Psychology as a Science

Question 1

What is science in psychology?

Answer 1

What is studied and the method of research used.

Question 2

Using examples, explain how ‘methodology’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 2

IS - Lab experiments, quantitative data, brain scans, are objective with limited bias and are measurable
IS NOT - Case studies, field experiments, observations provide qualitative data that is more susceptible to bias and harder to replicate

Question 3

Define ‘unified paradigm’.

Answer 3

A model, theory, or area which follows the same principles.

Question 4

Using examples, explain how a ‘unified paradigm’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 4

IS - Psychologists have the same goals of explaining and predicting human behaviour
IS NOT - There is a lack of paradigm in explaining behaviour in different areas of psychology (e.g. Biological states aggression can come from evolution or an imbalance of hormones)

Question 5

Define ‘objectivity’.

Answer 5

All sources of bias that can affect data are minimised with subjective ideas being eliminated.

Question 6

Using examples, explain how ‘objectivity’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 6

IS - Quantitative methods operationalise concepts in order to measure them and methods such as inter-rater observations minimise bias
IS NOT - Humans studying humans can never be objective (e.g. observations of behaviour can be subjective to individual)

Question 7

Define ‘falsification’.

Answer 7

A hypothesis should able proved to be false not true.

Question 8

Using examples, explain how ‘falsification’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 8

IS - Approaches that are more scientific (e.g. Bio) have methods that are easier to falsify
IS NOT - Easy to find supporting studies and the psychodynamic approach cannot be falsified

Question 9

Define ‘replication’.

Answer 9

The ability to accurately reproduce something correctly, such as the procedure of a study in order to compare to test for consistency.

Question 10

Using examples, explain how ‘replication’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 10

IS - Lab experiments use high control and standardised procedures that can be easily replicated (e.g. Baddeley 1966)
IS NOT - Some methods are more complex that cannot be standardised (e.g. unstructured interviews in clinical)

Question 11

Define ‘control’.

Answer 11

A variable that is kept the same throughout the experiment.

Question 12

Using examples, explain how ‘control’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 12

IS - Lab experiments have high control due to standardised procedures formed from testing variables
IS NOT - Methods such as observations have EVs that aren’t always identifiable and controllable, control limits realism, correlations have no control, difficult to operationalise abstract concepts

Question 13

Define ‘predictions’.

Answer 13

A hypothesis that is formed based on an assumption of what will happen that is tested to get disproved.

Question 14

Using examples, explain how ‘predictions’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 14

IS - Theories can lead to real life predictions (e.g. Behaviourism with conditioning techniques)
IS NOT - Too general for precision (e.g. Schizophrenia has many predictions such as dopamine hypothesis and social causation)

Question 15

Define ‘generalisation’.

Answer 15

Applying a behaviour to a wider population.

Question 16

Using examples, explain how ‘human generalisation’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 16

IS - Random sampling methods avoid bias (e.g. stratified)
IS NOT - Pre 1970s studies were often white middle class men from USA (e.g. Milgram's 1963) with current ones often being volunteer students (e.g. Loftus and Palmer 1974)

Question 17

Using examples, explain how ‘animal generalisation’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 17

IS - Evolution of species led to similar traits with rats having similar CNS to humans
IS NOT - Evolutionary discontinuity for animals due to humans being further along with different environments

Question 18

Define ‘validity’.

Answer 18

Accurately measuring what is sought to be measured with research.

Question 19

Using examples, explain how ‘validity’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 19

IS - Lab experiments are more objective and free from bias with the ability to establish cause and effect (e.g. Meltzer’s 2014 use of placebos)
IS NOT - DCs can cause bias as well as other forms of bias such as researcher

Question 20

Define ‘reductionism’.

Answer 20

Simplifying something to certain aspects of it that is used to explain the whole.

Question 21

Define ‘holism’.

Answer 21

Looking at something as a whole to explain something.

Question 22

Using examples, explain how ‘reductionism/holism’ suggests that psychology IS and IS NOT a science.

