Debates In Psychology

By Robert
Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 1 of 8

Fulton
Psychology is a discipline that has many theoretical approaches. While psychologists try to take a holistic view there are a number of debates about psychological issues. This essay will look at two of these important debates. The free will/determinism debate and the debate around psychology's status as a science. A science is a method of investigation that has a high probability of being accurate as it is supported by observable, empirical data and attempts to be as objective as possible. A science has three main goals. It seeks to predict a phenomenon (hypothesis), to control it so as to understand it. Psychology can be defined as the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour however it is debated whether or not it fully fulfils the scientific criteria. (Gross, 2001a) Those who see psychology as a science would note that both behaviour and mental processes such and memory, learning etc. are observable (although mental processes are only observable through inferred observations which must be conceded). Skinner (1938) performed an experiment on rats involving teaching them to press a lever in a box to receive a food pellet. This shows how behaviour can be directly observed and controlled although it could be argued that it may not work on humans. Other examples also show that mental processes can be observed in this way. Bruner and Postman's (1949) study into perception. A group of participants looked at a set of playing cards and were asked to identify them (such as eight of hearts, etc.) and timed. However some of the cards had been altered (for example the ace of spades was coloured red). Participants took longer to identify the incongruous cards which suggests that memory has an effect on individual perception. These studies could be considered evidence to say that psychology is a truly scientific discipline as they fulfil all the scientific criteria mentioned above.

Debates in Psychology

By Robert Fulton

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This view would be criticised by those on the other side of this debate. While Bruner and Postman's study does meet much of the scientific criteria there are questions over the validity of the inferred conclusion. Did the study truly prove memory as a factor in perception or are the researchers simply assuming this? Since memory cannot be directly observed this question can never be answered however it damages the claim that mental processes can be studied scientifically. While it is much harder to discredit Skinners work as behaviour can be directly observed it has been noted that Skinner is part of one of five "approaches" to psychology (namely behaviourism) and that there are many others such as Freudian psychoanalysis. This approach claims that we are largely driven by unconscious thoughts and fears and so advocates dream analysis and other such methods in order to discover what we ordinarily could not. Popper (1990) writes that Psychoanalysis is pseudo-science as the unfalsifiable nature of the theory and the use of non-experimental methods such as the case study mean it fails to meet the scientific criteria. In addition to this the fact that psychology is five distinct bodies and not one and the fact it has gone through many "paradigm shifts" (events in the disciplines history where one approach dominated from psychoanalysis in the 19th century to behaviourism in the early 20th century and the cognitive approach in the later 20th century to a more holistic approach today) suggests a lack of any coherent body of knowledge and suggests it is still closer to philosophy than science. (Gross, 2001a) The supporters of psychology as a science have refuted these claims noting that all scientific disciplines rose from philosophy and have gone through "paradigm shifts" such as the move to Einsteins theory of relativity from earlier classical theories. (Wikipedia, n.d.) Butt (n.d.) notes that there are also various "approaches" in the natural sciences such as biogenesis and abiogenesis which are competing theories within Biology about the origin of life. In addition Singer (2008) writes that MRI scanners can look at what brain functions are used when performing certain tasks and can "read" the mind. Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 3 of 8

There is also the possibility that since psychology continues to evolve and the definition of science continues to change that it may be a science in the making. Hawking and Mlodinow (2010) write that "Until the advent of modern physics it was generally thought that all knowledge of the world could be achieved through direct observation....But the spectacular success of modern Physics has shown that is not the case". What they are arguing is that with the advent of Quantum Physics (specifically M-Theory which attempts to scientifically consider the idea of multiple universes) the natural sciences must use inferred knowledge to answer the fundamental questions of the universe. The authors (particularly Dr. Hawking) are very influential in scientific circles and their words could have a huge effect on the debate and the definition of a science however it is still too early to say what effect they will have. As it stands the debate has no definite right answer. It can be argued whether or not Psychology meets the current criteria for a truly scientific discipline and both sides have legitimate points. If the definition of science changes to allow inference as suggested above it would be a real gain for those on the yes side (although there would still be questions about some things such as Freuds work) but at the moment it cannot be said that psychology is or is not a truly scientific discipline. One of the issues with psychology as a science is the issue of free will/determinism. Social institutions such as the law assume we have free will. However if psychologists can predict and control behaviour then that would suggest behaviour is determined by some factor. There is an intense debate about whether humans have free will or behaviour is determined. This arguments on both sides will be looked at using the issue of prejudice to provide evidence. Gross (2001b) notes that influential humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers was a strong believer in free will. Humanistic psychology states we must view each person as an individual with free will and understand how help that person achieve their own personal happiness. This applies to the interpersonal approach to prejudice. Rokeach (1968) argued that perceived differences in belief were the cause of prejudice. To test this Rokeach et al. Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 4 of 8

