Question

When your friend hears that you are taking a psychology course, she asserts that psychology is simply common sense. Explain why common sense is not the best way to understand human behavior. Describe the methods of science and explain why they are superior to common sense in understanding human behavior.

Answer 1

Why Common sense is not the best Way?

Common sense can be used in psychology, but it is not the ultimate way to understand someone’s behavior. Common sense sometimes refers to some intuitions which have no validity and reliability. We can’t able to assume someone’s behavior by some common senses. These common senses can be wrong because they have no scientific validity and significance

Sometimes common sense provides right data or sometimes not. So we can’t depend on the reliability of Common sense for assuming or Understanding human behavior. So we can say that common sense is not the best way to understand human behavior

Scientific Methods

Observation Method- Observation method is one of the scientific method which conducts human behavior. In this method, an experimenter collects data and observes the Subject. After collecting the data, psychologists used analyze these collected data

Observation method is very useful to understanding human behavior. Most of the time observation method is based on natural settings, because subject will be unable to aware about the experiment. So experimenters can have authentic and reliable information.

Experimental Method

Experimental method is another scientific method. In this method, the whole experiment will be done in the Laboratories and in Under the Controlled situation. In Experimental method the effect of independent variable will be studied for understanding someone’s behavior.

This method is very useful and provides reliable and significant data.

Case Study Method

Case study method refers to the collection of information about the past. We need to know all the past history of a patient for analyzing her behavior. This method includes all the past and personal information of the patient. This is a scientific method for assuming someone’s behavior.

Survey Method

Survey method refers to gather information from a large group of members. This method includes Questionnaires, Interviews and Rating scales. This method helps to understand the behavior of a large group of people. This method is also a scientific method that results authentic and reliable conclusion

Why scientific methods are more superior?

Scientific methods provides better understand in the theoretical level. Not only has that, scientific methods given significance and reliable information. Scientific procedures also help to understand abnormal human behaviors. Chances of biasness will be decreased for using Scientific methods.

In other hand, Common senses are just some intuitions. These intuitions have no validity and can provide wrong conclusion. Common sense can create biasness also. Because people who uses common sense to understand others have the tend to view others in their own view points. Common sense has no significance and not able to assume someone’s behavior significantly.

So we can conclude that, scientific methods are more superior than Common Sense.