Psychology

When I tell people I have a degree in psychology, they often think I'm in a position to diagnose their family and friends. I'm not. Clinical psychology, the area of psychology where diagnosis occurs, is a specialist area in the broader field. I feel this equivocation is also where the tension between those who debate whether psychology is a science or not get confused. I like to explain it as clinical psychology being the application of psychological research. A researcher doesn't necessarily have the appropriate training to diagnose individual cases. Research psychology is more my area of interest.

Conceptual Frameworks, Incommensurability, and the Replication Crisis in Psychology

By Barry on Fri, 14/12/2018 - 15:22
I tweaked someone else's image using GIMP. You can find the original at https://pixabay.com/en/animal-antique-art-art-gallery-3013766/
In this article I've adapted the presentation I gave for my Master's proposal. The feedback to my proposal was positive and encouraging. However, coming as no great surprise to anyone to anyone, the consistent theme in the feedback has been that I need to narrow the scope of my thesis even further. It is likely that the final topic of my dissertation will be found somewhere within what I talk about below, but it is unlikely to cover everything I discuss.

McGurk Effect 1, Naive Realism 0

By Barry on Sun, 14/10/2018 - 11:37
I tweaked someone else's image using GIMP. You can find the original at https://pixabay.com/en/chair-couch-furniture-road-sofa-1840011/
Naive realism means different things to different people. I give a rough definition of how I think about it, write about what I like about it, but also why I inevitably think it in unsupportable. My main example for this is the McGurk Effect, a perceptual illusion that occurs when what you see changes what you hear. I also take the opportunity to drop in some references to David Chalmers and Alfred North White Head.

Anomalistic Psychology: What is it?

By Barry on Sat, 13/10/2018 - 08:17
I tweaked this image using GIMP. You can find the original at https://pixabay.com/en/meditation-spiritual-yoga-1384758/
In this article, I try and formulate an easy to digest explanation for what anomalistic psychology is. In the second part, I share stories about two of the individuals that have inspired my ongoing interest into why people believe in esoteric phenomena despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.