John Snow's Theory Essay

The reliability and usefulness of a theory in psychology is extremely important as psychology can deal with very sensitive topics, help implement social policies and treat patients. As psychology is a subject that is involved in a number of areas, the theories that are posited by researchers need to be as accurate as possible. One way to do this is to look back in history and find examples of good scientific practices and understand what made them good.
John Snow is known today as a monumental figure in the creation of modern epidemiology (Simmons, 2002) as he was the person to eradicate the cholera outbreaks from the 19th century that have completely ravaged Europe. One of the most affected cities in Europe was London where

Given that both these groups were exposed to the smell, and only one of the groups got sick and not both, was enough empirical evidence to prove Snow’s theory, that indeed cholera is a water transmitted disease. However this was not the only way in which he investigated his idea. The other strategy employed by Snow was to remove the handle of the water pump in Broad Street as according to his data, there was a conglomeration of cholera cases in the area surrounding this specific pump (Snow, 1855). Naturally his assumptions were correct and as people could not drink water from the pump the number of cholera cases lowered. His way of testing this shows that one test is not always enough, and in order for an assumption to be made stronger it needs to be tested in various ways to give an accurate overview of the issue.
One of the key aspects that can be taken from Snow’s work is that in order to prove a theory or hypothesis a researcher needs to use systematic empiricism or in simpler terms, the scientific method. The use of the scientific method is important as it allows for an in depth observation

This was illustrated by the difficulties he encountered when trying to publish his work as other scientists contemporary to him believed his water borne theory was wrong due to lack of sufficient evidence. The idea of contradictions being a positive thing for a theory might seem strange, however it is now known that the ability to think of an aspect that would make a theory redundant shows that indeed the theory has basis in reality and does not exist just through the researcher’s bias. On the other hand if no arguments can be brought against it or if the theory or idea cannot be disproved even if at a hypothetical level, said theory cannot be proved or said to be useful in identifying what it was set to identify. In simpler words, if there is nothing that suggests an idea is incorrect, it doesn’t mean that this vacuum can automatically declare an idea is right and as a general rule in the scientific world, good theories are and should be