Historical and Conceptual Issues in Psychology by M. Brysbaert and K. Rastle (second edition) – Summary chapter 10

The scientific method is used because it allows for systematicity and accumulation of knowledge (1), it makes use of well-defined methods (2), it provides clarity (3), it is useful for predictions (4) and it makes knowledge revisable (5). However, there are several reasons why psychology might not be a science:

• Society does not always see psychology as a science.
• Practitioners tend to rely on clinical intuition rather than scientific research.
• It is not always believed that the mind can be studied using the scientific method.
• Scientific claims are often exaggerated and fallible.

Dilthey criticized scientific psychology:

• Psychology should be content-based
  The focus of psychology should be on what the mind comprises rather than on how the brain functions.
• Psychology should study human experience in its totality
  There should be a holistic approach to the mind rather than a reductionist approach.
• Psychology should study the mind in context with the person
  The mind should not be studied in isolation but in context with the person.
• Psychology should use understanding
  The focus should be on understanding the mind rather than explaining the mind.

There are three levels of understanding according to Dilthey:

• Elementary forms of understanding to solve the simple problems of life.
• Empathy through which an observer can re-experience someone else’s experiences.
• Hermeneutic level of understanding in which the observed person can be better understood than the person understands himself.

Critical psychology refers to a movement in psychology that criticizes mainstream psychology for failing to understand that knowledge does not refer to an outside reality and that scientific knowledge is not cumulative but consists of social constructions. Social constructivism states that knowledge is a social construction. According to social constructivism, it is difficult to say whether knowledge is cumulative, thus theories should not be judged on truth but on their ability to generate new openings for action.

Constructivism comes with a responsibility as the questions and categories that are deemed more relevant are more important as it is not possible to hide behind the idea of revealing the truth. Sokal demonstrated the political consequences of a relativist view.

There are several points of criticism towards experimental psychology:

• Experimental psychology neglects individual differences.
• Experimental psychology makes use of WEIRD samples.
• Experimental psychology’s research question is determined by the methods available.

Feminist psychology made several objections to traditional psychology:

• Men are taken as the norm and women deviate from this norm.
• Men are deciding what is worth investigating and how it should be investigated.
• There is a bias to publish results demonstrating differences between genders.
• The results regarding gender differences are regularly interpreted in line with stereotypical expectations.
• The results regarding gender differences are interpreted as due to the individual and not due to the social context.

Unconscious plagiarism refers to how the hermeneutic approach and the scientific approach influenced each other without either proponent being aware of it.