THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN PSYCHOLOGY Essays

THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN PSYCHOLOGY Essays THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN PSYCHOLOGY To read up on the application of scientific method in psychology, refer to pages 687-699 of Eysenck's A2 Level Psychology. Ask yourself What is the scientific method? Is psychology a science? What is peer review? What you need to know THE NATURE OF "SCIENCE" NON-SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS THE ROLE OF PEER REVIEW IN VALIDATING KNOWLEDGE Key features of science The scientific method, including theory construction, hypothesis testing, use of empirical methods, generation of laws/principles (e.g. Popper and Kuhn) Humanistic approaches Social constructionist approaches The steps in the scientific process The peer review process Criticisms of the process The importance of the process in validating knowledge THE NATURE OF "SCIENCE" There is reasonable agreement that the following are key features of science: Controlled observations: in most sciences it is typical for experiments to involve observing the effects of some specific manipulation, e.g. mixing two chemicals together. As applied to psychology, this generally involves observing the effects of some manipulation of the environment on participants' behaviour. Thus, the experimental method has the great advantage over other methods in that it allows us to have some confidence that the independent variable has influenced the dependent variable, and so cause and effect can be established. Objectivity: even if total objectivity (free from bias) is impossible, it is still important for data to be collected in a way as close to objectivity as possible. It is impossible to carry out research that is completely objective as Popper (1969, 1972, see A2 Level Psychology page 688) demonstrated in a now famous lecture, which involved him telling the audience, "Observe!" The obvious and immediate retort was, "Observe what?", which makes the point that no one ever observes without some idea of what they are looking for. Thus, scientific observation is always driven by what you expect to see and so cannot be free from bias. Testing theoretical predictions: scientific experiments are generally carried out to test the predictions of a theory. Theoretical predictions need to be tested because science advances when inadequate theories are replaced by ones that are more consistent with the data. Falsifiability: the notion that scientific theories can potentially be disproved by evidence. Popper (1969, see A2 Level Psychology page 690) argued that the hallmark of science is falsifiability and this is what distinguishes science from religions and pseudo-sciences such as psychoanalysis and Marxism. Scientists should form theories and hypotheses that can, potentially, be shown to be untrue by experimental tests. In scientific research a null hypothesis is stated; this predicts no difference between the conditions or an association between two variables. It is the null hypothesis that is actually the starting point and it is this that you are setting out to test, not the alternative hypothesis. Research mainly seeks to reject the null hypothesis although some research does seek to show no difference. Research that tests a hypothesis that can be rejected if not supported by the research findings is said to be falsifiable. However, there are a number of psychological theories that do not have a testable hypothesis because the concepts cannot be measured, and so they cannot be falsified, e.g. evolutionary and psychoanalytical theories. Replicability: the findings obtained by researchers need to be replicable or repeatable; it would be hard (or impossible) to base a science on inconsistent findings. Replicability of findings in psychology varies enormously as a function of the area of psychology under investigation and the type of study being performed. Replicability tends to be greatest when experiments are conducted in a carefully controlled way, and it tends to be lowest when the experimenter is unable to manipulate the variable or variables of interest. Thus, laboratory experiments permit a high degree of replicability, but are not without weaknesses. The fact they are replicable is because they are conducted in a controlled environment, but this also means they are artificial and so may not be generalisable to other settings, and therefore lack external validity. Paradigm: there is a generally accepted theoretical orientation or paradigm within a science. Thomas Kuhn (1962, 1970, 1977, see A2 Level Psychology page 693) argues that a paradigm is the most essential ingredient in a science. Kuhn (1962, see A2 Level Psychology page 694) argued that psychology has failed to develop a paradigm