This course takes a scientific/empirical approach to describing and understanding "abnormal behavior" - we'll get to the question "What is abnormal?, in the next class"

The scientific approach to psychology is based on the principles that:

1) Conclusions are drawn on the basis of scientific evidence

2) Practical applications of psychology, for example psychotherapy, have been derived from and tested by scientific methods

Psychology, both as a formal discipline, that is practiced by PhD psychologists and by others, counselors, social workers, etc., often falls short

Why do you think that most people fail to see psychology as a scientific discipline?

Folk theories, common sense, over reliance on single instances/observations and the tendency to make causal inferences based on few observations

Science is:

1) The use of systematic empiricism

2) The production of public knowledge

3) The examination of solvable problems - based on testable theory, i.e., the theory is falsifiable

1) Systematic, theory-driven, falsifiable observation and testing - falsifiable means that aspects of the theory has implications for actual events in the natural world - the conditions must be potentially able to be shown to be false - Benjamin Rush, Yellow Fever, bloodletting - Freud, psychoanalysis uses a complicated structure that explains behavior after-the-fact (post-hoc), but does not predict behavior in advance - e.g., Tourette Syndrome (organic CNS disorder treated with haldol vs. affective repression, erotic impulses, and "anal-sadistic conversion" - - volitional behavior treated with years of psychoanalysis)

2) publicly verifiable, replicable, refutable, peer review

3) theory prediction testing modification

Hindsight effect - when given new information we incorporate it into what we already know, thus giving ourselves the impression that "I already knew that" - The real test is whether we can predict behavior in advance. It is often quite easy to find an acceptable explanation after-the-fact, but that is not science, science is prediction and control (among some other things)

Example, "common-sense" belief that bookworms are dorks, social rejects, and wimps. In fact, scientific research shows that children high in academic achievement are more likely to be socially involved and are also more physically robust. Moreover, other evidence demonstrates that people who read a lot are more likely to work out, run, camp, hike, do car repair that are people who don't read much.

These are but a couple of examples of problems with our ability to understand human nature unscientifically - - Much of what we consider to be "common knowledge" is myth.

Scientific psychology tests the empirical basis for common knowledge

Since psychology often refutes what we believe (if we bother to find out about it), people frequently respond, that's just not true, why I know someone who . . .

Falsifiability

For a theory to be useful, predictions must be specific rather than general - remember that theory means verifiable, testable hypotheses that can also be shown to be false. The term "just a theory" does not apply to the scientific meaning of theory, it is not just a notion or wild speculation, or something untestable, although criticisms of unpopular/controversial theories often suggest it is this way.

Thoughts Are Cheap

Any intelligent person can come up with a grand theory of human behavior. What distinguishes "cheap thoughts" from science is falsifiability.

Science is hard

Science is imperfect

Most of us misunderstand both the process and the results of science - Nevertheless, in the words of Albert Einstein

"All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike - and yet it is the most

precious thing we have."