Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T05:05:05.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The importance of ecological validity, ultimate causation, and natural categories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2022

Catherine A. Salmon Open the ORCID record for Catherine A. Salmon [Opens in a new window]  and
Jessica A. Hehman
Catherine A. Salmon
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373, USA. catherine_salmon@redlands.edu, jessica_hehman@redlands.edu
Jessica A. Hehman
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373, USA. catherine_salmon@redlands.edu, jessica_hehman@redlands.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The target article raises important questions about the applicability of experimental social psychology research on topics with policy implications. This commentary focuses on the importance of attending to a variety of factors to improve ecological validity as well as considering the ultimate factors shaping behavior and the role of natural categories in the stability of stereotypes and their influence.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e92
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adolph, K. E. (2019). Ecological validity. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), My biggest research mistake: Adventures and misadventures in psychological research (pp. 187–190). Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Baumard, N., & Sperber, D. (2010). Weird people, yes, but also weird experiments. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2–3), 84–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burkley, E., Durante, F., Fiske, S. T., Burkley, M., & Andrade, A. (2017). Structure and content of native American stereotypic subgroups: Not just (ig)noble. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23, 202–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cuddy, A. J. C., Norton, M. I., & Fiske, S. T. (2005). This old stereotype: The pervasiveness and persistence of the elderly stereotype. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 265–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, M., Jozifkova, E., & Weiss, P. (2011). Pornography and sex crimes in the Czech Republic. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(5), 1037–1043. doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9696-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Durante, F., Fiske, S. T., Gelfand, M., Crippa, F., