Thought Field Therapy: A Case Study

502 Words3 Pages
The principle of ruling out rival hypotheses suggests when analyzing data, one must consider several alternative hypotheses in order to rule out which is best supported for the claim (Lilienfeld et al., 2014, p. 22). In Scenario C, the method of Thought Field Therapy is presumably a new breakthrough to cure all mental illnesses, but the fact that this treatment could be almost identical to other types of therapy such as acupuncture it is not considered. In order to follow this principle, the treatment should be performed again, however use the tapping and poking methods on separate participants. If the results are very similar, then the assumption that Thought Field Therapy is a new breakthrough can be ruled out by the hypothesis that…show more content…
24). If a claim cannot be tested in order to prove it false, then it is pseudoscientific. In Scenario C, the results of the experiment claim that Thought Field Therapy permanently cures its patient. If this experiment is to be replicated in order to attempt to disprove it, it would be nearly impossible since the patient must be monitored for the rest of her life to observe the permanency of the treatment. In order to demonstrate falsifiability, they must assume that the effects of TFT lasts for a certain amount of time, so that it is possible observe whether it can be disproved. The principle of extraordinary claims suggests that a scientific claim that produces new benefits must be able to have a great amount of evidence to back it up (Lilienfeld et al., 2014, p. 26). In Scenario C, the evidence mentioned does not even back up the claim, but rather only supports the fact that the procedure can be replicated. Because this extraordinary claim suggests such an exaggerated case and lacks a tremendous amount of evidence, it cannot be considered scientific. Also mentioned above, in order for this claim to be approved, they must dismiss the assumption that the results are ceaseless and rather, assume the results last for an amount
Open Document