1. Define Psychology. Is psychology a science? Elucidate your answer with relevant arguments.
DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology has been defined in different ways.Some people have defined psychology as an art.Other people have defined psychology as a science.Many text books define psychology as the science of mind and behavior.Psychology involves the study of human nature and/or behavior.Different opinions come from different perspectives.
Eric Pettifor at GIGANTOPITHECUS defines psychology as "an art which presents itself as science".
H.D.Hamm Ph.D.,who authored and maintains a site for Northern Michigan University,defines psychology as the "scientific study of the behavior of humans and animals".
Tom Bolling at the University of
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But this conclusion sidesteps some evaluation points that can be used to determine whether the existence of scientific research within a field grants scientific status to the field itself.Here are the points: A. Does research address and potentially falsify one or more core theories that define the field? B. Does research honor the null hypothesis? C. Does research have the potential to change how the field is practiced?
Point A
Does research address and potentially falsify one or more core theories that define the field?Does the scientifically valid result make psychology itself scientific?No,of course not.Why?Because,regardless of its practical significance,research doesn't address or potentially falsify the core theories.When psychologists perform research,some of the results pass muster as legitimate science,but unless those results address and potentially falsify the core theories of psychology,the research cannot confer a scientific status to psychology itself.To summarize,for criterion (A) to be satisfied,psychology must have a theoretical core of testable,falsifiable theories and ongoing research must address and potentially falsify those theories.On this ground,psychology fails Point A.
Point B
Does research honor the null hypothesis?The "null hypothesis" is a scientific precept that says assertions are assumed to be false
mind and behavior”. A fuller description is offered by the NHS “Psychology is a science
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, psychology is useful in many ways.
Psychology is defined by Merriam-Webster, as the science of mind and behavior. It is a study of how an individual's psyche can be created, developed, altered or destroyed. Carol Gilligan, a Harvard Graduate School professor, for many years has analyzed the psychological theory and development, specifically in a book entitled In A Different Voice.
1. Barry reached into his bag of M&Ms and pulled out three pieces of candy, each of which was red. All of the M&Ms in Barry's bag are the (sample/population) of M&Ms. The three that he took out are the (sample/population).
There are many different sub - fields of psychology, however it is possible to draw similarities and differences to all aspects of these fields. The main fields deal with the different approaches used by various psychologists throughout history. Whilst there are no 100% correct theories in Psychology to help to
2. Choose one of the research questions from above and consider it in more detail. Based upon the question, what would be a reasonable hypothesis?
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior of human beings. Some areas
Psychology, according to the textbook definition, is the study of behaviour and mind. However, there is much more to it. Through psychology, we can discover the inner workings of our minds and begin to explain certain phenomena. By studying psychology, people can try to answer questions that have been asked for so long such as: Do we have free will or are we instead driven by environmental, biology, or unconscious influences? What is mental illness and how is it caused and treated? Why do we dream, and, even further, what is the context of our dream and its meaning?? How are our mental states affected by our physical states? By exploring the deep, gruesome areas of our minds,
Studies such as the afore mentioned Milgram study showed that what may appear to be the most expected outcome may, in truth, be very different. I would also go on to argue that in actuality all sciences are some adaptation of common sense (Oppenheimer, 1956), leaving Psychology in this way, no different to any of the others. Ben Goldacre even argues that particular forms of science, such as neuroscience, regularly offer empirically incorrect research in reputable journals, claiming statistically significant results without the appropriate statistical tests (Guardian).
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (Feldman, 2013, p.5). The simplistic definition is actual very complex, as it includes a persons thought, emotions, perceptions, reasoning process, memories, and their biological activates that maintain their bodily functions (Feldman, 2013, p.5). Psychologists use the scientific method in order to describe, predict, and explain human behavior (Feldman, 2013, p.5). This is done to achieve an understanding of what or why a person does what they do, in order to help people improve their lives, with out the need for speculation.
* Refers to the private thoughts, emotions, feelings, and motives that other people can not directly observe.
Psychology is the study of the science of the mind and the resulting behaviour. Looking to understand and explain to an extent how we think, act and feel. There are many branches of psychology looking at treatments of mental health issues, studying a variety of issues that may impact our health and daily life’s.
Psychology is defined as the study of the human mind and its functions the mind is studied through experimentation and observation and just like the other sciences, needs empirical evidence, therefore, it is a science. There has always been a large debate about it though because the mind is such a tricky topic, some people even go on to call it an art which they back up with valid points. Psychology is different from many other sciences because it’s less concrete. For example in chemistry, biology and physics most things we learn about are laws, well in Psychology there are no laws that have been discovered yet. Because the mind is such a sensitive thing laws are tricky because there could always be one outcast, the same doesn’t apply for the other sciences though because if we are told that the mass of one Oxygen atom is 15.999 g/mol, we could never find one Oxygen atom that wasn’t 15.999 g/mol. As there are differences there are also similarities between Psychology and other sciences. One similarity as stated before is that psychology as all other sciences need empirical evidence to support claims and make theories and, for other sciences, laws. Another similarity is that things like “common sense” and popular opinion aren’t always the best to use to find answers you’re looking for.
Psychology is a study of mind and behavior. Psychological research is mostly focused on the relationship between thought, behavior and emotion; how one influences the other and what are the consequences of such interaction. Put simply, psychology is a field associated with the drive to understand the way human mind works. The topic is slightly enigmatic, but at the same time very challenging and complicated. Where representatives of the exact sciences depend on data, facts and figures, psychologists tend to rely on behavior. Seeing that the majority of work done by psychologists is
What I have learned about research is that it is a process, a scientific process that psychologist and scientist develop that includes many different approaches and that is carefully peer reviewed and evaluated. There is what is called the Scientific Approach where scientist have an idea or theory and based on their observation will either support the theory or the theory can be falsified by their peers. Data also goes through a review period before it is published in a scientific journal by scientist who have the knowledge and expertise to evaluate it.