Scientific Research Discussion Notes

Assignment Discussion
October 24th 2016
Research and Analysis 500


                                         According to the four steps of the scientific method

1) Observation and Description


2) Hypothesis Formulation


3) Use of the Hypothesis


4) Testing


Freud's theories were in part in accordance with these methodical steps. (In my opinion of course.)

        While a large part of his work was done without regard for testing the masses like we do today with our many advances and advantages to our scientific communities, that doesn't mean that the man didn't test any subjects at all in terms of his many observations, a multitude of theories, hysteria hypothesis and continual use of his own scientific method in his head testing in detail the patients he had.

        According to S.A. McLeod, "Science uses an empirical approach" which is an approach where you "gain knowledge through experience" which is what we consider as our scientific method now. By this standard, I believe that Freud did just that. He only had a small testing bank of people. While Freud is not the father of experimental psychology, he is widely considered the father of psychology which came first. So by today's standards, I would be inclined, as most will, to say that Freud's theories are not scientific. However, by the standards that were in place at the time in which he was in practice and where he was located with his availability for resources, I believe he was at that time.

        According to the paper Psychoanalysis: Freud's Revolutionary Approach by Kristen M. Beystehner there is a debate over Freud's data. Further proving that he was adhering to a scientific method, despite its early development and his limited number of participants. Ms. Beystehner sites Grunbaum (author of "Precis of the Foundations of Psychoanalysis: A Philosophical Critique") and other critics as contending "that Freud's theory is lacking in empirical evidence and relies too heavily on therapeutic achievements, whereas others assert that even Freud's clinical data are flawed, inaccurate, and selective at best." Then siting the counter by Edelson and Shevrin that "Freud's admirable heuristic hypothesis did not come out of the thin air or simply out of his imagination.. extra clinical methods must be drawn upon in addition to the clinical method because the clinical method is the only way we can be in touch with certain phenomena". Ms. Beystehner further elaborated "Only with quantification, many critics assert, can supposedly scientific theories even begin to be evaluated based on their empirical merits." That, in my opinion, is proved when she went on to report that Freud "fully presented only twelve cases, but he had mentioned over one hundred minor cases."

        Whether they were accepted or not for the purpose of the question asked again, yes, I believe they were scientific theories because he followed the scientific method at the time he was practicing psychology as he saw fit to the best of his ability.

        In terms of pseudoscience what makes a psychological theory scientific is being able to prove it with the scientific method of empirical evidence. According to the article, "What is Pseudoscience? Distinguishing Between Science and Pseudoscience is Problematic" by Michael Shermer, Freud was pseudoscience because his theories "could never be disproved because there was no testable hypothesis open to refutability." I disagree as I believe Freud had many hypotheses for things that have been proven throughout the test of time. Things such as aliens, horoscopes, and mediums are all subjects of a pseudoscience because while they have all stood the test of time they have never been confirmed in a laboratory setting with controlled variables or confirmed by our government yet as real.



                                                      Works Cited and References:

• McLeod, S.A. (2008). Psychology As A Science. Retrieved From: www.simplypsychology.org/science-pschology.html
• Beystehner, Kristen M. (1998). Psychoanalysis: Freud's Revolutionary Approach to Human Personality. Retrieved From: www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beystehner.html
• Shermer, Michael (2011). What is Pseudoscience? Distinguishing Between Science and Pseudoscience is Problematic. Retrieved From: www.scienticamerican.com/article/what-is-pseudoscience/