Answer 22

IS - Reductionism makes concepts measurable

IS NOT - Holism is less measurable and less scientific

Question 23

Using examples, describe how social psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 23

• Lab experiments (e.g. Milgram 1963) have high control for cause and effect
• Abstract concepts such as prejudice can be operationalised to become reductionist and measurable like friendship levels (e.g. Sherif 1954)
• Questionnaires and surveys can be replicated easily and use quantitative objective
• 2 researchers can can agree on themes for thematic analysis

Question 24

Using examples, describe how social psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 24

• Field experiments have low control over extraneous variables so cannot establish cause and effect (e.g. Sherif 1954)
• Questionnaires are open to bias from social desirability, acquiescence bias, and researcher bias from interpreting open questions
• Humans studying humans can never be objective

Question 25

Using examples, describe how cognitive psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 25

• Lab experiments (e.g. Baddeley 1966) use standardised procedures that can be replicated easily
• Reductionism of memory is scientific (e.g. Baddeley 1966 with word lists)
• Memory is universal and so has a unified paradigm
• Brain scans for memory impairments being due to brain impairment
• Evidence of a hypothetico-deductive model in Baddeley 1966 who adapted his experiment to separate the STM and LTM encoding

Question 26

Using examples, describe how cognitive psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 26

• There isn’t a unified paradigm due to no definitive test for memory
• Case studies (e.g. KF suffered memory impairment from motorcycle accident and had impaired verbal recall as opposed to visual)
• Bartlett’s research created his theory which is not a hypothetico-deductive model

Question 27

Using examples, describe how biological psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 27

• Brain scans (e.g. Raine 1997 using a PET scan) are scientific
• Can generalise animal studies on the CNS of rats, etc to humans (Wagner 1979 with castrated rats)
• Lab experiments have high control for cause and effect and standardised procedures for replication
• Reductionist when looking at areas of the brain being responsible for certain behaviours

Question 28

Using examples, describe how biological psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 28

• Correlations have no control over variables and cannot establish cause and effect
• Case studies (e.g. Charles Whitman) have complex procedures involving different methods
• No unified paradigm as there are multiple explanations for aggression
• Twin studies never have 100% concordance rate
• Evolutionary discontinuity means can’t generalise animal research on aggression as different social environments

Question 29

Using examples, describe how learning psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 29

• Lab experiments (e.g. Watson and Rayner 1920) have standardised procedures to allow high replication
• Unified paradigm on seeking to find how behaviours are learnt with different theories
• High predictions from learning theories for the development of things like anorexia
• Animal research on behaviour (e.g. Thorndike 1898 and his cats)
• Inter-rater reliability with methods like observations (e.g. Bandura 1961)

Question 30

Using examples, describe how learning psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 30

• Observations (e.g. Bandura 1961) can be subjective when interpreting behaviour as humans studying humans can never be objective
• Field studies have low control over EVs meaning lower validity with cause and effect of measuring what is sought to be measured
• Animal studies on behaviour are not fully generalisable due to qualitative differences in the brain as a result of evolutionary discontinuity
• Behaviours can be hard to operationalise

Question 31

Using examples, describe how criminal psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 31

• Uses biological explanations to explain criminal behaviour which use scientific methods such as brain scans (e.g. brain structure)
• Lab experiments have high control (e.g. Loftus and Palmer to test EWT) and are standardised
• Social explanations for criminality are reductionist (e.g. labelling theory and SFP and so easily measurable

Question 32

Using examples, describe how criminal psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 32

• Case studies (e.g. psychological case formulation) have complex procedures that are harder to replicate
• Case studies about unique criminals are harder to generalise to other people due to their uniqueness
• Field experiments in EWT have lower control over variables that can affect what is being measured
• CBT is more holistic in its approach by combining biological and social factors for behaviour and so less sicentific

Question 33

Using examples, describe how clinical psychology suggests psychological IS a science.

Answer 33

• DSM and ICD are objective with the standardised manuals to follow when diagnosing
• Brain scans are used to compare the brains of patients with mental illnesses
• Animal research is often done to test the effects of drugs on rats with symptoms of mental disorders which can be generalised to humans
• Explanations for disorders are reductionist
• Accurate predictions can be made from learning theories, etc on the development of a disorder (e.g. Nasser 1986 Cairo vs London for Egyptian people)

Question 34

Using examples, describe how clinical psychology suggests psychological IS NOT a science.

Answer 34

• Diagnostic interviews are unstructured and gain qualitative data which is harder to replicate and measure
• Subjective interpretation of symptoms
• Interviewer bias on what the patients disclose
• Case studies (e.g. Luk and Agoha 2014) are harder to replicate due to their unique and complex nature with a more holistic approach
• Correlational data doesn’t establish cause and effect (e.g. social causation hypothesis)
• Carlsson 2012 used secondary data so can’t be sure all methods were standardised or free from bias