Abstract

Psychology, as a scientific discipline, has had to face great challenges, as the classification among natural or social sciences, or the instauration of the labs as valid entities for the experimental analysis of the behavior, and the discussions about the utilization of animal models. In the present article the preferences about these topics of 308 subjects (244 first year students, 44 fifth year students and 20 teachers) are illustrated by a questionnaire adapted for these ends. The results showed a tendency to consider psychology as a part of social sciences, to consider as useful the laboratory contexts and a support for animal models of investigation. The results are discussed among what those preferences imply.