all of their problems come from their mothers, the stars, their biochemical make-up, their diet, their lifestyle and even the "karma" from their past lives." These opinions are describing psychotherapy and not psychology in its core. Remembering that psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of humans and animals, we should look at their methods of study. As we have seen, psychologists use scientific methods in an attempt to understand and predict behavior, to develop procedures for changing behavior, and to evaluate treatment strategies. Mitchell and Jolley discuss the question of whether psychology is a science in the first chapter of their text 'Research Design Explained' (3rd Edition). Their conclusions support the claim that psychology is a science. They discuss the facts that psychology produces objective evidence that can be replicated (replicated with the same success as physics and chemistry experiments). That it unearths observable, objective evidence that either supports or refutes existing beliefs and creates new knowledge. And that psychology is open- minded about claims, even those that go against common sense and sceptical about ideas that, even though they make sense, have not been supported by any research evidence. If we can define a science using subjective methods then Psychology is definitely a science. Psychology represents an empirical science, its methods demanding empirical testing of hypotheses. Many empirical results of psychology are subject to personal interpretation and intense dispute. This can be see...
