Imagine if Psychology was a Science

Katherine Johnson who led the female 'computers' for Nasa

One of the reasons, I think, that I'm finding it hard to write about this is that there is so much to say, so I am going to try doing this from a different starting point.

Imagine Psychology as Science

You are feeling a bit off, you cannot quite put your finger on why. You take a test, listing your feelings and behaviours and receive an accurate diagnosis. You take another test, about the type of person you are, and receive an accurate typology of you as a person with regard to therapeutic intervention. Knowing these two pieces of information you can find the correct interventions (which may be a mixture of psychological and medical) to get back to who you want to be.

The secondary school I went to, it was Thorns Comprehensive then

 

 

 

 

Throughout your education accurate diagnostic tools are able to identify any difficulties you may have, and depending on what type of person you are, tested ways to ameliorate the difficulties can be used so that you are not disadvantaged. There are no longer fads in how to teach people, because there is instead a body of psychological knowledge about how to teach people, depending on the type of person they are, to maximise their potential.

It would be possible, at an early age, to predict the sorts of careers you would be best suited for, with an acknowledgement that this can change as you get older. Once at work the work can be designed so that it is not overly stressful, that it is rewarding, so that it allows you, if you wish, to change as a person.

Leg spin bowlers would never get the 'yips'; in fact no athelete would ever have a bad day because of their psychological state because they would always be in the perfect state to do their best.

Slot machines, and other forms of gambling would be utterly enthralling. The major gambling companies already employ psychologists, and give research grants to psychologists, to improve how 'entertaining' people find the experience of gambling.

People could be taught to fight in wars in such a way that they never have psychological distress, no matter what horrors they witness or that they inflict upon the enemy.

Advertisers could craft perfect adverts to make particular products amazingly attractive to specific groups of people.



I would not want to live in a world if psychology was a science. Of course if I was living in such a world I would think it was the best of all possible worlds.