A group of clinical psychologists are debating the underlying causes of major depressive disorder. One researcher argues from a cognitive perspective (faulty information processing), another from a biological perspective (monoamine neurotransmitter deficit), and a third from a psychodynamic perspective (unconscious conflicts).
According to Thomas Kuhn, what does this co-existence of conflicting theoretical perspectives suggest about the scientific status of psychology?
Psychology has successfully undergone a paradigm shift, allowing researchers to integrate multiple contradictory approaches.
Psychology is in a state of 'pre-science' because it lacks a single, universally accepted paradigm to unify the discipline.
Psychology has reached the stage of 'normal science' because researchers are actively engaged in hypothesis testing within their respective fields.
Psychology is a pseudoscience because the coexistence of multiple perspectives means none of its theories can be falsified.
276 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Debates, covering Nature/nurture, Freewill/determinism, Reductionism/holism, Individual/situational explanations, Usefulness of research, Ethical considerations, Conducting socially sensitive research, and Psychology as a science. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.