Psychology: The Science of Behavior

Will choose ONE of the following essay questions to answer:

1) Discuss the claim that Psychology is a science, using a specific psychological research study from the field of Psychology to support your argument.

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2) Referring to a specific research study, discuss why it is important for researchers to consider research ethics.3) Using the example of a psychological research study, discuss a theoretical model or approach that underpins the field of psychology

PsySOB1Handbook2019-20201.docx

Psychology, the Science of Behaviour 1: Conceptual and Historical Issues, Clinical, Cognitive and Humanistic Psychology

ucl.ac.uk/ioe

Module Handbook

2019-20

UCL Institute of Education

University of London

20 Bedford Way

LONDON

WC1H 0AL

Tel: +44(0)2076126000

Psychology, The Science of Behaviour 1: Conceptual and Historical Issues, Clinical, Cognitive and Humanistic Psychology (PHDE0067)

Key module information

Credits:	15
Term time:	October to December 2019
Lectures:	Wednesdays 9:30 – 11:30
Venue:	Elvin Hall, 20 Bedford Way
Assessment:	Coursework: One 1500 word (+/-10%) essay (50% weighting). Please upload an electronic copy only via Moodle. Exam: One hour MCQ exam (50% weighting).
Deadlines:	Coursework essay: 11:59pm (i.e. 23.59) on Monday 9th December 2019 Exam: TBC by the exams office (during the main UCL exam period)
Feedback:	Approximately one month after submission

Contact and support:

Module leader: Dr. Amy Harrison a.harrison@ucl.ac.uk

Module administrator: ioe.bscpsywithed@ucl.ac.uk

Module Team: Dr. Jane Hurry, Dr Dawn Male, Dr Liory Fern-Pollak

Module Overview:

Date:	Lecture title:	Lecturer:	Room:
2/10/19	Psychology as a Science: Philosophy of Science, process of hypothesis testing. Can Psychology be regarded as a science?	Amy Harrison	Elvin Hall
9/10/19	Historical Issues in Psychology and Essay writing skills	Amy Harrison	Elvin Hall
16/10/19	Clinical Psychology 1: Paradigms in Clinical Psychology. DSM classification system of disorders	Amy Harrison	Elvin Hall
23/10/19	Clinical Psychology 2: Therapies	Amy Harrison	Elvin Hall
30/10/19	Essay writing skills tutorial.	Academic Skills Team	Elvin Hall
4-8 Nov	Reading week
13/11/19	Language	Liory Fern-Pollak	Elvin Hall
20/11/19	Motivation	Dawn Male	Elvin Hall
27/11/19	Learning	Jane Hurry	Elvin Hall
4/12/19	Perception: Sensory Processes – Visual perception, audition.	Liory Fern-Pollak	Elvin Hall
11/12/19	Revision session and end of term practice MCQ test	Amy Harrison	Elvin Hall

Module aims and learning objectives

Aims and Intended Learning Outcomes

Module Aims

· To introduce students to research and theory across the various key subfields that comprise psychology: historical and conceptual perspectives in psychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology (language, learning, memory and perception) and humanistic psychology (motivation).

· To introduce students to a range of theoretical issues and scientific research methodologies to assist them with the understanding of human behaviour and mental processes.

· To develop students’ ability to engage critically with a range of literature.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

· Understand key concepts and issues in psychology and be able to demonstrate that understanding by applying them to contemporary debates

· Develop their ability, resources and confidence to study challenging texts relevant to issues in the field of psychology

· Develop their ability to assess arguments and make critical judgments concerning psychological theory and research

Assessment

This module is assessed by two components, one essay and one hour multiple choice exam (40 items). Please check the programme Moodle space for details on assessment and grade-related criteria.

Component 1: Essay

You will be required to submit one 1500 word essay (+/- 10%). Your deadline for submitting the essay is 11:59pm (i.e. 23:59) on Monday 9th December 2019.

Please make sure you upload one (1) electronic copy via Moodle. You will choose ONE of the following essay questions to answer:

1. Discuss the claim that Psychology is a science, using a specific psychological research study from the field of Psychology to support your argument.

