Psychology Corner

This is a question often asked to anyone studying psychology. The answer? With all honesty, it only seems unclear. The true response to that question is "no". If you think about it, no science is exact. Even Biology is the study of what we perceive to be true, but we can't know for sure whether the things we learn are really correct. After all, our world is constantly changing, forcing us to prove and disprove nearly everything we "discover".

Staying with Psychology, anything that has to do with the way humans work is never exact, especially when it pertains to our own minds.  Everyone is both nurtured and "natured" in unique ways, so the closest anyone can truly get is a very, very general idea. Not only that, but personality is a greatly varied thing; we have billions of people in our world who all have different personalities.

When addressing this particular discussion, one must begin with the knowledge that everyone's view and interpretation of words is different. Depending on your culture and beliefs, words have different nuances. So begin by asking yourself what exact means to you. Don't pull out your dictionary or look it up on Google or Bing or Yahoo. What does exact mean to you personally? Perhaps it is being correct one hundred percent of the time, or maybe it is getting accurate, though possibly not perfect, answers to any question. Then apply that definition to any science, be it Biology or Chemistry or Anatomy.

It is possible that you said yes to one or more science, depending on your definition. Psychology, however, is more difficult. The independent variables are endless, and you have to add in human nature. In addition, the human brain does not inhibit random events. In fact, it inceases the likelihood of the occurrence random events. There are so many sides to the human psyche that it is nearly impossible to track and pin down one specific event or idea that is exactly the same in a group of people. Take introverts, for example; there are many "subsets" of introverts, each unique to one person. There is the shy introvert, the outgoing introvert, the quiet introvert, the friendly introvert, and so on. Each trait and characteristic of a person defines the level of his or her introverted tendencies.

So what do you think? Is there such thing as an exact science? Can the human brain be accurately, completely tracked at any time throughout a group? Or is the human psyche so complex that it's hard to even track one person's personality?

Next Up:

•Nature vs. Nurture

•Introverts vs. Extroverts