Can psychology understand people by using traditional objective attitude of experimental science?

-- Caroline Bebbington (cazbeb@hotmail.com), November 26, 2002

Answers

i dont know if this of any help but something i have read says 'psychology is a science in that it makes use of scientific methods... some of the things in which psychologists are interested cannoy be wholly understood using scientific methods alone'

so my interpretation: yes, psychology can be used to understand people by using traditional / experimental science.

-- helen (helenrarnottuk@yahoo.co.uk), November 27, 2002.

Caroline, People, and their behaviour, are too diverse to soley use experimental psychology. It is a tool, but natural science cannot provide all the answers (eg unconscious motivation). A multi- perspective approach must be adopted, incorporating biological, cognitive, environmental etc. factors.

NB don't be blinded by science! Are scientists only trying to maintain their position of power through an assumption of pre- ordained knowledge, dismissing qualitative evidence as immeasurable and therefore frivilous!!

-- Tom (besteastend@hotmail.com), November 27, 2002.

Tom,
I lost you. What makes you think that "biological, cognitive, and environmental" factors elude scientific investigation? Also, your grand generalization about the motives of scientists is without support. Some people act solely in the service of accumulating personal power, but I would n't think scientists do this any more than any other group -- certainly far less so than, say, politicians and businisss people. In addition, some are sympathetic to the goals of qualitative research whereas others less so. The question is how much qualitative approaches reveal that is not revealed by qunatitative methods. (By the way, everyone here is using the term "science" in a most narrow fashion. Many of those who adopt a qualitative approach call their enterprise "human science.")

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), November 27, 2002.

Hi Caroline, this isn't what you want to hear but you have to begin by defining your definition of science because there is no one received meaning as far as I can tell. Then once you clear that hurdle, what you have posed here is an "end game" question, and say we agreed upon a definition of science, now we have to speculate on what it will achieve if allowed to run its course through history. On the surface it looks like you have asked a particularly tough question, one without a clear answer. Also, I think you would have to address what understanding people means to you.

In truth psychology is a very broad field with all sorts of researchers asking all kinds of questions, and this diversity of questions seems to require a wide range of intellectual tools. Increasingly I hear dissatisfaction with the methods psychology relies on, but at present no one has come forth with an attractive alternative. The "objective attitude," although it is not perfect in resolving disputes, still seems to superior in our society. And whatever else comes along, if anything, it seems to me it will have to be an improvement of an objective nature.

Best, David

-- david clark (doclark@yorku.ca), December 01, 2002.

I think there is no best way about it.But the best way is we show our real behaviour and talk to them.We can understand people but its hard for using physocolgy if we dont really know how to use it.We are human of some types and i think if we are born know to about physcology we can undersatnd people with physcology very well buut if we are born to be stupid we can't learn faster and it hard to do samething.

-- Lina (Kjispax@hotmail.com), July 04, 2003.

Firstly, the definition of science is an exact knowledge or truth about something. Since people greatly deffer there can be no exact, absolute theory on any given topic. Meaning their will always be an exeption to any experment performed.

However, I do believe that every person on this planet is searching for the same thing, HAPPIENESS. I believe that everything we do is to bring ourselves or a loved one (such as in service) happiness and joy. And when people relise this they will begin to understand people a little better. Concerning distructive life styles such as drugs and adultry, people do this because it is easier than being moral and will bring immiedate joy, maybe temporary but we are just too stupid to relise it.

-- mike hicks (hscorpion85@yahoo.com), August 03, 2003.