1. Referring to a specific research study, discuss why it is important for researchers to consider research ethics.

1. Using the example of a psychological research study, discuss a theoretical model or approach that underpins the field of psychology

Essay workshop

As well as a general tutorial session on assessment integrated into your introduction lecture, you will attend one essay-specific workshop. You will need to come prepared to the workshop with a plan/outline of your essay (e.g. in bullet point form). Information about the workshop dates will be posted on Moodle.

Additional essay guidelines

Please refer to the essay resources provided on the module Moodle page and further essay writing resources and support provided on the programme Moodle page. Your essay will be based on the review of the literature and research (e.g. both theory and empirical research) and should be written using academic language. When planning your essay a good starting place is the lecture slides, core readings and further readings outlined in the session content descriptions; however, you are expected to cite literature and research beyond those provided on the course. Essays should cite reliable empirical evidence (e.g. evidence found in peer-reviewed journal articles through the library electronic resource webpages); you should not rely on unreliable review sources (e.g. Psychology review websites such as Psychology Today or Simply Psychology). A critical evaluation of theoretical and empirical evidence is imperative in order to achieve a well-informed argument and a good grade. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

You must follow American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines when referencing (when citing within the essay and formatting your reference section at the end of the essay) and formatting your assignment. You can find a copy of the APA 6th edition handbook in the library. Please also refer to the general guidelines for submitting assignments, which can be found in your programme handbook.

Anonymous marking

Please do not put your name or student ID on your assignment. You must upload your essay assignment to Moodle for anonymized marking.

Feedback

You will receive written feedback on your essay a month after submission. You will also receive general feedback via Moodle, or in class. Please apply this feedback to your future assignments.

Component 2: Exam

You will be required to sit a 1 hour exam. The exam will take place during the main UCL exam period in the Spring term 2020 (exact time and location TBC by the Exams Office). This will cover all material discussed in the module. You will be asked to answer 40 multiple choice questions (MCQs).

Additional exam guidelines

In the last session of the module we will take a practice multiple choice exam and discuss revision.

Feedback

As well as a grade, you will receive general feedback on the exam across the cohort. This feedback will be provided one month after the exam date and will be posted to Moodle.

Session outlines

Psychology: The Science of Behaviour: Lecture Summaries

02.10.19 Psychology as a Science Amy Harrison

Can Psychology be regarded as a science? In this session we will explore the Philosophy of Science, and the process of hypothesis testing. We will consider how psychologists work with data, using descriptive statistics, and correlations to summarise the pattern of their data; and the use of inferential statistics. We will look at the role of observational studies and experiments in assessing cause and effect and the importance of research ethics. The power of the scientific method is critically evaluated and alternative methodologies are considered.

Please read before the first session:

Gleitman, H., Gross, J. & Reisberg, D. (2011). Psychology: International Student Edition (8th edition). New York, London: W.W. Norton & Co. (Prologue: What Is Psychology & Chapter 1: Research Methods).

Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). Does psychology make a significant difference in our lives? American Psychologist, 59 (5), 339–351.

http://www.zimbardo.com/downloads/2004%20Psychology%20makes%20a%20significant%20difference.pdf

Sutton, J. (2014) A new game plan for psychological science. The Psychologist, 27 (4), 222-223. (in the News Section of the April edition)

09.10.19 Historical Issues in Psychology Amy Harrison

How did psychology originate? When did it begin? Who were the people responsible for establishing psychology as a separate science? This session describes how from the time of the Ancient Greeks to the mid-19th century, philosophers and scientists thought about the relationship between mind, body and soul. Students are introduced to important early psychologists and the main schools of psychological theory including introspection, psychoanalysis, functionalism, psychometrics, gestalt, behaviourism and humanistic psychology. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

Reading:

Valentine, E. (2008) The Other Woman: the story of Nellie Carey, one of the first women members of the BPS. Part of the British Psychological Society History of Psychology

https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-21/edition-1/looking-back

