Stanovich How To Think Straight About Psychology Summary

Psychological studies are mainly based on the direct observation of human behavior, rather than reasoning or speculation. Psychology is like any other subject- the majority of people have a very shallow and basic understanding of what the study involves, and yet they lack a crucial knowledge of the major struggles and disagreements among those who study it. It does not surprise me that psychology is one of the more popular majors available. By nature, it sparks human curiosity, especially as to what contributes to the system of our thoughts and the pattern in our behaviors. For the first eighteen

There has been a lot of debate about whether psychology is considered a science or not. According to the article, “ Is Psychology a “real” science? Does it really matter” by Ashutosh Jogalekar, comes to the conclusion that psychology is not a real science, however I disagree. Jogalekar brings up the facts that psychology does not meet the requirements for it to be considered a scientific field. The requirements that he lists are, “clearly defined terminology, quantifiability, highly controlled experimental conditions, reproducibility, and predictability and testability”, (Jogalekar, 2013). The article explains why this field does not meet the requirements, however there is evidence that psychology does.

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, psychology is useful in many ways.

Psychology can be presented by the media in forms such as magazine or newspaper articles, and the most popular today is through commercials watched on TV. Psychology is presented in a form of science today compared to what it was viewed as in the late 1800s and onto the 1900s. It is more of a science nature because viewers have to think about the meaning of the article or commercial to understand the message that is being presented. Then, psychology was viewed as a form or common sense. Psychology was never really looked at as a science but rather as philosophy in the 1980s. The public was often confused with the subject of psychology because it was always

did prior to taking the class. At the beginning of the semester, I was asked to

Psychology is a science that is normally subjected to an argument. There is also criticism of psychology has not been around long enough to develop a standard, or had established a system of ideas that has been accepted by most specialists in the public, and also lacks the important characteristics of a science. Psychology has roots in other fields including the non-scientific disciplines such as philosophy, which makes it even harder to classify it with the traditional science such as biology and chemistry.

When people hear that you are majoring in psychology, there are some negative connotations that come with it. As a science, psychology isn’t taken seriously, and is only thought of as a pseudoscience. Of course, this isn’t the case. As a student of psychology I know how arduous it can be and I believe that psychology deserves a lot more respect than it gets. The skewed view of psychology that the public has begins with the media. Psychology is marketed in the form of self-help books, TV shows like Dr.Phil where “patients” problems are solved within a 45 minute reality TV show, and arbitrary books about ESP. These all make psychology seem like sensationalized intuition or an absurd theory. There is also “The Freud Problem”.

Explanations of narcolepsy are in majority biological. Scientists have discovered that narcoleptics often are lacking in hypocretin which is a chemical in the brain that control sleep and wakefulness. A lack of this chemical may explain the sudden attacks of sleep.

In order to be considered a science, Psychology must consequently adhere to using a scientific method. If this were, as usual,

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.

The field of psychology is still gaining it legitimacy in social circles. Pop culture has defined, labeled, psychology as the science for crazies. Therapists are “shrinks” and a schizophrenic patient is strapped into a white vest, writhing around in a florescent padded room. These are the images given to us by film and television. It’s easier

One of the oldest methods of research is the case study, in which psychologist study one or more individuals in great depth with the hope of an accomplishment of revealing true to all persons. Sigmund Freud came up with his theory of personality from a series of case studies. Case studies can be misleading, unrepresented knowledge of the individual can lead to a false conclusion.

Psychology is as ancient as mankind. The concept of psychology has been dated back to 600 B.C. Early Greek philosophers examined, theorized human traits and their actions; their studies are now to be considered and known as psychology. Mankind has molded psychology throughout decades into what it is today - the study of the human mind and the way it affects one's behavior. Psychotherapy and ESP, extrasensory perception, are techniques that are used to improve human health and well-being and their efficacy is widely debated.

There has been much debate and controversy over the work of Sigmund Freud for many reasons such as his ideas about human sexuality, his seemingly outrageous theories for his time period, and the success of his psychoanalytic method of therapy, but perhaps the most interesting issue with Freud’s work is the claim that it may not be scientific. This would first depend on your definition of the word science. According to sciencecouncil.org, “Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence”. If you go by this definition, then I believe that you could possibly make the argument that some of Freud’s theories and life work are scientific solely based on the fact that he applied knowledge and understanding of different mental unconscious functions based on evidence that he collected in case histories. He used these case histories, which are detailed documents of patients that he treated, to form hypotheses. But that doesn’t encompass all of Freudian theory. Take the topographical model for example. According to Freud’s early explanation, the human mind acts as an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg, the part is available for humans to think about and work with, is the conscious. This is then followed by the preconscious, which is things that you can introspect upon and remember. Then there is the ever so vast unconscious, which is not

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.