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Psychology as a Science

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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 …show more content…

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

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