Hacking, I. (2007) Kinds of People, Moving Targets. (p1-18) This British Academy lecture investigates the ways in which people who are classified interact with their classifications.

http://nurs7009philosophyofinquiry.weebly.com/uploads/6/0/4/0/6040397/hacking_20071.pdf

16.10.19 Clinical Psychology 1 Amy Harrison

This session will provide a review of how mental disorder has been conceptualised and then discuss definition, assessment and diagnosis, with reference to the categories identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM). One of the more common disorders, anxiety disorders, is described; as are mood disorders, such as major depression and bipolar disorder; schizophrenia and other Axis 1 and Axis 11 disorders.

Please read before the session:

Gleitman, H., Gross, J. & Reisberg, D. (2011). Psychology: International Student Edition (8th edition). New York, London: W.W. Norton & Co. (Chapter 16: Psychopathology).

Rosenhan, D. L. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179(4070), 250-258.

Organize

Before reading each chapter, there are:

· Chapter study plans which guide students as they work through the online materials

· Chapter outlines which give an overview of the issues each chapter explores

· Quiz+ allows students to learn from their mistakes with customized study plans based upon their answers to quiz questions.

Learn

These exercises help students master what they have read

· Chapter Reviews allow students to quickly review what they have read and help them identify important concepts in each chapter.

· Vocabulary Flashcards test knowledge of important terms and concepts.

· There are Drag-and Drop Labelling exercises for some of the diagrams and figures in each chapter

· Audio Podcast Chapter Overviews can be streamed online or download to portable media players for the opportunity to review chapter content on the go.

· Visual Quizzes test student’s knowledge of the figures, charts, and diagrams in the text.

Connect

Here students can apply what they have learned from the chapter and make connections between concepts they have mastered.

· Critical Thinking Activities help students solidify their knowledge of core topics from the chapter and build critical-thinking skills. They can watch interviews with researchers in brain science and cognition, and download them to a portable media player with the “Studying the Mind Video Podcasts”. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

· There are online Video Exercises for each chapter introduce students to the current psychological research.

· Animations clarify and explain difficult concepts from each chapter.

· ZAPS Psychology Labs help students understand the significance of psychological research within an experimental context.

We hope that you enjoy this module and look forward to working with you Any queries, please do not hesitate to ask.

XWPH2_Assignment_956993_1713422090.pdf

1

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE

Is Psychology a Science?

Candidate Number: XWPH2

University College London

Word Count: 1650

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 2

Stemming from the Latin word scientia, science has originally been described as

‘knowledge’, with those people searching for knowledge being defined as scientists (Williams,

2011). Yet this definition of science differs from what has normally been perceived today,

which is more likely to be associated with rigorous and objective research (Murray, 1999). By

introducing the definition of science and analysing a psychological study called ‘Individual

differences in the effects of a positive psychology intervention: Applied psychology’, this essay

aims to discuss whether or not psychology—or this article in particular—is a science (Antoine,

Dauview, Andreotti, & Congrad, 2017). In order to carefully examine this claim of psychology

being a science, evidence from the article that support the claim and those that deny it will be

thoroughly evaluated and an overview of this topic will be provided at the end.

To begin with, science—as described in most modern works—is notable for the below

six characteristics. First of all, science is recognized for its application and ‘review’ of previous

literature since having ‘good grounds’ and ‘appropriate validation’ help people come up with

reasonable and verifiable hypotheses (Shrake, Elfner, Hummon, Janson, & Free, 2006).

According to Shrake et al., any assumption that fails to be supported by scientific evidence is—

by definition—unscientific (2006). The second essential element of science is objectivity.

