Evaluate the claim that, when interacting within a social environment, people are intuitive scientists seeking ‘truths’ in a logical and rational way.

The claim that, when interacting within a social environment, people are ‘intuitive scientists’ originates with Kelley (1967, p.72), though as an oxymoron the term is not strictly helpful. Nonetheless, this essay seeks to explore the degree to which people are ‘scientific’ in their everyday social interactions. In so doing, it will touch on the degree to which Experimental Social Psychology is able to achieve meaningful results in the laboratory whilst preserving ecological validity, but the primary objective is to evaluate the merits of research that supports or denies the claim.

That people are scientific in their approach to social situations presupposes they have some underlying cognitive means of systematically representing the situation….(short extract)