1.7: The Science of Psychology (Summary)

Key Takeaways

• Knowledge is acquired in many ways including intuition, authority, rationalism, empiricism, and the scientific method
• Science is a general way of understanding the natural world. Its three fundamental features are systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge.
• Psychology is a science because it takes the scientific approach to understanding human behavior.
• Pseudoscience refers to beliefs and activities that are claimed to be scientific but lack one or more of the three features of science. It is important to distinguish the scientific approach to understanding human behavior from the many pseudoscientific approaches.
• Psychologists conduct research in order to describe basic phenomenon, to make predictions about future behaviors, and to explain the causes of behavior.
• Basic research is conducted to learn about human behavior for its own sake, and applied research is conducted to solve some practical problem. Both are valuable, and the distinction between the two is not always clear-cut.
• People’s intuitions about human behavior, also known as folk psychology, often turn out to be wrong. This is one primary reason that psychology relies on science rather than common sense.
• Researchers in psychology cultivate certain critical-thinking attitudes. One is skepticism. They search for evidence and consider alternatives before accepting a claim about human behavior as true. Another is tolerance for uncertainty. They withhold judgment about whether a claim is true or not when there is insufficient evidence to decide.
• Scientific research in psychology is conducted mainly by people with doctoral degrees in psychology and related fields, most of whom are college and university faculty members. They do so for professional and for personal reasons, as well as to contribute to scientific knowledge about human behavior. Most psychologists are experimental psychologists and they conduct research.
• The clinical practice of psychology—the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems—is one important application of the scientific discipline of psychology.
• Scientific research is relevant to clinical practice because it provides detailed and accurate knowledge about psychological problems and establishes whether treatments are effective.

Key Terms and Concepts

INTUITION

Relying on gut feelings, hunches, or immediate impressions rather than systematic evidence or logical analysis.

AUTHORITY

Accepting information as true because it comes from a respected or expert source.

RATIONALISM

Using logical reasoning to derive conclusions from accepted premises.

EMPIRICISM

Gaining knowledge through direct observation and experience; a core foundation of scientific inquiry.

SCIENCE

A systematic approach to knowledge that involves making observations, forming theories, and testing predictions.

EMPIRICAL QUESTIONS

Questions that can be answered through systematic observation and experimentation.

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

Scientific knowledge that is shared openly so others can review, criticize, and build upon it.

PSEUDOSCIENCE

Claims or practices that appear scientific but lack empirical support, falsifiability, or legitimate scientific methods.

FALSIFIABLE

A claim or hypothesis that can potentially be proven wrong through observation or experiment.

TO DESCRIBE

To systematically observe and record behaviors or phenomena.

TO PREDICT

To forecast when, where, or how behaviors or events will occur based on observations.

TO EXPLAIN

To identify the causes or mechanisms underlying behaviors or phenomena.

BASIC RESEARCH

Research conducted to advance scientific knowledge without immediate practical application.

APPLIED RESEARCH

Research designed to solve practical problems or improve real-world situations.

FOLK PSYCHOLOGY

Commonsense beliefs and intuitions about human behavior and mental processes.

HEURISTICS

Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make judgments quickly.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

The tendency to seek out and interpret information in ways that confirm our existing beliefs.

TOLERANCE FOR UNCERTAINTY

The ability to accept that scientific knowledge is always tentative and subject to revision.

CLINICAL PRACTICE OF PSYCHOLOGY—

The diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

EMPIRICALLY SUPPORTED TREATMENTS

Psychotherapy techniques that have been shown through rigorous research to be effective for specific disorders.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY [Ph.D.]

A doctoral degree emphasizing research training and original scientific contribution.

Test Your Knowledge (answers at end of section)

1. 1. The scientific method is best described as:

   A. Using intuition to understand behavior

   B. Accepting information from authority figures

   C. A process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence

   D. Relying on common sense and folk psychology

   2. A researcher concludes that 'all swans are white' after observing 100 white swans. This conclusion primarily demonstrates the limitations of:

   A. Authority as a method of knowing

   B. Rationalism when premises are flawed

   C. Empiricism when generalizing from limited observations

   D. Intuition when making rapid judgments

   3. Systematic empiricism refers to:

   A. Learning based on personal intuition

   B. Carefully planning, recording, and analyzing observations

   C. Accepting knowledge from respected authorities

   D. Using logic alone without observation

   4. According to Karl Popper, a claim that 'psychic powers disappear when observed too closely' is problematic because it:

   A. Lacks systematic empiricism and has never been tested

   B. Is unfalsifiable since no observation could count as evidence against it

   C. Does not create public knowledge through peer-reviewed publication

   D. Addresses value judgments rather than empirical questions

   5. The primary purpose of basic research in psychology is to:

   A. Solve immediate practical problems

   B. Achieve detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior

   C. Develop new therapeutic treatments

   D. Test the effectiveness of medications

   6. A researcher who surveys medical marijuana patients to identify which conditions they treat, then uses that data to predict that a new patient likely experiences pain, has progressed from which goal of science to which goal?

   A. From predict to describe

   B. From describe to predict

   C. From explain to predict

   D. From predict to explain

   7. Which of the following best explains why common sense can be unreliable?

   A. It is based on systematic observation

   B. It relies on scientific evidence

   C. It is influenced by confirmation bias and mental shortcuts

   D. It always produces accurate predictions

   8. The finding that 'letting out' anger by punching something actually increases anger rather than relieving it demonstrates that:

   A. Folk psychology beliefs can persist despite contradicting scientific evidence

   B. Empirical research is biased and cannot test common sense beliefs

   C. People's intuitions about emotion are always accurate

   D. Scientific skepticism prevents researchers from discovering truth

   9. Clinical practice in psychology primarily involves:

   A. Conducting laboratory experiments

   B. Diagnosing and treating psychological disorders

   C. Developing psychological theories

   D. Publishing research in scientific journals

   10. Research showing that adult children of alcoholics are no more likely to have low self-esteem or intimacy difficulties than anyone else illustrates the importance of:

   A. Using intuition rather than empirical testing in clinical practice

   B. Empirically supported treatments over widely believed but untested claims

   C. Relying on popular books and websites for treatment decisions

   D. Clinical experience as more valuable than scientific research

   Answer Key with Explanations

   1. C - A process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence

   The scientific method is defined as a process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and answer questions. While scientists may use intuition and rationalism to generate ideas, they don't stop there—they use systematic empiricism to test their ideas through careful observation.

   2. C - Empiricism when generalizing from limited observations

   This question tests understanding of empiricism's limitations. The statement that 'all swans are white' is incorrect because there are black swans in Australia. While empiricism (observation) is at the heart of science, we are limited in what we can observe, and our observations can be incomplete. This demonstrates why science requires systematic empiricism, not just casual observation. The researcher observed accurately but generalized inappropriately from limited geographic sampling.

   3. B - Carefully planning, recording, and analyzing observations

   Systematic empiricism is a fundamental feature of science. Scientists learn about the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of it. This distinguishes scientific observation from casual everyday observation.

   4. B - Is unfalsifiable since no observation could count as evidence against it

   Popper argued that any scientific claim must be expressed in such a way that there are observations that would—if they were made—count as evidence against the claim. The psychic powers claim is problematic because if the psychic succeeds, it supports the claim, but if she fails, believers can say powers disappeared when observed too closely. Thus, no possible observation counts as evidence against it, making it unfalsifiable and therefore pseudoscientific.

   5. B - Achieve detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior

   Basic research is conducted primarily for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular practical problem. Applied research, in contrast, is conducted to address practical problems.

   6. B - From describe to predict

   This question requires understanding the progression of scientific goals: describe (making careful observations, such as surveying patients about conditions treated), predict (using observed regularities to predict future events, such as predicting a new patient likely has pain), and explain (determining causes). The researcher first described patterns through observation, then used those patterns to make predictions. This demonstrates how scientific knowledge builds from description to prediction to explanation.

   7. C - It is influenced by confirmation bias and mental shortcuts

   Forming accurate beliefs requires powers of observation, memory, and analysis to an extent that we do not naturally possess, so we rely on mental shortcuts (heuristics). We also tend to focus on cases that confirm our beliefs (confirmation bias) while ignoring contradictory evidence.

   8. A - Folk psychology beliefs can persist despite contradicting scientific evidence

   The author presents this anger example to show how folk psychology (intuitive beliefs about behavior) can be wrong. Despite scientific evidence showing that 'letting out' anger increases rather than decreases it (Bushman, 2002), many people continue to believe in catharsis. This demonstrates why we cannot rely solely on common sense or intuition—our intuitive beliefs can persist even when contradicted by systematic empirical research. It illustrates the need for scientific skepticism and empirical testing of widely-held beliefs.

   9. B - Diagnosing and treating psychological disorders

   Clinical practice can be broadly described as the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems. This includes the work of clinical and counseling psychologists, school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and licensed clinical social workers.

