On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, Johnna K. Shapiro wrote:
> At 12:30 PM -0500 3/23/99, Michael Sylvester wrote:
> > I point out to students that there are basically four ways to
> >establish belief:by authority,feelins,reason and the scientific.
> >SNIP...
> >psychology examines all these
> >methods in order to allow them to look for flaws in arguments.
>
> I was under the impression (drilled into me by all of my undergrad psych
> profs and by a tough crew of graduate school advisors/professors/mentors
> that psychology actually uses the *last* of these - the scientific method -
> to ask its questions, which separates us from other ways of knowing about
> how people think, feel, and behave.
>
> Michael -
> Is psychology not a science to you?
>
> Johnna
>
I never said that Psychology was not a science.I was implying that
most students would probably employ the authoritative,rationalistic
and feeling paradigms but we prefer the scientific approach.On the other
hand,I find it more interesting at times to point out the flaws
that emanate from taking the non-scientific approaches.
On the other hand,they all have aspects of cognitive control
for the individual be it the religious fanatic or the die-hard
scientist.
Michael Sylvester,Ph.D
Daytona Beach,Florida
"if you perceive something as real,it is real
in its consequences."
