<i>The Logic of Scientific Discovery</i>

Поппер, Карл; Weiss, George H.

doi:10.1063/1.3060577

Cited by 2,908 publications

(1,017 citation statements)

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“…If the predictions fail to square with the data, then that fact counts as a disconfirming instance of the theory. Although tacitly held by many scientists, and endorsed in different ways by prominent philosophers of science (e.g., Hempel, 1966;Popper, 1959), the hypothetico-deductive account of method has been strongly criticized by both philosophers and psychologists (e.g., Cattell, 1966;Glymour, 1980;Rorer, 1991;Rozeboom, 1999).…”

Section: Hypothetico-deductive Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Abductive Theory of Scientific Method.

Haig

2005

Psychological Methods

265

195

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A broad theory of scientific method is sketched that has particular relevance for the behavioral sciences. This theory of method assembles a complex of specific strategies and methods that are used in the detection of empirical phenomena and the subsequent construction of explanatory theories. A characterization of the nature of phenomena is given, and the process of their detection is briefly described in terms of a multistage model of data analysis. The construction of explanatory theories is shown to involve their generation through abductive, or explanatory, reasoning, their development through analogical modeling, and their fuller appraisal in terms of judgments of the best of competing explanations. The nature and limits of this theory of method are discussed in the light of relevant developments in scientific methodology.Keywords: scientific method, phenomena detection, theory construction, abductive reasoning, research methodology[T]he attempt to understand and improve methods, and to do so via theorizing them, is at the center of an intelligently evolving cognition (Clifford Hooker, 1987, p. 291) This article is concerned with scientific method in the behavioral sciences. Its principal goal is to outline a broad theory of scientific method by making use of selected developments in contemporary research methodology. The time now seems right to intensify efforts to assemble knowledge of research methods into larger units of understanding. Currently, behavioral scientists use a plethora of specific research methods and a number of different investigative strategies when studying their domains of interest. Among this diversity, the well-known inductive and hypotheticodeductive accounts of scientific method have brought some order to our investigative practices. The former method speaks to the discovery of empirical generalizations, whereas the latter method is used to test hypotheses and theories in terms of their predictive success.However, although inductive and hypothetico-deductive methods are commonly regarded as the two main theories of scientific method (Laudan, 1981; and, in fact, are sometimes regarded as the principal claimants for the title of the definitive scientific method), they are better thought of as restrictive accounts of method that can be used to meet specific research goals (Nickles, 1987), not broad accounts of method that pursue a range of research goals. In fashioning empirical generalizations, the inductive method undoubtedly addresses an important part of scientific inquiry. However, it is a part only. Of equal importance is the process of theory construction. Here, however, the hypothetico-deductive method, with its focus on theory testing, speaks only to one, although important, part of the theory construction process (Simon, 1977).The theory of method outlined in this article is a broader account of scientific method than either the inductive or hypothetico-deductive theories of method. This more comprehensive theory of method endeavors to describe systematically how one ca...

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Section: Hypothetico-deductive Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Abductive Theory of Scientific Method.

Haig

2005

Psychological Methods

265

195

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…According to Popper (1959), scientific knowledge develops out of "ordinary knowledge" or "common-sense knowledge" (p. 18). That is, the method of trial-and-error learning, or learning from one's mistakes, is "fundamentally the same whether it is practiced by lower or higher animals, by chimpanzees or by men of science" (Popper, 1972, p. 216).…”

Section: Poppermentioning

confidence: 99%

The structure of the cognitive revolution: An examination from the philosophy of science

