True enough.

In fact, he likened it to witch

Maybe.  More like a religion to me.  It is a hermeneutic enterprice which
is frought with the basic problem of what you get is waht you see in the
interpretor, not necessarily the data presented.

Now that was written in the 1960's, we're

Psychology is *not* psychoanalysis.  Psychology existed as a lab science
while Freud was still working with eels.  (He should have stayed there!)  
Wundt's lab, though, had similar problems as he was worjing with
introspection to determine the cognition of people.

As to psychology generally, yes it is a science, some of the aspects going
back to the 17th century (see Boring, 1957, History of Experimental
Psychology or his earlier one, I forget which on a method of stimulus
presentation).

I'd be more skeptical of the scientific claims of the clinical branch,
especially any of the 'schools' derived from psychodynamic theory.  I have
used some of that 'research' as examples of how not to di research and
interpret data.  The rest, cognitive behaviorist, etc. are based in
learning theory and do have excellent data on efficacy - they do beat out
psychoanalysis and the derivation into psychodynamic schools effectively.

   (c) 2004.  Copyright, John M. Price, PhD.  All Rights Reserved.
Contents may not be republished in any form or medium without prior
written consent of the author with the express and only exception of
followup postings limited to and within usenet.

Why do you have to believe at all?

I think of science as an activity where facts are organized in such a way as
to predict unexpected or unknown events under various previously untried
circumstances. These predictions are then compare to what actually happens
during the "experiment."

What predictions can psychonanalysis make that can be verified in a
systematic way?

Bill

Yes,

yes. psychiatry is "try it first" drug therapy. Did it help? No, lets try
another one.

"psychology today" is the name of a goofball shallow magazine, mostly "new
age" in nature some gernic knowlege, little to no scientific basis or
structured investigation criteria

What should I believe?

That you owe me $10 for this advice, and send it immediately, I take paypal.

They are not an EXACT science.

KM

  People like to rag on L. Ron Hubbard for many reasons, but I find it
interesting that he shared Feynman's opinion on this issue.

  FWIW, I agree with both of them.

  Mark L. Fergerson

Well, it was a science, but then this happened.

BS's in Psychology, % female
1970 1996 1997 1998 2000
43.4 73.0 73.9 74.4 76.5

Psychology degrees, % female
Year BS   MS   PhD
1971 44.4 40.6 24.0
2000 76.5 75.4 67.4

Employment as psychologists in the US, % female
1985 2001
57.1 61.7

and so the Big Wigs got together, and in a desperate last-minute
retreat and fall-back action decided to declare, after the fact,
that psychology is no longer in fact a science because it's all
women now.

But lo and behold, then came the economists...
Employment as Economists, US, % female
1983 2001
37.9 52.3

and so Economics was declared, likewise after the fact, as
being no longer a science.

Then came the biologists...
Degrees in Biology, % female
Year BS   MS   PhD
1971 29.1 33.6 16.7
2000 58.3 55.3 44.1

and the Big Wigs decided to take quick preemptive action before
the PhD's fell through the 50% line (as they probably already
have by now), and declared that Biology is no longer a science
either, because it's all women going into it.

Then came the administrative staff in the education field...
Employment as administrators in education, % female
1983 2001
41.4 64.1

and the Big Wigs decided, after the fact, that this is no longer
a real management field, because it's turning all women.

But, what are they going to do, when they come after ...

YOU!!

Degrees in Mathematics, % female
Year BS   MS   PhD
1971 37.9 27.1  7.6
2000 47.1 44.9 25.0

Degrees in Physical Sciences, % female
Year BS   MS   PhD
1971 13.8 13.3  5.6
2000 40.3 35.4 25.5

(sounds of children screaming and crying)

and then THIS!

CANADA
1995/6 college-level attendance, % female by field
(add maybe 5-10% points to most fields to update to 2004)

86.9    Service Trades
76.9    Education Science/Teacher Training
71.8    Medical Science & Health-Related
65.4    Home Economonics
62.2    Social & Behavioral Science
60.2    Mass Communications & Documentation
60.0    Commercial & Business Administration
58.9    Humanities, Religion & Theology
58.7    Other, Not Specified
57.8    Fine & Applied Arts
53.1    Law
-----------
49.2    Natural Science
39.2    Architecture & Town Planning
38.5    Agriculture, Forestry & Fishery
27.6    Mathematics & Computer Science
18.7    Engineering
12.9    Trades, Craft & Industrial Programmes
8.6    Transportation & Communications

(children screaming louder, mothers consoling their children
"that's okay.  Engineering and Math are still sciences in Canada,
even though Law is not any longer.")

AND THIS!

Russia, 1994-5, college-level attendance by field, % female:
100.0   Home Economonics
88.7   Service Trades
87.5   Education Science/Teacher Training
83.8   Trades, Craft & Industrial Programmes
78.7   Humanities, Religion & Theology
78.5   Medical Science & Health-Related
77.1   Social & Behavioral Science
74.9   Mass Communications & Documentation
72.0   Commercial & Business Administration
66.4   Fine & Applied Arts
62.5   Architecture & Town Planning
55.0   Mathematics & Computer Science
52.1   Law
51.8   Natural Science
-----------------------
47.7   Agriculture, Forestry & Fishery
46.1   Other, Not Specified
36.0   Transportation & Communications
24.2   Engineering

(children wailing, "mommy!  There's no more sciences left in
Russia!")

AND THIS!
Graduate level: the Other category, Ag and Comm are also over
50% female for that time

(mothers holding their children in tighter, others people
starting to scream)

and now... WITNESS YOUR FUTURE!!!

US Virgin Islands; 1992-3, college-level attendance, by field % female
96.3   Mass Communications & Documentation
96.2   Medical Science & Health-Related
83.2   Social & Behavioral Science
82.7   Education Science/Teacher Training
81.4   Humanities, Religion & Theology
80.5   Commercial & Business Administration
67.4   Mathematics & Computer Science
60.5   Other, Not Specified
54.6   Natural Science

(people screaming falling on the floor, running in a panic,
children and mothers both crying).

There's no more sciences left in the Virgin Islands!!!

RUN! HIDE!

Net Migration Rates, US Virgin Islands, per 100,000
1973  1974  1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982
3476  1139 -2781 -2382  -589  -980     0   128   879  2965

1983  1984  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992
1273 -3537 -4429 -3954 -3444    14    14    14    14    13

1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002
  13    13    13    13    13  -891  -883  -902  -902  -894

The Third Wave Unmasked
http://www.csd.uwm.edu/~whopkins/FourthWave/Part8.htm

  Is psychoanalysis a science? In fact, there's no such thing as "a"
science; there is science, and there are numerous topics which
individuals may or may not treat scientifically. So the question
really becomes, is psychoanalysis handled scientifically by its
practitioners? The answer is a resounding "NO".

  This is not to claim, however, that psychoanalysis is utterly &
universally valueless. It all depends on what one is trying to
accomplish. Remember, psychology can be scientific, psychiatry is
therapy.

-Mark Martin

 Psychology is just the art of getting a math degree,
 and blaming why nothing works on physicists.

 Which Feynmann excelled at, since he actually
 got two degrees.
 One from New York, and one from Los Angelos.

 And since what Los Angelos calls psychology is
 difficult to even call Road Work For Elvis,
 you should believe anybody who doesn't
 still live in the 1960s.