Is psychology a real science?

Elliot (No)

Psychology is not a real science because of its subjective nature, its reliance on prescribing dangerous drugs, and its failure to meet the essential criteria of science. Psychology is highly subjective because you have to listen to the patient and come to conclusions based on what you think is happening inside their head. There is no blood test for depression, anxiety, and many other mental health conditions. Which psychologist is right if one thinks the patient has bipolar disorder, while the other believes that they have manic depressive disorder? Conversely, it is very clear when someone has lung cancer. Doctors can see it and even touch the tumor. In psychology, there is very little quantifiable data or evidence aside from human emotions and behavior, which is interpreted in many different ways. 

The closely related field of psychiatry basically consists of prescribing questionable medications created by Big Pharma. There are serious doubts over the ethics of these companies, especially because they sparked the opioid crisis while fully knowing they were distributing highly addictive substances. Some don't see a real difference between a psychologist and an ordinary drug dealer when these medications do little to help or sometimes include the symptoms they're trying to cure as side effects. Numerous antidepressants, antipsychotics, and other drugs have been linked with severe side effects, including increased suicidality. In contrast, a surgeon can remove a tumor and 'cure' the issue in a very tangible, real way. 

But perhaps most importantly, psychology fails to meet the “five basic criteria for real science.” These are clearly defined terminology, quantifiability, highly controlled experimental conditions, and predictability/testability. All five criteria have been successfully and convincingly challenged in the context of psychology. While psychology may be an interesting field, it cannot truly be called “science” because of these facts. 

Sam (Yes)

Psychology utilizes a scientific approach to study the human psyche. The conclusions that psychology experts come to are based on a high standard of research practices, namely the scientific method. Like scientific researchers in other fields, psychologists make observations, formulate and modify hypotheses, collect data through tests/experiments, draw conclusions, and cross-check their work with others in the field.

Psychology incorporates the concepts of physical sciences like biology and chemistry, adding to its credibility. For example, if a psychologist is studying anxiety disorders, they will inevitably have to consider biology concepts like sensitivity to the environment and regulation. Continuing this example, the psychologist will also come across research related to chemistry, specifically the neurotransmitters related to anxiety disorders. Therefore, the science of psychology is not entirely theoretical but is instead based on tangible scientific findings that can be observed, manipulated, and tested.

While the roots of Western medical science emerged in ancient times, the science of modern psychology began in 1879. However, the “newness” of modern psychology as a scientific discipline should not take away from its merits as a real science. There was a time in early medical science when bloodletting was considered a viable treatment or cure for diseases. We now know that such a practice is ineffective and usually more harmful than helpful. Still, these early mistakes in medical theory and practice don’t take away from the validity of medicine as a science altogether. With ever-increasing access to information, technological advancement, and rigorous standards of publication, we can be confident in the existing scientific findings of psychology. We should feel confident that any missteps in research will be corrected quickly.