After reading over some articles on Sigmund Freud, I feel that Freud’s theories are not as scientific as they could be. Many of Freud’s theories seem to be more of a pseudoscience that lacks research that utilizes the scientific method and well-structured experiments.
The statement in the article “What is Pseudoscience?” supports my claim via the following words of “Freud’s theories however could never be disproved, because there was no testable hypothesis open to refutability” (Shermer, 2011, p. 1). If there is not a hypothesis, then it is not possible to gain reliability, which is when similar study results are found as researchers test the original hypothesis of a prior researcher. In the case of Freud, it was not possible to do this, the lack of a hypothesis the reason, experiments not the basis for his numerous theories. A theory is scientific if it can be tested and the original study results disproved or proved by other researchers (Ciccarelli & White, 2011).
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"Are Freud’s Theories Scientific?".
Many of Freud’s theories, such as theory of personality and consciousness were devised based on Freud’s own experience with his clients. Freud counseled many wealthy Victorian women who were sexually repressed. His experience conducting psychoanalysis with these women led to his theories of mind, which stated that individuals have a subconscious, conscious, and unconscious mind. Freud felt that adults often have conflicts, which really stem from unresolved conflicts in childhood, these feelings and issues stored in one’s unconscious mind, which come to conscious surface in therapy sessions (Sigmund Freud biography, 2015).
Freud’s psychosexual theories that show a child’s development were not developed by conducting experiments that examined children and adults throughout the life span. These theories were created by Freud’s own thoughts, which makes this theory more of a theory that arose out of Freud’s ideas and educated guesses versus a scientific method tested theory.
As you can, Freud’s theories are more of a pseudoscience, his lack of conducting experiments that offers a testable hypothesis the main factor. While many of Freud’s theories of personality, childhood development, and the mind are highly respected, most of them are based on Freud’s own thoughts and personal experiences.
- Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, N. (2011). Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
- Shermer, M. (2011, August 16). What is Pseudoscience? Retrieved from Scientifc American Web site: http://www.scientificamerican.com
- Sigmund Freud biography. (2015). Retrieved from Advameg Inc. : http://www.notablebiographies.com/
