For a long time now, people have been saying that psychology isn’t an actual science. This is based on the standard “scientific method”. This method requires repeatable results from repeatable processes. Seems like a good way to do things, and it is. When it works.

Psychology is one of the places it doesn’t work. Does that mean it’s not a science? Of course not, and I can tell you why. There’s another science that suffers from the same issues. What you may wonder would that be? Meteorology. What you may wonder do they have in common? It goes like this.

How about working with such large data sets that repeatable processes become impossible? How about dynamic systems where huge percentages of the relevant variables change constantly? The scientific method is predicated on the ability to control the variables in an experimental setting. That level of control is not viable in either meteorology or psychology. So how do you establish scientific validity for a field that doesn’t play by the rules?

Well, it’s not easy. First off, you need to change the criteria for “scientific” studies. Instead of requiring control, acknowledge that control is an illusion. There’s no reasonable way to duplicate any one person’s experiences, so an expectation of reproducible results is ludicrous. This is a more localized version of the problems meteorologists have predicting weather. Too many variables. Too little processing power.

Global weather systems and the human psyche are phenomenally complex systems. Expecting them to fit neatly in to labs makes no sense at all. The fact is, both systems are based as much on observation, as if/then logic. By wasting less time questioning it’s validity, we free up resources to push forward the study of psychology.

All sciences took time to achieve legitimacy. Few have as much raw data to work with. None are as dynamic as the human mind. Not even the weather, and I think it’s pretty obvious they still have some glitches to work out there.

So yes, psychology is a science. Not only that, it’s probably one of the most complex sciences there is. That’s why it’s not all neat and tidy and sorted out. That doesn’t mean it never will be.

Cheers, Winston