Читать книгу Methods in Psychological Research - Annabel Ness Evans - Страница 32

For scientists, hypotheses and theories must be falsifiable through empirical research. They must be testable such that they could be shown to be false. Some theories are just not refutable. Consider Freud’s theory about repression. The assumption is that psychological problems of adults are rooted in childhood trauma. Is this hypothesis falsifiable? We don’t think so. If an adult can recall and describe a childhood trauma, the Freudian will conclude that his or her current problems developed because of the trauma. If an adult cannot recall any trauma, the Freudian concludes that he or she has repressed the events into his or her unconscious mind. This hypothesis cannot be proven wrong. This hypothesis, like much of Freud’s theory, is pseudoscience. Consider another example of pseudoscience. A psychic who is brought into a laboratory and asked to demonstrate his powers in a controlled setting and who cannot do so claims that the air of skepticism of the researchers is responsible for interfering with the psychic forces. The psychic wins either way. His powers are proven when he demonstrates evidence of psychic ability. His powers, however, are not disproved when he does not.