined)
If behaviour is determined then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions
How did psychology evolve as a science - 1900s behaviourists
J.B Watson and B.F Skinner rejected introspection and claimed that for psychology to be scientific it should only study observable and measurable behaviours
Behaviourists used controlled experiments to study external behaviours and became a dominant approach for the next 50 years
How did psychology evolve as a science - 1950s Cognitive Approach
The digital revolution gave a new generation of psychologists a metaphor to study the mind
Cognitive psychologists compared the human mind to the workings of a computer and used highly controlled experiments to study human processes
How did psychology evolve as a science - 1950s Biological Approach
Advanced scientific scanning techniques such as FMRI and EEGs have helped in finding the relationship between psychological processes and brain activity
New methods such as genetic testing have helped in understanding the relationship between genes and behaviour
Evaluation (SUPPORTIVE) - Modern Research in Psychology is scientific
E - Psychology has the same aim as other natural sciences (to describe, control and predict behaviour). Behaviour, Cognitive and Biological approach all rely on scientific methods such as lab research to study in an objective and controlled way
L - Suggests that 20th century and beyond psychology has established itself as a science
Evaluation (CHALLENGING) - Not all approaches in psychology use scientific methods
E - Humanistic approach focuses on individual and subjective experiences, rejecting objective methods. Psychodynamic approach focuses on case study method that uses representative human samples to make general laws. Each individual has different experiences
L - A scientific approach may not be very useful to study human mind and behaviour in all cases
Evaluation (CHALLENGING) - Thomas Kuhn (philosopher) said that for a subject to be scientific, it should have a paradigm
E - Paradigm is a set of principles, laws, theories, knowledge that all people who work in that subject agree on or share. Psychology is not a paradigm as there is many different opinions and disagreements between different approaches
L - Psychology is not a science according to Kuhn
