darkSpyro

Last time I said it wasn't I got called the r word so is it?

yes it is in fact

science is defined as a branch of study. the -ology suffix means study.

so it is. it is actually pretty straightforward.

but there's no excuse for anyone to be using slurs toward anyone just because they got it wrong.

Anything can be a science if you research it enough

Quote: Bifrost

Anything can be a science if you research it enough

The grand basis of this debate is really just semantics depending on your definition of science and what rules you think science should have.

Yeah I feel like at this in time psychology is just not consistent enough to be considered a science. Sure it uses stuff like neuroscience and brain patterns but a lot of it is just assumptions and not that consistent became replicating it's results is quite difficult.

Psychology does pull a lot from science but I just think that in this point in time there are just too many cultural and environmental elements in play that make it sway away from pure sciences like physics. Like we can never study a blank state person because it simply does not exist.

Which is why it's a social science

^you spent 3 paragraphs saying it wasn't science, then said it was in the fourth. huh??

Quote:

science
noun
knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method

scientific method
noun
principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses

it's science

social sciences are a science....................................... we dont need a blank slate person to study in psychology more or less the methods and procedures are treated as if there is a blank slate you can treat a patient based on individuality but the foundation for the psyche evaluation and treatment methods are all based on the same approach and foundation you could easily compare the concept to certain aspect of quantum physics for example where scientists for dozens of decades have even debated its existent... nothing in science is "consistent" because learning and the study of a specific field is part of science... if by consistent you mean a general guideline to follow YES there is a structure a guideline and psychology is VERY comprehensive and there are a set of rules you follow to reach what is generally considered the "fact" of a conclusion in the human (or animal) psyche for better or for worse i happen to LOVE science and i also happen to have studied for a degree in psychology when i compare physics to psychology of course its different but they are both sciences one science has to do with the matter and energy and the other the human psyche just like medical science has to do with the study of medicine its all science just in different practice psychology has a very reliable and tested method where the rules that apply do generally work to prove the theory of psychology and how the human psyche operates feel like MOST people who say psychology isnt a science are gatekeepers like its not the OG science .... again i love science i just love that there are also so many kinds of science my personal favorite is physics.............................................. i can just acknowledge that there are more too

It's definitely much more in a grey area, it uses scientific methods so I would say technically yes?. However a big problem with the field is actually replicating results (as sp also said), but to expand on that point you will see a lot of completely bogus studies go viral in the media. For a forum relevant example, a number of psychologists claimed video games caused violence and there's studies from the 2000's that say they do. These results were obviously not replicatable and as we now know, completely false. Yet these studies ended up influencing laws at the time. There's also the element of people being aware they are in a psychologic study, which means you are unlikely to get accurate results. The core problem is that we still just don't know much about the human brain in general, most of this research is pretty much in its infancy.

^honestly have no idea what to say to studies about video games influencing violence in my life the most violent people i knew were also very heavy into violent video games and television but on the opposite hand i am EXTREMELY anti violence IRL (not media) but i used to like 1980s gore fest anime (though to be fair mostly because i found the exaggeration to be comical as well as the really terrible story to be super funny) i think theres a level of credibility to some of those "studies" but i also think that inherently violent people are maybe just attracted to violence in media and thats where they get those numbers from... its fair to say it effects some people and others not the world may also just be desensitized to violence OR to be fair we live in an extremely violent world so for real i dont know honestly the people who made the linked studies just hate video games but the people who made the opposite wanted to defend them i dont know SOME psychological surveys can be difficult when theres not a straightforward yes or know or an option for people to lie i suppose

that last paragraph was sort of relevant because however in any case those studies do not relate to the science behind it... i can use the theory of relativity in some ridiculous way to tell you that "whenever we move we are slowly speeding up or slowing down the passage of time depending on which direction we move" which is complete nonsense BUT i could use physics to try to "make my point" the conclusion correct or incorrect that someone makes is not what defines a science and neither is the vast amountof knowledge that we already have on a topic but what Danny posted above "Knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method" as science in all of its forms and physics included can also be stated to be in its infancy there is very much we dont know and all of the time things we think we know are altered challenged proven to be incorrect and we are constantly learning more about them and psychology is really just no different

Quote: skylandersfan60

It's definitely much more in a grey area, it uses scientific methods so I would say technically yes?. However a big problem with the field is actually replicating results (as sp also said), but to expand on that point you will see a lot of completely bogus studies go viral in the media. For a forum relevant example, a number of psychologists claimed video games caused violence and there's studies from the 2000's that say they do. These results were obviously not replicatable and as we now know, completely false. Yet these studies ended up influencing laws at the time. There's also the element of people being aware they are in a psychologic study, which means you are unlikely to get accurate results. The core problem is that we still just don't know much about the human brain in general, most of this research is pretty much in its infancy.

Honestly I don't get the big deal with psychology majors getting mad about the statement. It's not like it really discredits the field of psychology or brings it down. Mostly because majoring in psychology is a meme anyways unless you're pursuing it for a PhD/masters.

Psychology is still rather new too. Which doesn't necessarily make it not a pure science but it started out with theories where kids wanted to bang their moms. But since then the medium has been using more and more scientific measurings to help with its theories but the results are still just too unpredictable. Which is why a part of it is still speculation. But so is medicine so i don't know.

Off topic but I hate pop psychology and it's influences on this generation of people

^so basically like every other form of science started then! can you explain pop psychology? i might agree with that one but want to make sure i know what you mean