Science is fact-based and hence should exclude all subjective opinions in order to gain reliable

outcomes (Chalmers, 2013). Objectively formulating hypotheses sets foundations for testable

hypotheses that allow other investigators to falsify and amend, which is the third main point of

science (Murray, 1999; Shrake et al., 2006). Falsifiable hypothesis usually allows future

replication or repetition of research that enable improvements (Shrake et al., 2006). Just as

David Goostein said, ‘science is self-correcting, in the sense that a falsehood injected into the

body of scientific knowledge will eventually be discovered and rejected’ (Shrake et al., 2006,

p. 130). To this point, science is linked to the consideration and references of published works,

objectivity, and the replication of the research that either verify or disprove the hypothesis. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 3

Fourthly, science is rigorous and logical. Formal language, clear explanations, and the

elimination of possible confounding variables—factors other than experimental factor that

might exert influences on the results—are all essential elements for a psychology to be

scientific (Myers, 2014). In the fifth place, science should always take ethical issues into

consideration. Yet as Williams (2011) and Burk (1986) reveal, this key aspect of science has

often been neglected. It should thus be reminded that for a psychology to become a science,

the participants should be protected by any sort of harm and their information should be kept

confidential (Myers, 2014). Obtaining informed consent—an ethical principle that allow the

participants to be ‘told enough’ about the study and to quit the study when they aren’t feeling

‘right’—and debriefing participants—a process explaining the purpose of the study and any

deception involved after conducting the research—are hence crucial for a study to be scientific.

Lastly, the scientific method is required to generate this ‘systematic, fact-based discipline’ of

science (Shrake et al., 2006, p. 134). The US Supreme Court even declared in 1993 that for a

statement ‘to qualify as “scientific knowledge”’, the scientific method must be used in advance

(Shrake et al., 2006). While scientific method more or less contains all of the above-mentioned

components of science, core elements of this method are observation, testable hypothesis,

experimentation or design, and results (Shrake et al., 2006). In conclusion, for a psychology to

be scientific, the researcher should examine earlier studies, obtain the data in an organized and

unbiased way, purpose testable hypothesis that enable further testing, be rigorous, consider

ethical issues, and utilize the scientific method cautiously.

After providing the definition of science, it should be noted that the article conducted

in France by Antoine et al. (2017) is an experimental study evaluating the influence of positive

psychology intervention (PPI) on affective variables such as depression and anxiety and

processual variable including mindfulness and emotional regulation. It also examines how PPI

might exert ‘differential effects’ on individuals with different ‘baseline characteristics’

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 4

(Antoine et al., 2017). The participants are contacted from a French community and are divided

into control (n = 43) and experimental group (n = 59) (Antoine et al., 2017). Only the

experimental group receives the PPI and the self-assessment measures for the participants

include ‘Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire’

and so on (Antoine et al., 2017, p. 140). Using the statistical data, the researchers conclude that

anxiety, depression and other affective variables have reduced while mindfulness and emotion

regulation techniques have progressed during and after PPI (Antoine et al., 2017). These

positive improvements are inclined to increase more when participants initially have lower

levels of mindfulness or positive reappraisal (Antoine et al., 2017).

Applying the criteria of science described above, psychology does appear to be

scientific in this article as all six components of psychology are incorporated in the paper. For

instance, the main aspects of PPI are designed based on thorough inspection of previous

researchers’ experiences and the literature (Antoine et al., 2017). The study is also objective in

a sense in which all scales and measurements are quantitatively analysed, with the article being

written mainly in a third-person point of view (Antoine et al., 2017). Besides, this paper’s

hypotheses of people’s decrease in ‘anxiety, depression, and psychological distress’ and their

enhancement in mindfulness as well as emotional control after PPI are tested and verified with

evidence from the study (Antoine et al., 2017). The necessity of future investigations is

indicated, and the repetition of the experiments is possible as the methods and application

strategies of the article are well-described (Antoine et al., 2017). For the fourth feature of

science, this study gains approval from the French Ethical Research Comity Nord Quest III and

it follows the instructions of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and other ethical guidelines

(Antoine et al., 2017). Confidentiality of the participants’ information is maintained as none of

the people other than the researchers or the staff members know the exact information of a

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 5

specific person (Antoine et al., 2017). Informed consents have been signed and enough

information of the study are given to the participants (Antoine et al., 2017).

