In Chapter 2, How Psychologists Do Research, we learned that scientists must be willing to make a risky prediction that can be disproved by counterevidence. How does the principle of falsifiability apply to psychodynamic and humanist theories?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: A good answer will include the following key points.
• The principle of falsifiability states that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen.
• Many psychodynamic concepts about unconscious motivations are, in fact, impossible to confirm or disconfirm.
• As with psychodynamic theories, the major scientific criticism of humanist psychology is that many of its assumptions are untestable.
• One reason for this is that many humanist concepts are difficult to define operationally. For example, how can we know whether a person is self-fulfilled or self-actualized?