2003

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The received view is that psychology has undergone several scientific revolutions similar to those that occurred in the physical sciences. Of these, this paper will consider the cognitive revolution. Because the arguments in favor of the existence of a cognitive revolution are cast using the concepts and terms of revolutionary science, we will examine the cognitive revolution using accounts of revolutionary science advanced by five influential philosophers of science. Specifically, we will draw from the philosophical positions of Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Laudan, and Gross for the purpose of discussion. We conclude that no substantive revolution took place according to these accounts. This conclusion is based on data gathered from some of the major participants in the "cognitive revolution" and on a general scholarly survey of the literature. We argue that the so-called cognitive revolution is best characterized as a socio-rhetorical phenomenon.Key words: scientific revolution, cognitive revolution, fallibilism, paradigms, research programs, research traditions, rhetoric of science The received view is that psychology has undergone a few key scientific revolutions, similar to the scientific revolutions that have occurred in the physical sciences (Baars, 1986;Gardner, 1985).' Histories of psychology, for example, typically depict two revolutions: behaviorism's overthrow of mentalism in the first quarter of the 20th century, and in the second quarter of the century, cognitive psychology's overthrow of behaviorism (Buss, 1978; see Hergenhahn, 1997, p. 553 ff.). This paper will examine the latter of the two revolutions, what is generally called the cognitive revolution.We examine the cognitive revolution according to accounts of revolutionary science provided by five key philosophers of science. We conclude that no such substantive revolution took place, at least according to the accounts of revolutionary science provided by these ' See the Appendix for quotations relevant to this "received view," as it pertains to the cognitive revolution.

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“…Consequently, despite its prescient focus and abstract appeal, the theory has not lent itself readily to rigorous empirical tests, as required of good scientific theories (Popper, 1959). Personality and clinical psychologists have found it difficult, if not impossible, to operationalize, assess, and build quantitative models of the theory's hypothetical constructs and their nomological relationships (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955;MacCorquodale & Meehl, 1948;McFall & Townsend, 1998).…”

Section: Clinical-cognitive Theory: An Exemplarmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing clinically relevant perceptual organization with multidimensional scaling techniques.

Treat

McFall

Viken

et al. 2002

Psychological Assessment

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Multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques provide a promising measurement strategy for characterizing individual differences in cognitive processing, which many clinical theories associate with the development, maintenance, and treatment of psychopathology. The authors describe the use of deterministic and probabilistic MDS techniques for investigating numerous aspects of perceptual organization, such as dimensional attention, perceptual correlation, within-attribute organization, and perceptual variability. Additionally, they discuss how formal quantitative models can be used, in conjunction with MDS-derived representations of individual differences in perceptual organization, to test theories about the role of cognitive processing in clinically relevant phenomena. They include applied examples from their work in the areas of eating disorders and sexual coercion.Cognitive theorists implicate individual differences in social information processing, particularly construal processes, in the development, maintenance, and treatment of various forms of psychopathology (Beck, 1976;Ellis, 1994;Kelly, 1955;McFall, 1982). Clinical scientists have had difficulty finding valid methods to assess social information-processing constructs, however. One promising solution draws on the theoretical and measurement models of cognitive science (McFall, Treat, & Viken, 1997. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the potential of this solution by focusing on the use of a specific method, multidimensional scaling (MDS), for investigating individual differences in perceptual organization, that is, the way in which persons organize and represent incoming stimulus information.We first examine the conceptual strengths and methodological weaknesses of cognitive theory in clinical psychology. Next, we describe deterministic and probabilistic MDS models, which offer promise in overcoming some of these methodological limitations, and discuss their application to investigations of individual differences in perceptual organization. Finally, we describe the use of MDS to test hypotheses about the influence of perceptual organization on the operation of other cognitive processes. For illustrative purposes, we refer to two ongoing lines of research. The first is our investigation of individual differences in women's perceptions of information about other women's body size and affect and the links between these perceptions and eating disorders (Viken, Treat, Nosofsky, McFall, & Palmeri, in press). The second is our evaluation of individual differences in men's perceptions of women and the links between these perceptions and men's sexually coercive behavior (Treat, McFall, Viken, & Kruschke, 2001). Clinical-Cognitive Theory: An ExemplarGeorge A. Kelly's personal construct theory (1955) is a promising exemplar of a cognitive theory in clinical psychology. Of course, it is only one of many possible exemplars we might choose or cite. Beck's (1976) theory, for example, has had a greater influence on cognitive-behavioral therapists, and treatments...

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The Logic of Scientific Discovery

Cited by 2,908 publications

References 0 publications

An Abductive Theory of Scientific Method.

An Abductive Theory of Scientific Method.

The structure of the cognitive revolution: An examination from the philosophy of science

Assessing clinically relevant perceptual organization with multidimensional scaling techniques.

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