The Scientificity of Psychology

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Psychology can be defined as the study behind human behavior, how individuals perceive the world around them, and how they react to these perceptions. Psychology considers itself a science. However, there are many who disagree with this notion. Often called a fictitious science or even a cult, psychologists have frequently had to defend their scientific community. Despite being a comparably new science, skepticism of whether or not psychology is an actual science has existed even before its establishment as an independent discipline. In fact, Immanuel Kant, a highly recognized 18th century philosopher, denied the validity of such a science. He contended that the study of the human mind could not become a proper natural science because events of the mind are not quantifiable (i.e. weighed or measured). Therefore, its data cannot be described mathematically, nor can it be truly manipulated experimentally. With arguments similar to those of Kant, many modern critics of psychology offer a lack of tangibility and quantifiability as indicative of its failure to be a true science.

Wilhelm Wundt, a 19th Century German physician and physiologist, is credited with establishing psychology as a separate science as well as being the “founding father” of experimental psychology. Since then, the science of psychology has continued to develop and mature. Over time, psychology has increased the extent to which scientific standards are met by its procedures for collecting data in both laboratory and non-laboratory research thanks to advancement in techniques and technology. Psychology, being a study of human behavior, has obvious links to other natural sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics. All of these sciences are completely inte...

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...? It has become clear that this type of thinking is the driving force behind the argument against psychology as a legitimate science. If it is not physical, how do we observe, test and explore these features in others? The fact that these elements are not physically visible produces unique challenges for the study of psychology in terms of testing theories and analyzing its findings. However, these non-physical elements manifest themselves into the visible phenomenon of human behavior. Through our observations and interactions with others as well as our own introspection, we are aware that these features exist and that they differ in every human. Psychology has and continues to explore the variations in behavior and is constantly developing theories that attempt to explain and predict them, making it not only a valid science but an extremely important one as well.

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