(1960) performed a survey which asked for example a white person whether or not he would rather be friends with a white communist or a black anti-communist. Most participants chose people with a similar belief system to them regardless of race. This would suggest we chose who we do and do not like and suggests we have at least some degree of free will which supports Roger's view. However this survey did not ask about formation of beliefs and it could be argued that they are a result of the socialisation process therefore there is a certain amount of environmental determinism involved as well. There are broadly three types of determinism- Biological, Environmental and Psychic. (Gross, 2001b). Gross (2001b) writes that biological determinism views that our genes, physiology or other biological factors influence who we are and how we behave in way such as having genes that predispose us to anger or people with Down's syndrome (a genetic condition). Adorno et al. (1950) proposed that some people have an authoritarian personality that cannot be changed. These individuals blindly conform to established social norms and values and are unwilling to change. The researchers performed a survey which measured conformity, superstition conservative sexual attitudes, etc. They suggested that individuals with an authoritarian personality would be more ethnocentric and therefore prejudiced. This would support the biological determinism view as some people are that way due to themselves and not anything else. However it did not look at social issues and how they may effect a persons views and it can be argued that not everyone who shows prejudiced attitudes has such a personality as something such as a lack of education is just as good an explanation. Gross (2001b) writes that environmental determinism views behaviour as being influenced by our social environment. This view states we are shaped by our norms, values and social circumstances. For example people in poverty are more likely to steal than a millionaire. There are two environmentally determined views of prejudice- intergroup conflict and the frustration/aggression hypothesis. Sherif (1966) suggested that prejudiced attitudes derive from perceived social competition between different groups and the desire for an individuals own group to be considered on Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 5 of 8

top. To show this he performed a field experiment testing group competition between 11-12 year old boys. The experiment showed that dividing the children into competing groups meant a large amount of conflict even if they had been friends before and making them work together greatly reduced it. This is useful as it shows how social circumstances can affect behaviour. However the study can be criticised as it used a biased sample of middle class white boys and deliberately instigated confrontation. Dollard et al.(1939) argued for a different environmental cause of prejudice. They stated that frustration would cause us to scapegoat and pick on weaker social groups. For example in the early 1930's Germanys economic problems were blamed on the Jew's which helped Hitler into power. Miller and Bugelski (1948) asked participants about attitudes toward minority groups. They then split the two in half and frustrated one group by denying them a desired film. They were then asked again and frustrated group showed an increase in prejudice while the control group did not. This again shows how social issues could be a cause of prejudice. As Gross (2001b) indicates the final type of determinism is Freudian psychic determinism. This theory argues that early experiences shape our psyche and determine how we will behave throughout our life. This is because much of our mind is not consciously available to us. Things such as paraprixis (slips of the tongue) are not accidents and are our unconscious thoughts rising to the surface. This is one way our unconscious thoughts determine our behaviour. This debate is of vital importance to psychology. It is one of the defining factors in whether or not psychology can be considered a science as if we have free will then we cannot be predicted with any accuracy. It is also important for the legal and business worlds as if our behaviour is guided by factors we cannot control then we cannot be held responsible for our actions or failures. There are strong arguments on both sides of the debate. While the research on prejudice shows that social issues, our upbringing and our biology do influence us it is also clear that we have some degree of free will as well. Therefore we are free beings but we can all effect each other. The important question is to what degree do we have free will and to Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 6 of 8

what degree is behaviour determined. This question is one that requires more research before it can be answered.

Debates such as those mentioned above bring a great deal to psychology. As can be seen it is debatable whether or not psychology is a science in the traditional sense but as the many research studies detailed above show it brings a wealth of utterly vital information and the debates are an important part of theory formation that leads to this research. The freewill/determinism debate also brings a huge amount of information that if followed correctly could help give a greater understanding to criminal justice and help someone who has diminished responsibility (for example a certain mental disability) while accepting we have enough of a degree of free will to be responsible for our actions. So while having many approaches and paradigms may raise questions about pure scientific validity the debates such as the two above show psychologies vital place in human understanding whether it is a science or not.

References
Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswick, E., Levinson, J.D., & Sanford, R.N., (1950), The Authoritarian Personality, Harper & Row, New York Bruner, S. Postman, L. (1949) 'On the perception of incongruity: A Paradigm' in Journal of Personality, Vol. 18, pp. 206-223 Butt, S. n.d., Difference between abiogenesis and biogenesis, viewed 15 November 2010, http://www.helium.com/items/1928992-difference-between-abiogenesis-and-biogenesis Dollard, J. Doob, L.W., Mowrer, O.H., & Sears, R.R., (193), Frustration and Aggression, Harvard University Press, New Haven Gross, R. (2001a) 'Psychology as a Science' in Psychology: The Science of Mind and Debates in Psychology By Robert Fulton Page 7 of 8

Behaviour, Hodder and Stoughton, London, pp. 29-41 Gross, R. (2001b), 'Free will, Determinism and Reductionism' in Psychology: The Science of Mind and behaviour, Hodder and Stoughton, London, pp. 721-732 Hawking, S. and Mlodinow, L. (2010) The Grand Design, Bantam Press, Great Britain Miller, N.E., & Bugelski, R. (1948), 'Minor Studies in Aggression: The Influence of Frustrations Imposed By The Ingroup on Attitudes Toward Outgroups' in Journal of Psychology, Vol. 25, pp. 437-442 Popper. K, "Science: Conjectures and Refutations" in Grim P (1990) Philosophy of Science and the Occult, Albany, pp. 104-110 Rokeach, M. (1968), Beliefs, Attitudes and Values, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Rokeach, M., Smith P.W., & Evans, R.L. (1960), 'Two kinds of prejudice or one?' in The Open and Closed Mind, pp. 132-168, Basic Books, New York Sherif, M. (1966), Group Conflict and Co-operation: Their Social Psychology, RKP, London Singer, E. (2008) Mind Reading with Functional MRI, 5 March 2008, viewed 15 November 2010, http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/20380/ Skinner, B.F. (1938). The Behaviour of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis, Cambridge, Massachusetts Wikipedia n.d., History of Physics, viewed 15 November 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_physics

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By Robert Fulton

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