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Essay / Psychology as a Pradigm - 1673
Thomas Kuhn asserts that more mature sciences than psychology have achieved what he describes as a paradigm (Kuhn, 1963). A paradigm is a model universally accepted by practitioners of a science during its development (Watson, 1966). A paradigm must distance followers from approaches that oppose its own and must be open enough so that the problems it leaves behind can be resolved (Locurto, 2013; Kuhn, 1963). Therefore, a paradigm guides research and defines the problems worth solving (Locurto, 2013). With worldwide acceptance among practitioners, a paradigm defines the science in which it operates. Kuhn (1963) recognizes that the scientific fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and biology are all paradigmatic. In physics, there is Newton's Principia and his laws of motion, in chemistry there is Lavoisier and the atomic theory, and in biology there is Darwin's theory of evolution via natural selection (Locurto, 2013; Kuhn, 1963). Psychology has known nothing like what the laws of motion have done for physics, what atomic theory has done for chemistry, and what evolution has done for biology. Furthermore, the chances of a paradigm emerging in psychology are very slim. The failures of many areas of study in the history of psychology are a precursor to psychology's failure to become a paradigmatic science. The first area of psychology that failed to develop as a paradigm was defined as introspection, introduced by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879. The system of psychology started from the assumption that all activities of the mind could be revealed by internal perception, or introspection, and that conscious processes could be analyzed in their elements (Locurto, 2013). A critique o...... middle of paper ...... gains as a discipline. However, psychology does not agree on the nature of psychology and the model according to which it should be studied. Throughout its history, psychology has had ongoing debates about the fundamental principles of psychology (Watson, 1996). In the field of research, there have been and will continue to be countless debates about the general framework and methodology of an experiment. There have been endless debates about what should be included in the science of psychology (Watson, 1996). It is for this reason that psychology has not encountered, in any area of its domain, paradigms equivalent to those of Isaac Newton's laws of motion in physics or to Darwin's theory of evolution in biology. This story of lack of unity between psychologists is what can lead one to believe that, at least in twenty years, psychology will not become a paradigmatic science...