Apart from these, this article also includes the fifth and sixth features of science—its

logic, its rigorous manner and its use of scientific method. As an example of this, the article

has been peer-reviewed, which provides credibility, ensures clarity of the language used, and

excludes certain subjective opinions. It has been organized into abstract, introduction, method,

results, discussion, and references with a logical flow from one section to the next. The

observation, hypotheses, experimentation, and conclusion—which constitute the scientific

method—are all present. Procedure flowchart, statistical data, and graphs are introduced in

addition to strengthen the explanation of the results and findings. In order to accurately

demonstrate the influence of PPI, only the data of those participants who have completed 75%

of the PPI are taken for analysis (Antoine et al., 2017). This guarantees that the outcome of the

study is caused by PPI alone rather than other confounding factors. So far, these six facets of

science have all been acquired, indicating that psychology is a science when regarding solely

of this article. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

However, despite the authors’ attempts to create this scientific atmosphere, several

‘flaws’ demonstrating the unscientific aspects of psychology also emerge in the article. Biases

and subjectivity are those who render this article unscientific. For instance, due to the

participants’ knowledge and expectations of the PPI and the possible unintentional implication

or expectations of the investigators, the participants might be more likely to observe positive

emotions or improvements that they have previously neglected. This might lead to imprecise

data since participants might rate themselves closer to the healthier and better scale.

Furthermore, there is no random sampling—meaning that the population hasn’t been equally

represented (Myers, 2014). Instead, the sample has been ‘chosen’ from the related social circles

of Lille University Psychology students and participants are self-selected to participate and to

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 6

be follow up (Antoine et al., 2017). Yet even the authors themselves notice that PPIs yield

better results when their programs are consistent with the participants’ interests and beliefs

(Antoine et al., 2017). The failure of random assignment—a method in which the control and

the experimental groups are randomly assigned to ‘minimize’ the ‘pre-existing differences’

between the two groups—further contributes to the unscientific atmosphere and gives rise to

the differences in education level and professional status (Myers, 2014; Antoine et al., 2017).

Hence the results of the experiment might not be due to PPI alone, the educational level and

the professional status might also be influential. Besides, some measures in the experiment—

such as the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and the questionnaires on anxiety and

depression—have answers arranged on scales indicating the frequency or severity of the tested

targets (Antoine et al., 2017). This might as well be a source of inaccuracy since people have

different sense of their situations and two people choosing the same number might have

significant difference in their actual conditions. Hence analysing from this perspective,

psychology can never truly become scientific since people are always different hence

experiences or observed ‘facts’ are always subjective (Chalmers, 2013).

Overall, this assignment endeavours to find out whether psychology is a science by

defining the concept of science and see if the psychological article fits with these components

of science. While this psychological paper does attain all requirements of ‘science’, people are

always subjective to biases and subjective beliefs and one can argues that psychology can never

fully reach the state of true objectivity and scientific. Thus, to a certain extent, psychology is a

science, yet it is always influenced by unpredictable factors such that its scientific data become

unscientific, unreliable ones. Psychology: The Science of Behavior

IS PSYCHOLOGY A SCIENCE 7

References

Antoine, P., Dauvier, B., Andreotti, E., & Congrad A. (2017). Individual differences in the

effects of a positive psychology intervention: Applied psychology. Personality and

Individual Differences, 122, 140-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.024

Burk, M. (1986). The scientific method. Science, 231(4739), 659.

https://www.jstor.org/stablr/1696283

Chalmers, A. (2013). What is this thing called science? University of Queensland Press.

Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Murray, R. W. (1999). The scientific method. Analytical Chemistry, 71(5), 153A. doi:

10.1021/ac990210y

Myers, D. G. (2014). Myer’s Psychology for AP. New York: Worth Publishers.

Shrake, D. L., Elfner, L. E., Hummon, W. W., Janson, R., & Free, M. (2006). What is

science? Ohio Journal of Science, 106(4), 130-135. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/36490

Williams, J. (2011). How do scientists work. In H R. Toplis (Ed.), How science works:

Exploring effective pedagogy and practice (pp. 31-43). London; New York:

Routledge.

http://hdl.handle.net/1811/36490
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