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Without more theory, psychology will be a headless rider

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2022

Witold M. Hensel Open the ORCID record for Witold M. Hensel [Opens in a new window] ,
Marcin Miłkowski Open the ORCID record for Marcin Miłkowski [Opens in a new window]  and
Przemysław Nowakowski Open the ORCID record for Przemysław Nowakowski [Opens in a new window]
Witold M. Hensel
Affiliation:
Institute of Philosophy, University of Bialystok, pl. NZS 1, 15-420Białystok, Polandwhensel@poczta.onet.pl
Marcin Miłkowski
Affiliation:
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330Warszawa, Poland. mmilkows@ifispan.edu.pl pnowakowski@ifispan.edu.pl; http://marcinmilkowski.pl/
Przemysław Nowakowski
Affiliation:
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330Warszawa, Poland. mmilkows@ifispan.edu.pl pnowakowski@ifispan.edu.pl; http://marcinmilkowski.pl/
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Abstract

We argue that Yarkoni's proposed solutions to the generalizability crisis are half-measures because he does not recognize that the crisis arises from investigators' underappreciation of the roles of theory in experimental research. Rather than embracing qualitative analysis, the research community should make an effort to develop better theories and work toward consistently incorporating theoretical results into experimental practice.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e20
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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