Paradigms & Falsifiability (A2 only)

Q: Kuhn's Theory on Paradigms

According to the American philosopher __Thomas Kuhn__, a science should have a shared set of: =a) assumptions=, =b) scientific methods= and =c) terminology=.

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Paradigms

A paradigm is a collective body of evidence, theories and results that define a certain aspect of science.

Definition

There are certain points in science history where a new body of evidence has been presented that disrupts the current accepted thinking.
This means the theories, methods, techniques and principles are adjusted in what is known as a paradigm shift.

Kuhn (1970)

A paradigm is a collective set of ideas, principles and methods that the majority of scientists base their work on.
Kuhn (1970) stated that for something to be a science, it had to be based on a paradigm.

Psychological paradigms

As psychology does not have an overarching paradigm, some have argued that psychology is not a science.
Others disagree and state psychology is a science as it is made up of multiple “mini-paradigms”.

Behaviourist approach

An example of a paradigm in psychology is the behaviourist approach where psychologists could only study the outward behaviours of people rather than their inner workings.

Behaviourist paradigm shift

An example of a paradigm shift would be when the behaviourist approach transitioned into the cognitive approach.
- With new technology, the structure and function of the brain were more able to be studied. Before, only the behaviours of people could be studied.

Paradigm shift

An example of a paradigm shift in science would be the theory of biogenesis that life comes from life.
Previously, it was thought that life sprung from non-living matter (spontaneous generation).

Kuhn's Theory on Paradigms

According to the American philosopher Thomas Kuhn, a science should have a shared set of: a) assumptions, b) scientific methods and c) terminology.

Psychology: methods & terminology

Psychology is clearly succeeding in b) scientific methods and c) terminology because we use the scientific method by setting up experiments to test our hypotheses and we do have specialist vocabulary.
a) assumptions, is slightly more contentious as psychology has a number of competing explanations for human behaviour.

Not one paradigm

Kuhn is arguing that as there is not one paradigm (unifying theory or set of ideas) that psychology uses to explain human behaviour it cannot be considered a science.
However, many of the natural sciences also have competing paradigms to explain phenomena.
Furthermore, psychology has gone through paradigm shifts throughout history as different explanations have gained more popularity e.g. biological, psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive, etc.

Falsification does not mean something is false; rather that if it is false, then this can be shown by observation or experimentation. Scientific theories should be falsifiable. Some theories in psychology are not falsifiable.

Popper - white swan example

Popper famously inferred in his quote that ‘All swans are white’ can be falsified by observing just one black swan.
No theory in science is ever final, experiments can be repeated many times and that provides evidence that the theory is sound, but we cannot ‘prove’ it beyond reasonable doubt, however, one negative result can falsify that theory.
- NB. Never use the word ‘prove’ in psychology, only bread proves!

Popper (1969)

Popper (1969) argued that scientific theories are abstract (such as the theory of relativity), so it can be difficult to prove them correct.
Rather, he stated that science should work to prove theories false.

Freud

Certain theories in psychology are difficult to prove correct as they are either abstract or are based on unprovable ideas.
- For example, Freud’s psychodynamic approach to how gender develops is difficult to falsify as it happens in the unconscious mind.
Obviously, the unconscious mind is difficult to measure and quantify.