Scientists prefer to rely on deduction rather than induction. In the ideal theoretical model, all terms used are explicitly defined. According to statistical convention, if the result is significant at the p less than .05 level, then the hypothesis under test is true. Unlike the natural sciences, crucial tests of a theory or two conflicting theories are impossible in social psychology. Because values do play a key role in social psychology, this field is not as scientific as the other sciences.
Scientific knowledge grows in a cumulative process.
Any discipline that uses the scientific method is a science. The goal of science is ultimate truth. It is not possible, in any science, to perform a study that will prove a theory. The laws of nature maintain order in the universe. Unlike other sciences, social psychology yields only probabilistic predictions.