Essay on Psychology
Psychology uses the scientific method to study and concentrate on human/animal thinking and behavior. Psychology can be known to be scientific as it follows the empirical method. Empirical evidence is information taking by observation or experimentation. John Locke, David Hume, and David Hartley and many more were British empiricists who addressed the value of experience in the findings of knowledge. The main source of knowledge would be the world is a sensory experience which is information that comes to our senses or our inferences between the relationships of sensory facts. Empirical is often used with the concept of science which implies that science used observation, measurement of the world and collecting data in the environment. This view is in contrast with the Rationalists who accepted that knowledge is innate and inborn. All scientists use the empirical method. The scientist then analyse and evaluate this data to form theories that explain these observations.
Psychological research must reach such levels of criteria in order for it to be considered scientific. It must ensure that it has to be Replicable and precise. Replicable research must be repeated several times to ensure they receive the same results. If shown the same results it shows the truth of the original research. Researchers must make sure they evaluate there research and were they received the information from, and clearly explain how their experiment was structured and how they achieved them results. There are two main concepts for a scientific approach which are theory and hypothesis. There are many different forms of scientific methods that can be used such as, experiments, descriptive studies, case studies and surveys.
Scientific research is manipulated so that we observe the effect this has on something else to Control observation. Observations is our existing knowledge that determines our judgment and our viewpoint.
Using scientific methods with tight control of variables allows for cause and effect relationships to be determined. This together with replication adds strength and validity to the theories produced.
Sigmund Freud was one of the most influential scientists in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. It has been over 100 years since Freud published his theories, yet he still influences what we think about personality and the mind. Freud was best known for his theories of the unconscious mind, dreams, infantile sexuality, libido, repression, and transference, ego, and the superego.
Through the development of a novel observational method, Sigmund Freud made possible the collection of reliable data about man’s inner life. The scientific hypotheses he formulated about these formed the initial version of psychoanalysis. Many of these first thoughts have had to be revised in the light of subsequent scientific findings of the operations of the central nervous system, but even these refuted propositions often had much heuristic value. Despite the passage of a whole century, many Freudian hypotheses have retained their scientific standing. Most important among these was Freud’s realization that human thought is usually unconscious. His understanding of the role of the automatic repetition of basic patterns of behavior, of the fateful consequences of early childhood emotional vicissitudes in structuring enduring mental dispositions, and of the distinction between two distinct modes of thinking are the most significant among his many contributions.
Hi! I'm Amy,
your personal assistant!
Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.
get professional helpshort deadlines
100% Plagiarism-Free
Certified writers