   10. B - Empirically supported treatments over widely believed but untested claims

   Although dozens of books and thousands of websites claim that adult children of alcoholics have distinct personality problems, scientific research shows they are no more likely to have these problems than anyone else. This illustrates several key points: (1) plausible-sounding claims may be false, (2) popularity and expert endorsement don't guarantee accuracy, (3) we cannot rely on intuition or common sense about psychological issues, and (4) the importance of empirically supported treatments.

   References

American Psychological Association. (2011). About APA. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about

Bushman, B. J. (2002). Does venting anger feed or extinguish the flame? Catharsis, rumination, distraction, anger, and aggressive responding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 724–731.

Gilovich, T. (1991). How we know what isn’t so: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. New York, NY: Free Press.

Gladwell, M. E. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking (9th ed.). New York: Little, Brown & Co.

Hines, T. M. (1998). Comprehensive review of biorhythm theory. Psychological Reports, 83, 19–64.

Johnson, D. J., Cheung, F., & Donnellan, M. B. (2013). Does cleanliness influence moral judgments? A direct replication of Schnall, Benton, and Harvey (2008). Social Psychology, 45(3), 209-215. doi: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000186

Kassin, S. M., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (2004). The psychology of confession evidence: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 33–67.

Klein, R. A., Ratliff, K. A., Vianello, M., Adams, R. B., Bahník, S., Bernstein, M. J., . . . Nosek, B. A. (2013). Investigating variation in replicability: A “many labs” replication project. Social Psychology, 45(3), 142-152. doi: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000178

Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., & Beyerstein, B. L. (2010). 50 great myths of popular psychology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62, 220–233.

Mehl, M. R., Vazire, S., Ramirez-Esparza, N., Slatcher, R. B., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2007). Are women really more talkative than men? Science, 317, 82.

Norcross, J. C., Beutler, L. E., & Levant, R. F. (Eds.). (2005). Evidence-based practices in mental health: Debate and dialogue on the fundamental questions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Popper, K. R. (2002). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. New York, NY: Routledge.

Schnall, S., Benton, J., & Harvey, S. (2008). With a clean conscience: Cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1219-1222. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02227.x

Sexton, M., Cuttler, C., Finnell, J., & Mischley, L (2016). A cross-sectional survey of medical cannabis users: Patterns of use and perceived efficacy. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 1, 131-138. doi: 10.1089/can.2016.0007.

Stanovich, K. E. (2010). How to think straight about psychology (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Exercises

• Practice: Consider three things you know and determine how you acquired that knowledge (authority, intuition, rationalism, empiricism, the scientific method).
• Practice: Try to generate different research questions to describe, predict, and explain a phenomenon that interests you.
• Practice: Based on your own experience or on things you have already learned about psychology, list three basic research questions and three applied research questions of interest to you.
• Practice: List three empirical questions about human behavior. List three nonempirical questions about human behavior.
• Practice: For each of the following intuitive beliefs about human behavior, list three reasons that it might be true and three reasons that it might not be true:
  • You cannot truly love another person unless you love yourself.
  • People who receive “crisis counseling” immediately after experiencing a traumatic event are better able to cope with that trauma in the long term.
  • Studying is most effective when it is always done in the same location.

Watch the following video, in which psychologist Scott Lilienfeld talks about confirmation bias, tunnel vision, and using evidence to evaluate the world around us:

Dr. Scott Lilienfeld talks about confirmation bias, tunnel vision, and using evidence to evaluate the world around us: https://youtu.be/Eut8jMfSA_

• Discussion: Consider the following psychological claim. “People’s choice of spouse is strongly influenced by their perception of their own parents. Some choose a spouse who is similar in some way to one of their parents. Others choose a spouse who is different from one of their parents.” Is this claim falsifiable? Why or why not?
• Discussion: People sometimes suggest that psychology cannot be a science because either (a) human behavior cannot be predicted with perfect accuracy or (b) much of its subject matter (e.g., thoughts and feelings) cannot be observed directly. Do you agree or disagree with each of these ideas? Why?
• Watch the following video by PHD Comics for an overview of open access publishing and why it matters:

Open Access Explained! https://youtu.be/L5rVH1KGBCY

• Discussion: Some clinicians argue that what they do is an “art form” based on intuition and personal experience and therefore cannot be evaluated scientifically. Write a paragraph about how satisfied you would be with such a clinician and why from each of three perspectives:
  • a potential client of the clinician
  • a judge who must decide whether to allow the clinician to testify as an expert witness in a child abuse case
  • an insurance company representative who must decide whether to reimburse the clinician for their services
• Practice: Create a short list of questions that a client could ask a clinician to determine whether they pay sufficient attention to scientific research.