Psychology as a science is being acted on by a number of values. What is wrong or right in the psychological sense has to be proven scientifically through fundamental research and empirical data.
A part from what is right or what is not measurerable, the psychological research has to be accepted by the norms of the society. For instance, this branch of science has to offer investigations into the societal acceptabilities in particular instances. Some communities for example consider certain practices to be taboos as compared to others. Psychology fails to show the universality that exists between what is considered to be psychologically argumentative. For example in one society the traditions and customs require that a man and woman work together in fulfilling the societal expectations of raising a child. While this maybe the norm in this community it might not apply in other communities especially the chauvinistic societies who believe that the work of raising a child lies with a woman.
The thinking of man is shaped by the environment in which he lives. To this extent therefore, it is very difficult to develop a theory that works for all environmental contexts. In order to come up with quality Psychological theory therefore, a scientist should consider all the possible explanations to the theory.
For so many years now, the major concern for the psychologist is to come up with quality undergraduate education where the curriculum that is developed is one that embraces the teachings of this course as a science. To do this, the curriculum developers have to set up goals that can be achieved through a psychological research.
A psychologist should possess a Reasonable skepticism: This means that he/she should be able to question what goes on the human environment with a view to coming up with a scientific explanation. Through observation overtime, one should be able to doubt all questionable aspects of human life that relates to the functioning of the society. For instance, quality psychology should enable one answer questions related to an observed repetitive behaviour in human beings. If you see a child that is developing selfish character traits overtime, you should be able to, not only note or identify this abnormality, this occurrence but through enough data, come up with a logical explanation.
Quality psychology should also deal with evaluating evidence to develop a conclusive and plausible psychological claim; you should adequately analyze data and develop a claim that goes beyond reproach. This is difficult to achieve owing to the fact that different people have different world views. However a psychologist looks at the data over and over again, analyzing details to ensure that a good value judgment is reached from the adequate data observed. You do not wait to be told that a trait is what it is, instead you go out looking for the data required to solve the problem.
In handling the societal ambiguities, it is important to create room for further investigations into the study. You should keep in mind that different things have different meanings depending on the context and the viewpoint. It is however important to make your findings as clear as possible and avoid interpretational ambiguities that may arise in your data which may prevent it from being understood by the intended scholars or audience.
Quality psychology understand the limitations of the psychological knowledge and skills: knowing the limit you are to stay within is very important as it provides the focus and a clear description of the subject matter. You should try as much as possible to stay within your area of study in order to avoid loosing your audience. This will also lead to a clear understanding of the subject matter.
