Options

Full-text article (Disclaimer)

Other articles by Ackerman, P

Browse contents of Impact 50

Format this page for printing

 

Core Academy Home Make a Donation Is Genesis History?

 

Considerations Regarding Model for Experimental Psychology
Ackerman, PD. 1977.  Impact 50:i-iv. CELD ID 3133

Abstract
The present paper will discuss some basic considerations in formulating a Biblical creation model for experimental psychology. As a first step, it will be useful to examine in a somewhat oversimplified way the current state of experimental psychology as it operates under the general evolution model. At the heart of the evolutionary viewpoint is the assumption that the universe, including its psychological life forms, is the result of a strictly materialistic process involving vast amounts of time and random changes. If one assumes the validity of this "time plus chance" explanation, it becomes very difficult to believe that present natural phenomena are as complex as they might superficially appear. To put it another way, the evolutionist is logically inclined to assume that underlying the apparent complexity of the universe there must be a very basic simplicity. Thus from the evolutionists' perspective, if scientists are going to explain the thoughts and actions of psychological organisms, they must search for simple, economical explanations of the apparently complex behaviors in which they engage. This leads them to adopt an approach to scientific investigation and explanation which is called "reductionism." The psychologist attempts to explain the very complex things people do such as speaking, problem solving, remembering, and so forth in terms of relatively simple mechanisms.