Is psychology a science? i do believe so can you give me some feed back on this?

-- sharron d boykins (sharron.d.boykins@verizon.com), April 01, 2004

Answers

Please see the many previous answers to this question in the "History and Philosophy of Science" category.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), April 01, 2004.

Hi Sharron, A short answer might be that probably most academic people would say psychology is a science. A longer answer might deal with the controversy over the definition on science. A case might be made for a very strict definition of science, as a field that consistently backs up almost all of their field's commonly accepted theories with extremely accurate and reliable experimental data. I think this strict definition might be better seen as an ideal, since it would be so difficult for most commonly accepted scientific fields to meet. Take physics for example, where for certain phemeneon, there is extreme accuracy and reliability of measurement. Their highly sucessful field, however, has a 20th century history of many measurement errors and the need for several major paradigm shifts (e.g., relativity and quantum mechanics) to better interprete their data. There is still much controversy in physics today, but they are still often looked up to as a model science. A case also might be made for a very loose definition of science that would include all human activites involving theory development and exploration of the world. This approach might even include the exploratory activities characteristic of most young children. However, probably what most people have in mind a middle ground definition of science. This might might include most of the following relatively tangible things: history of developing research methods and instruments, coordinated theory and research, peer reviewed jounals, professional training, professional associations, and academic departments at universities. Using this middle ground definition, you might end up with dozens of broad scientific fields (including psychology). Some people might also like to argue that some scientific fields are "more scientific" than others. I hope this helps. Paul

-- Paul Kleinginna (pkleinginna@georgiasouthern.edu), April 01, 2004.