Summary
Summary 2.3 History and Methods of Psychology: Problem 5
- Course
- Institution
Summary of the literature, videos, tutorials, and exercises for problem 5 of course 2.3 History and Methods of Psychology.
[Show more]
Seller
Followkianakyla
Reviews received
Content preview
PROBLEM 5Learning Goals
• What determines whether something is scientific or pseudoscientific?
• What is pseudoscience? Characteristics
• What determines science and pseudoscience and how can you distinguish between them?
• Why is pseudoscience so popular? And less credible?
• What are the Cudos norms (ethical rules) science should follow?
• What are the external influences (government, politicians) on science?
• What are the threats to (freedom of) science?
SCIENCE AND PSEUDO-SCIENCE
The purpose of demarcations
• Reason for theoretical purposes:
- Crucial for the philosophy of science
• Reason from a practical point of view- distinguishing scientific knowledge from imposters:
- Healthcare: pseudoscience can sometimes result in ineffective or dangerous treatments.
Need patients to know what us actual medical science and pseudoscience
- Expert testimony: when information is presented in court, it might be pseudoscientific,
courts must determine what is actual science and what is pseudoscience
- Environmental policies: decision makers in environmental policy must be able to
distinguish between science and pseudoscience. Because when taking preventative
measures against an environmental hazard, they don’t want to take preventative measures
if there is no valid evidence of it and it is based on pseudoscience.
- Science education: Science education should remain scientific, and students should be
protected against information not based on science
- Journalism: It is important that pseudoscience is not portrayed as scientific in the media.
The Science of Pseudoscience
What constitutes as science:
- Has a positive role in our strivings for knowledge
, - Primarily used about natural sciences, however, also constitutes political economy,
sociology.
- These disciplines are increasingly interdependent: e.g chemistry, biology, astrophysics.
Science: the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and
behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
- had more empirical evidence
- peer reviewed
- Non-science: not in scientific category
- Un-science: goes against laws of science
- Has tendency to change over time à something you believe to be scientific and became
unscientific
o E.g. psychology
The Pseudo of Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience: a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific
method.
• Non, un and pseudoscience
- All non-science is not pseudoscientific
- Unscientific is narrower than non-scientific, and pseudoscientific is narrower than
unscientific.
- Pseudoscience aims to be a science and non-science does not?
• Non-science posing as science
- Pseudoscience is non-science posing as science.
- Criteria for pseudoscience:
1) not scientific,
2) try to create the impression of being scientific.
- However above criteria are too wide
- The second criterion is less important à needs careful treatment not least since many
discussions of pseudoscience have been confused due to insufficient attention to it.
• The doctrinal component
- Above criteria is too wide: e.g fraud in science satisfies criteria but is not called
pseudoscience
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller kianakyla. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.25. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67232 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now