Po co psychologia?

Abstract

Three main problems are considered The first is that psychology should avoid any inclination towards neuroscience or a type of brain science. Making use of the achievements of natural sciences, psychology should take into regard the cultural conditions [determinants] and methods worked out in social sciences. Thus, it should adopt the antireductionistic methodological programme. The second problem is that psychology must reject the papers that entice with apparent scientific approach being actually of no real worth, Also the threat posed to psychological practice by pseudo-scientific monographs and pseudo-test should be recognized. They offer scientifically false basis of practical work of psychologists in the sphere of social practice. The third problem is that each psychological practice should be preceded by a psychological theory that is empirical and needs to be verified by a methodologically correct method. Thee underlying empirical psychological theory makes a given psychological practice sensible and ethical. The status of psychology as a science and the status of psychological practice are related to the quality of education of future psychologists. The author definitely opts for the model of full-time 5-year master’s degree studies (so against the Bologna model of 3-year licentiate (BA) followed by a 2-year master’s degree study (MA)), supplemented with a one-year training under supervision of an experienced specialist. The effective and ethical work of professional psychologists in Poland suffers from the lack of legal regulations that would protect this profession against the infiltration of all kinds of charlatans offering pseudo-scientific diagnostic tools like e.g. the Tree test of Charles Koch and therapies like e.g. the Systemic Constellation of Bert Hellinger. Of utmost importance is development of not only methodological awareness but also ethical awareness in psychologists and students of psychology. Moreover, the education should bring the realization of the effects and danger of scientific misconduct of FFP type, that is fabrication, falsification, plagiarism.