Intuition and Common Sense V. Scientific Approach

Do you think Intuition and common sense are sufficient for understanding why people act the way they do? In what ways is scientific approach appropriate for studying human behavior?

To assist in understanding why intuition and common sense may not be enough to understand why people act the way they do, let me first clarify what they are.  Both can be classified as gut instinct and are biased personal opinions with no research of any sort to back them up.  Intuition and common sense are based solely on personal feelings and or opinions not fact or findings.

 

 

To answer the question "in what ways is scientific approach appropriate for studying human behavior?" I would clarify that a scientific approach is the opposite of what intuition and common sense are.  Scientific approach is based on research and results of repeated testing that are then experimented repeatedly over set length of time to ensure that the said results stand true even after vigorous scrutinization.

Scientific methods used for finding answers are far more valid and legitimate than those resulting from intuition and common sense.  The latter are often inaccurate.  Scientific approach provides us with more objective and dispassionate reasoning based on repeated scientific testing.  Further experiments using larger and often wider variety of test subjects are then carried out to ascertain and support that the original reasoning and results hold up to further investigation.

Both perspectives are important. For example, knowing cases in greater depth ensures that quantitative research is grounded in real-world situations and is less likely to be misleading. Intuition can also help scientists figure out what variables to consider and how to build an appropriate model.

However, intuition and common sense are by no means sufficient for understanding why people act the way they do.  At most they may serve as an initial idea for a scientific experiment that if carried out efficiently will either support or nullify the original intuition or idea bought about by common sense thought. Scientific approach has the advantage of being detail-oriented, logical, and quantitative and can be highly evidence-based, given a statistically accurate weight to each factor considered. The Scientific approach is specifically designed to eliminate bias and faulty thinking, making it a lot more appropriate for studying human behavior as it yields more accurate and reliable results.

 

 

 

An example supporting the Scientific approach would be:  patients with serious illnesses that are discussing treatment options with the doctor, do not want to hear their doctor,“I’ve only given out this pill twice. Both patients died, but I knew each of them really well.”  It would be a lot more encouraging for them to hear,“this pill has been given out 10,000 times and only two people have ever died.  I never met those two people, but there’s a 99.98% chance the pill will cure you.”