Essay
Psychology as a science
- Module
- Psychopathology
- Institution
- AQA
Amazing in depth analysis with examples from relevant studies proving how psychology is a science.
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I believe that psychology holds a firm position among the sciences as it uses dedicatedmethods to prove a hypothesis such as testing practically and experimenting to establish
facts that can be proven. Different methods in testing that have also been used in the
traditional sciences are used in psychology such as falsification to remove unconscious bias
from the experiment. The use of peer review is also used commonly in psychology as it is
used in the traditional sciences. Other experts in the field of psychology are used as second
observers who provide more analysis about the testing or experiment, again removing tester
bias.
Hofling Hospital Experiment
The main aim of the Hofling Hospital Experiment was to investigate obedience to authority in
a real-world setting, specifically within a hospital environment.The experiment was designed
to test the extent to which the nurses would obey the doctor’s commands, even if they were
asked to perform an action that could potentially harm a patient.
The procedure involved a field experiment involving 22 night nurses. Dr. Smith (the
researcher) phoned the nurses at a psychiatric hospital (on night duty) and asked them to
check the medicine cabinet to see if they had the drug astroten. As the nurse goes to find
the drug ‘astroten’ the nurse will see that the maximum dosage is 10mg and anything above
it would be fatal. When the nurse speaks to the ‘Doctor’ on a call the Doctor instructed them
to administer a dosage of 20mg. Also the Doctor would say he was in a hurry and would sign
the form with the patient later so the nurse would administer the medicine quickly.
When the call ended the nurse either
-Followed the doctor’s orders
-Resisted the order
-Went to get advice
-Became upset
-Or could not find the medication
If the nurse administers the lethal dosage to the patient the nurse would have broken 3 rules
of the hospital
1.They are not allowed to accept instructions over the phone
2.The dose was double the limit written on the packaging
3. The medicine itself was unauthorised i.e. not on the ward stock list
The study also used a control group to compare the findings from the experimental group.
In another hospital, 21 student nurses and 12 graduate nurses were asked to complete a
questionnaire about what they would do if confronted with the experimental situation.
These participants were not exposed to the actual experimental situation (the doctor’s phone
call).Instead, they were given a questionnaire asking them how they would respond if faced
with the same scenario described in the experiment.
Results
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