Psychology and statistics: the importance of probabilities in behavioral science

Mathematics is very present in scientific psychology.

Mathematics is an important part of science and psychology, as a science, makes use of it to achieve its goals of predicting and controlling human behavior.

For this purpose, the use of probability is important, which allows scientists to have greater certainty in predicting how people act.

Psychology and statistics: what is their relationship?

The use of mathematics has been an important part of the sciences since they emerged as such at the beginning of the modern era, to the point where the great influence of numbers in what we now call scientific knowledge. Francis Bacon proposed a strong protagonism of mathematics as part of his new method, while Galileo Galileo conceived mathematics as the language with which God wrote nature (Fraile, 2000).

In this way, it is entirely reasonable that psychologyas the science that it is, uses mathematics in one way or another in its studies, either in an auxiliary way or as part of the hypothetical deductive method (Fraile, 2000). hypothetical deductive method. This method has been the subject of one of the constant controversies among psychology theorists (Silva, 2013).

What are the purposes of psychology as a science?

Now, in order to understand the importance of probability in psychological science, it is necessary to understand the purposes of psychology. In this regard, Coon and Mitterer (2010) tell us that psychology pursues four goalsnamely: the description, understanding, prediction and control of behavior and mental processes..

It is important, however, to have a clear understanding of what is meant by the concepts of prediction y control. By prediction is understood as the ability to foresee a behavior with certainty, while by control is simply the ability to modify the conditions that affect behavior (Coon and Mitterer, 2010: 15).

The moment when probabilities come into play

Having understood the above, it can be said that probability helps precisely in achieving the third objective and is, in a way, the foundation of the fourth point. That is, in order for psychology to be able to predict and/or control behavior, it is necessary for it to be able to make all the particular data it obtains through research capable of being generalized and from there to be able to infer, with a sufficient rate of certainty, a behavior, action or situation.

Probability and statistics are used, on the one hand, as a way to obtain, interpret and generalize data, interpret and generalize dataand, on the other hand, to be able to predict from there certain future events. This can be clearly observed in the fact that the use of the surveysurveys, the studies correlational studies and case studies as research methods. The survey is used to obtain data is used to collect information from a representative sample of a population, while correlational studies seek the relationship that may exist between two variables, which are not necessarily the cause of each other. Finally, the case study allows the study of a single subject or situation in a high degree of detail. (Halguin and Krauss, 2008).

Statistics: a key element for inferring results

As expected, all these methods (and even the experimental method) require probability in order to infer results. require probability in order to infer results. But it goes beyond just numbers, it touches on issues that once applied can affect the people being treated, for example, in a psychological office or in the work or school environment, for example.

The issues addressed in these three areas directly affect people's lives and therefore it is important to consider, on the one hand, the probabilities of success in therapy, or in the job interview or in the school interview, for example.The issues dealt with in these three areas directly affect people's lives and therefore it is important to consider on the one hand the probabilities of success in therapy, or in the job interview or at school, so that a more accurate and efficient intervention can be given that can really help people and give them effective tools to achieve their goals in the best possible way.

In the end, what we are looking for with probability, from a scientific point of view, will be the predictability of an event. But from a personal point of view -and not infrequently existential for many people- what is sought is a certainty that gives meaning to the reality we live in.

Bibliographical references:

• Bologna, E. (2011) Statistics for Psychology and Education. Córdoba: Ed.

• Coon, D. and Mitterer, J. (2010). Introduction to Psychology. Mexico: Cengage Learning

• Fraile, G. (2000) Historia de la Filosofía III: Del humanismo a la Ilustración. Madrid: BAC.

• Halguin, R. and Krauss, S. (2008). Psychology of Abnormality. Mexico: Mc Graw Hill

• Silva, A. (2013) Fundamentos filosóficos de la Psicología. Mexico: PAX