Psychology is a scientific study of behavior, mental state, and processes in humans and other animals. Psychology category as science is due to its nature in the use of scientific methods, studies in psychology are designed like other core fields in science. Professional psychologists understand psychology as a scientific discipline. Historically philosophers relied on logic and observation logic while today psychologists use scientific methodologies of study which enables them to conclude human behavior and thoughts.
Psychology can be characterized as behavioral, cognitive, or social scientists, who study various areas which include mental well-being, potential dysfunctions, and biological foundations. They investigate the interaction between biological factors, socio-cultural factors, and psychological factors. Psychologists try to learn the role of social behavior and mental functions in individuals and the biological and physiological processes that bring about cognitive behavior and functions. Psychology stretches to concepts such as resilience, motivation, phenomenology, brain functioning, interpersonal relationships, emotions, cognition, behavior, attention, personality, perception, resilience, and the unconscious mind. The results are then applied to various human activities including problems of different individuals that affect their daily lives and mental illness treatment. Psychology as science uses psychological research which has links to social sciences, humanities, medicine, and natural science
Scientists are said to be curious, biologists, physicists, and chemists are not different from each other. Psychologists are interested in finding the causes of behavior in mental processes this shows that they have a curious mind. Scientists use critical thinking not just in their work but also in other people’s work. Scientists evaluate the methods and evidence e used vigorously to identify the weaknesses and strengths of a study. A psychologist usually includes recommendations in the last part of research studies to indicate how future studies can be improved. Theories in psychology often compete or contradict one another this causes a struggle to efficiently satisfy or convince those working in the field. Such events make it hard for psychology to be ranked among the core sciences.
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system using scientific methods. It analyses how the elements that make the brain and broader nervous system function. Historically, the study of psychology on a scientific level is essential in the study biology. Neuroscience focuses on physical groups of properties while psychology on the mental state, the two sciences may appear to be unrelated. Neuroscience plays an important role in psychology. Knowing how the brain works scientifically and utilizing advanced technology like brain scanners helps to learn the correlations between the mental state and the brain. Neuroscientists have created an advanced way to examine the biological process that causes behavior, this helps psychologists make well-informed decisions on the treatment and mental interventions for their clients. Early research on behavior and the brain had an impact on psychology by contributing to the application of scientific methodologies to the study of human behavior and thought.
Sensation is a biological process of receiving, converting, and transmitting information. Psychophysics studies the relationship between the physical property of stimuli and a human experience of the stimuli. We receive it, but we don’t seem to be consciously aware of it. Psychophysics science is the principle of psychology that studies the causes of physical stimuli on sensory perceptions. Perception is defined as the understanding and organizing of the incoming sensation information. Adding meaning to those sensations makes them useful and creates perceptions. This concept can be simplified by understanding sensation as a physical process whereas perception is a psychological process.
Emotion in science is associated with biological drives or instincts, perceptions produce emotions. The feeling is a component of emotions rooted in mental processes. Emotions can be biologically activated and motivate humans in taking an action. Psychology studies the effect of cognition, feelings, and behavior on human beings. Motivation is an important factor in our interaction with each other and with the world, thus motivational drive is a function of both external environment conditions and internal states. In the past few years, there have been various research done on the psychology and biology of motivation. The research includes the investigation of a specific aspect of motivated behavior by use of multiple levels analyses, which allows the classification of the supporting neurobiological mechanisms that support psychological processes.
Classical conditioning occurs when an association is made between stimuli that naturally evoke a response and previously neutral stimuli. The learning process for a response to occur a reinforcement or punishment is increased or decreased. The idea behind operant learning is that our behavior is shaped by the consequences o our actions. Observational learning occurs through imitating and observing others. Memory, attention, motivation, and motor skill are elements essential for effective observational learning.
An experiment on causal relationships is a research method used by scientists to study the effect of one or more variables on the outcome of one or more variables. This research method also determines if one or more variables cause other variables to change or occur. Causation is done in a controlled experiment and all variables must be constant except for the one which is being tested to study the effect of the specific variable.
Scientists use descriptive research, and psychology as science uses descriptive research seeks to show what already exists in a group or population by describing the variable. The use of relational research helps the psychologist study the behavior, mental process, and human mind. Relational research is a study of the connection between two variables in scientific research. Psychologists do various experiments and systematic research to create, modify and study theories like other scientists. Psychologists use different research methods since the use of a single research method for collecting research data may not be reliable and accurate results. The research method used depends on the type of research. Most research is divided into two types, non-experimental and experimental research. In experimental research, two or more variables are used to study the cause-effect relationship, the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable while non-experimental research does not involve any manipulation of variables.
Controversies in Psychology
Psychology research methods can be difficult to measure. There are no research projects that produce a clear conceptual core that is widely accepted by psychological experts. The core challenge in the field is that it lacks a specific agreement on what its foundational frameworks or even theories are.
Science can be defined as an analytical attempt at how we view the world, it’s a systematic approach to finding out what’s going on through controlled observation and experimentation but psychology works differently by attempting to see how the human mind works which is not possible through controlled experimentations.
Understanding the human mind is an objective in psychology while the objective of science is to understand the world beyond our world. Psychology aims to understand and control human behavior which is not possible since people make choices and we can never understand why people do what they do.
Future of psychology
Psychology as a core science discipline, psychological science is not always viewed as one of the core Sciences, despite the relevant application of psychology research methods which are similar to the ones used in core sciences. Psychology as comparative effectiveness research will give reliable and relevant results that are an important tool for advancing an evidence-based approach to healthcare decision-making. Psychology as health disparities research through a focus on the connection between the mind and body.
Conclusion
What makes psychology a scientific principle and not just a study of the word through experiment and observation is the research-based discipline. The research used in psychology can show the cause and effect of the study if it has sufficient controls, the use of scientific equipment by biological psychologists, and when performing research in psychology hypothesis is generated and tested empirically. However, human beings are complex and this may reduce the validity of research since they are usually aware they are being studied. It may be difficult to account for all variables due to altered behavior.
References
Cronbach, L. J. (1975). Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American psychologist, 30(2), 116.
Passer, M. W., & Smith, R. E. (2004). Psychology: The science of mind and behavior. McGraw-Hill.
Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2000). Research methods in psychology. McGraw-Hill.
Stevens, S. S. (1939). Psychology and the science of science. Psychological bulletin, 36(4), 221.
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