Psychology as Science 1
PSYCHOLOGY AS SCIENCE
Introduction
Anyone can casually observe and report behavior. It’s easy to make conclusions based on
this casual observation but such conclusions tend to be wrong. Psychologists cannot rely on
casual observation to arrive at conclusions. A more rigorous method is required and this is
the reason why we do research in psychology. The main purpose of this research is to help
us understand people and to improve the quality of human lives.
Basic and Applied Research
Basic research is research that answers fundamental questions about behavior. For
instance, a psychologist might investigate how different methods of studying influence
recall of words or pictures. This type of research has no apparent immediate practical
application but only help the psychologist better understand how these processes occur.
Applied research is research that investigates issues that have implications for everyday life
and provides solutions to everyday problems. Applied research can be conducted to study,
for example the most effective methods for reducing depression among university
students. Insights acquired from such a study are directly applicable to tackling an existing
problem.
Both basic research and applied research are important and complement each other. They
both increase our knowledge and understanding of behavior.
The results of psychological research are reported primarily in research articles
published in scientific journals. The research reported in scientific journals has been
evaluated, critiqued, and improved by scientists in the field through the process of peer
review.
The Scientific Method
Psychologists are not the only ones trying to understand human behavior and solve social
problems. Philosophers, religious leaders, politicians and many others are also looking for
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explanations for human behavior. The difference is that psychologists believe that research
is the best tool for understanding human behaviors. A psychologist will not accept claims
made by other “experts” at face value. For instance, the government might claim that
opening a community social hall will improve the mental wellbeing of youth in the
community. A psychologist will collect data on the youths’ utilization of the social hall as
well as data on their mental wellbeing and analyze it before making a conclusion. The
conclusions made by the psychologist are empirical, which means they are based on
systematic collection and analysis of data.
We have previously noted that psychology is a science. Psychology is a scientific
endeavor to understand behavior. But what makes psychology scientific? All scientists,
(think about physicists, chemists, biologists and of course psychologists), are engaged in the
basic processes of collecting data, analyzing the data and drawing conclusions after
analyzing that data. They all use what we might call the scientific method. The scientific
method is the set of assumptions, rules, and procedures scientists use to conduct research.
We can also refer to the scientific method as empirical inquiry.
Features of the Scientific Method
The following are the features of the scientific method:
(a) Objectivity:
Collection, analysis, and interpretation of behavioral information/data should be done with
maximum objectivity. Anything which can introduce bias into our enquiry e.g. personal bias
or emotions of the scientist must be avoided as much as possible.
(b) Replicability:
Scientific enquiry should be conducted and documented in such a way that a skeptical or
interested investigator has sufficient information to repeat or replicate the research and
either confirm or disconfirm the reported results. Most research is designed to repeat, add
to, or modify previous research findings. The scientific method, therefore, results in the
accumulation and continuous refinement or revision of scientific knowledge.
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(c) Empirical:
An empirical study deals with variables that are measurable while avoiding concepts that
may be subject to many different interpretations and cannot be observed and recorded in
an objective way. For instance, it is not possible to scientifically study a concept such as
magic or witchcraft because such concepts are not easy to define or measure and they are
understood very differently by people.
(d) Ethical:
Whether using humans or animals as subjects, psychologists are expected to adhere to
ethical guidelines including:
o No Harm: the researcher must prevent harm to the research participants. Procedures
used in the research study must be justified if they will cause any discomfort to
participants.
o Human subjects should provide informed consent. Informed consent is obtained before
a participant takes part in a research activity, and is designed to explain the research
procedures and inform the participant of his or her rights during the investigation. The
participant is told as much as possible about the true nature of the study particularly
things that might influence their willingness to participate but in some cases some
information may be withheld if doing so is important for the study to succeed.
o Confidentiality refers to researchers protecting the privacy of research participants.
Data can be kept anonymous by not having the respondents put any identifying
information on their questionnaires. If researchers need to keep track of which
respondent contributed the data, unique codes rather than names can be used.
o Deception occurs whenever research participants are not completely and fully informed
about the nature of the research project before participating in it e.g. when the
researcher tells the participants that a study is about learning when in fact the
experiment is really interested in obedience to authority. Deception is used in cases
where participants’ behavior is likely to change if they knew what exactly the researcher
was interested in.
o Debriefing is a procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and procedures of the
research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation. Because participating in
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research has the potential for producing long-term changes in the research participants,
all participants should be fully debriefed immediately after their participation.
Steps in the Scientific Method
The scientific method follows the following four steps;
(a) Developing a Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study. A research
hypothesis is a specific and falsifiable prediction about the relationship between or among
two or more variables. The research hypothesis states the existence of a relationship
between the variables of interest and the specific direction of that relationship. E.g. the
research hypothesis “Using marijuana will reduce academic performance” predicts that
there is a relationship between the variable “using marijuana” and another variable called
“learning.” A hypothesis should be falsifiable i.e. it should be stated in such a way that it can
be shown to be either correct or incorrect.
Hypothesis:
“There is no relationship between smoking marijuana and academic performance”
“There is a relationship between smoking marijuana and academic performance”
(b) Operationalizing variables in the study
A variable is any attribute that can assume different values among different people or
across different times or places. E.g. in a study looking at the effects of alcohol use on
depression and anxiety among university students, the variables are alcohol use,
depression and anxiety. Participants can have different levels of each variable. Taking
substance use, some participants may be using alcohol and others may not be using alcohol.
Operational definition refers to a precise statement of how a variable is measured
or manipulated by the researcher. For example, depression might be operationally defined
by the score on a checklist and intelligence might be operationally defined as the results of
an IQ test. An operational definition is important because everyone knows precisely what a
researcher means by terms like “depression” or “intelligence”.
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(c) Collecting Objective Data
Empirical investigation requires us to collect data carefully and systematically, using
procedures that are not influenced by our expectations, biases, and prejudices. With
objectively collected data, results can be generalized to a larger population
(d) Analyzing the Data to Accept or Reject the Hypothesis
Once we have collected our data, we then analyze it using mathematical or statistical
formula. The results of this analysis will either lead us to accept or reject our hypothesis
(e) Publish, Criticize, and Replicate the Results
The findings of research are usually made public. The final step in the scientific method is
to expose a completed study to the scrutiny and criticism of the scientific community by
publishing it in a professional journal, making a presentation at a professional meeting, or
writing a book. Other scholars can replicate your study to see if it holds up.
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