Common Sense Psychology
What distinguishes Scientific Psychology from Common-Sense or Popular Psychology? In your essay give at least one example of an investigation in psychology of a scientific nature and the reasons why this investigation can be considered to be a scientific contribution.
The scientific method is the way that scientific psychologists gain knowledge about behaviour and the mental processes. The scientific method is a general approach to gaining knowledge through observations and the collection of data in order to answer questions. There are several steps in the scientific process which are the initial observation, in which the experimenter gathers information and forms a hypothesis. The experimenter subsequently tests the hypothesis and then research is conducted. The data is analysed and a conclusion can be drawn. The experimenter reports their findings to the scientific community. Further research is carried out to support the original hypothesis and a new hypothesis is derived from the theory. These answers can be further used to give an understanding of the world (Passer, Smith, Holt, Bremner, Sutherland and Vliek, 2009). There are different methods which are considered scientific in psychology. These methods include observations, surveys and experiments. Knowledge which is not based on scientific evidence or on the scientific method is referred to as pseudoscience or common sense. In common sense a psychological theory cannot empirically be falsified either. Apart from the idiosyncratic experimental construction there are no grounds that establish their temporary truth in the first place. The falsification on a purely empirical level cannot be sufficient. Thus theories are intrinsically related to a common sense that typically requires proof and disproof to be established on several levels (Jury, 1994). Common sense psychology is also referred to as natural psychology, everyday and lay beliefs and folk psychology. Common sense psychology questions
The scientific method is the way that scientific psychologists gain knowledge about behaviour and the mental processes. The scientific method is a general approach to gaining knowledge through observations and the collection of data in order to answer questions. There are several steps in the scientific process which are the initial observation, in which the experimenter gathers information and forms a hypothesis. The experimenter subsequently tests the hypothesis and then research is conducted. The data is analysed and a conclusion can be drawn. The experimenter reports their findings to the scientific community. Further research is carried out to support the original hypothesis and a new hypothesis is derived from the theory. These answers can be further used to give an understanding of the world (Passer, Smith, Holt, Bremner, Sutherland and Vliek, 2009). There are different methods which are considered scientific in psychology. These methods include observations, surveys and experiments. Knowledge which is not based on scientific evidence or on the scientific method is referred to as pseudoscience or common sense. In common sense a psychological theory cannot empirically be falsified either. Apart from the idiosyncratic experimental construction there are no grounds that establish their temporary truth in the first place. The falsification on a purely empirical level cannot be sufficient. Thus theories are intrinsically related to a common sense that typically requires proof and disproof to be established on several levels (Jury, 1994). Common sense psychology is also referred to as natural psychology, everyday and lay beliefs and folk psychology. Common sense psychology questions