Psychology As A Science

Psychology being categorised under the name acquisition, place very much lead to disputes inwardly the field of experiences. Psychology is the observation of behaviour and approximation process of the human mind, at heart itself it is a critical source of knowledge, much(prenominal) as how biological science, chemis furnish and physics go outs a source of knowledge that is vital to humans and the environment. Science can be seen as the take of vivid behaviours and physical fonts of the world, this definition within itself accompanies itself with the idea that psychological science is a science, as behaviours are studied within the field of psychological science.Eysenck and Keane (2000) believed that to make something a science it must have the following features, checkerled observation, in which a specific use of goods and ser valetudinarianisms is observed to see the effects. Secondly objectivity, as when data has been collected objectively it reduces the possibili ty of bias, thirdly testing theoretical predictions, because if a guess is not tested on that point is no evidence to provide if it is right or malign.Fourthly is falsifiability, which means the scientific system has the potential to be proved wrong by evidence, fifthly is the unifying theory which is every subject within the sciences has a unifying approach tout ensemble theories are based off. lastly there is the fact of is any research conducted replicable, as it is hard to swear on studies that could provide inconsistent findings. Although providing clear guidelines on what makes a science, there are still some aspects which make the divide not as clear as believed.For eccentric psychological science uses the scientific method in some of the studies conducted, which is used throughout science for all research, so this aspect can be seen to make psychology a science. Too some(prenominal) the field of psychology is classed as a science the science of the mind, as it looks at the most complex thing on Earth, the human mind, all theories on behaviours and thoughts stem from psychology (BBC, 2013).In many areas psychology and the three sciences (physics, biology and chemistry) have similarities, for example, the sciences can be seen as reductionist as they try to take a complex behaviour or physical job and break it down in to a simpler form. Many theories within psychology on similar problems can also be seen as reductionist as it drifts to take complex behaviours and thoughts and break it down in to easier components to flying field.An example of this can be shown by Freud (1909), Freud believes behaviour stems from the unconscious mind, making it a reductionist as it does not take biology or another(prenominal) factors in to account. Reductionism can be seen to be an advantage when it comes to conducting a study as it means testable predictions can be created, and whence can be carried out in a controlled experiment. Although by making a reduct ionist theory can also cause disadvantages much(prenominal) as falsifiability. Popper (1963) believed falsifiability was nominate to science, as science does not seek to prove its own theory right, only when tries to confirm it as wrong.This means that if a theory is un-falsifiable then it is not scientific, psychology in many sectors is falsifiable through problems such as reductionism, but there are also theories that are un-falsifiable as they are untestable such as many of Freuds (1909) theories display, for example the Oedipus complex can neither be proven nor disproven. As well as having issues with falsifiability psychology also lacks the objectivity needed for science to make it truly scientific, as without objectivity the research is prone to becoming bias.Even in experiments such as Skinners (1956) rat experiment can be shown to be subjective, because although the rat is wardrobe the prise and the lever presses are recorded automatically, it is still down to the fait h of the researcher on when he believes the rat has learnt by pressing the lever they get a treat. This can be counteracted on the bases that psychology has the grotesque position of studying the human mind which in itself is difficult to operationalize, as not all parts of the behaviour and thoughts can be metrical scientifically, which unlike atomic mass or miles per hour in science can be.Science within itself can also come across sturdy issues over control and objectivity. An example of this is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa. (Heisenberg, 1972) which means if something is precisely measured, and a hypothesis is believed to be true, it can oftentimes distant the researcher from the actual result. An issue with measuring investigations using the scientific method in general is it can restrict and affect answers within itself.An example is it can be ar gued that laboratory experiments are very artificial, so do not provide a clear picture of what would perish in real life terms. As well as overlap similarities with science on the basis they twain have issues with control and objectivity, they both also share the same goals. They have three aims, the prediction, understanding and control over a study. Scientists and psychologists both put a theory forward, these theories in both cases lead to a creation of a hypotheses, this is the prediction.The next pervert is the understanding which is when you receive results from a prediction it should give the researcher and anyone rendition the report a greater understanding of that subject. Control is the final step, the knowledge gained from the proven hypothesis provides knowledge which can be used to demasculinize certain factors in the world. The three aims of science are according to Allport (1947), psychology follows these same three aims throughout studies, reporting and publis hing work erect as biology, chemistry and physics do.Throughout psychology the scientific method is used, but not in all areas although science has default problems itself with the scientific method. So it cannot always be said subjects within science always start within the scientific boundaries themselves. Another point within psychology is psychology is a new science, biology, chemistry and physics have been in receipts for a good period longer, so it may be in time more likely to be classed as a science.Nevertheless miller (1983) would argue psychology is just a pseudoscience, an approach that claims to be scientific but does not have the key principles of science, he claims this can be dangerous as psychology is claiming to be a science, it provides the false type that their findings is fact. Although in comparison it could be argued that there is no ultimate knowledge of humans behaviours and thoughts, so there must be a science to take over this role of discovering behav iours and thoughts.Science may study the physical aspects of the brain e. g. hormones that can be proven through experimental evidence, but it does not study the unknown areas such as behaviours, this is where psychology can provide answers. For example Piagets (1966) stages of conveyment theory, that people develop starting at the pre-concrete stage and move throughout these stages until they reach the baronial stage, science does not provide an answer for how humans develop in this sense.In conclusion psychology may seem like a undefinedsubject with no clear goals or guidelines, but it does have aims, its aim is to study the mind, the way people behave and think. Science still has unaccountable occurrences, that have no empirical evidence so in criminal cannot be falsified, which in itself should make it not scientific. Psychology can provide answers for what science cannot explain, such as how memories are stored, psychology provides a theory for this whereas science does n ot. In conclusion psychology can be seen as a science to explain human behaviour that other sciences cannot.