Disadvantages of Science

Modified: 2023-08-11 (1:24 PM CDST)

• Information overload--This one is a good example of the unforeseen consequences of the advantage of rapid communication.
  • When I open my electronic mail in the morning I may have over 100 messages waiting for me, and that is not a lot.
  • Some people may have thousands waiting for them.
  • Or, I could go to a scientific meeting every week, but I doubt my employer would let me, because someone else would have to handle my courses.
  • Or, I could buy every journal and book in psychology published this year, but I would never have the time to read them all, nor could I afford to pay for them all.
  • There is information out there all right, too much information.
  • Fortunately, there are ways of minimizing your time searching through all of this information. Most schools now have a way to search on computer all the journals and books ever published in psychology.
  • That service is called PsychINFO, and is available at the Magale Library and online too (you must know your SAU e-mail login to access from outside of SAU).
  • PsychINFO will allow you to key in a topic and it will search for those words and report the results of its search back to you. For example, if you key in "Learned Helplessness," you will get back nearly 3,000 titles that deal with that interesting topic.
• Scientific fraud--Sometimes scientists cheat.
  • They report results that they did not obtain.
  • In other words, they make up the data.
  • Such activity undermines the entire structure of science, so when fraud is discovered, a scientist may lose his/her position or worse.
  • Some have even had to face criminal charges.
  • Scientific fraud usually occurs because of the pressures to achieve results, and is rare (we hope).
  • Here is a LIST of scientists who were caught cheating
• Anti-scientific bias--Not so long ago, American society held a different view of science than it does today.
  • Scientists were held in high esteem.
  • Today, the story is different, due, perhaps, to disasters such asThree Mile Island, revelations of unethical experiments, and the creation of nuclear weaponry.
  • Scientists no longer enjoy the prestige they once had.
• Politics--Politics play a pivotal role in the funding of science today.
  • NASA's space program is an example; it is under constant scrutiny by budget-minded members of Congress.
  • So, today science as a whole is always on the search for more money, and that money is harder to come by than it was some years ago.
  • In addition, a new way of securing funds has surfaced, earmarked funds.
  • These are monies given to fund scientific projects without peer-review, or, outside of the normal way such monies are usually allocated. Earmarked funds have been used in the past to fund some projects of questionable scientific value.
• Popularity--Science is just less popular today than it used to be.
  • Fewer students are attracted to scientific careers, especially women and minorities.
  • The reasons for the drop in popularity are many and complex.
    • They include the rigor of the courses necessary and the greater financial rewards of other less demanding careers.
  • Another example of the relationship of popular culture and science is "New Age" thinking, the belief in the healing powers of quartz crystals, time travel, and out-of-body experiences.
    • New Age thinking is profoundly unscientific but increasingly popular.
• Moral--Many Americans have moral objections to science.
  • They believe that areas are either beyond science or need not be investigated by science.
    • A good example is the theory of evolution.
    • The biblical account of creation is not scientific, and the theory of evolution has provided an alternative explanation for the evolution of life forms on this planet.
  • Although this particular debate has been going on since 1859 when Darwin first published the Origin of the Species, it shows no sign of abating.

So, science is a method of inquiry with particular characteristics. It has some advantages and disadvantages to its use, and is not as widely accepted as it used to be. In this course, however, we will be using the scientific method to explore and study behavior and the mind.

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