ABSTRACT
Route map
In this chapter, we look at scientific psychology. We start by thinking about the ways in which we come to know things and consider science to be a ‘way of knowing’ with particular strengths. We look at how views of science developed over time and what the principles and assumptions underlying scientific psychology are. We then look at how psychology can be carried out scientifically and evaluate whether it can be seen as a science. Following this, we consider a range of issues in scientific psychology, including threats to the validity of psychology research and ethical issues. We conclude by thinking about some alternatives to scientific psychology.
