ABSTRACT

Background: Investigating the intellectual-philosophical underpinnings of psychological theories is important for understanding them correctly, the correct application of therapeutic approaches and growth of this field.

Aim: To study the model of knowledge production in psychology.

Method: This study is a review and qualitative analysis of content. The statistical population under study is all the content and opinions that have the words of “knowledge” and “science” in the field of psychology. Sampling was performed purposefully by sequential sampling method from theoretical to data saturation. The instrument used in this study was the coding checklist that its content and face validity were examined by expert professors. First, the initial coding was performed according to the research questions. Some codes were combined to form a more general title, and some codes became smaller codes (secondary coding). Then, the notes for the same codes were put together, and the psychology perspective were presented and written after re-reading them.

Results: The findings show that different schools of psychology influenced by two different thought-philosophical schools of rationalism and empiricism and different scientific approaches such as positivism, falsificationism, understanding based approaches and the relativism of sociological views of science and each emphasizes on the different concepts of anthropology, epistemology and methodology in the field of health and psychological pathology. Also, the field of psychology of science highlights the necessary factors for the development of science and technology.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that in psychology have been effective two general approaches of rationalist-idealistic and empiricist-realistic, which, provides a framework for theorizing and presenting a comprehensive model of science in general and mental health and psychological pathology in particular by being in a cohesive and unifying whole.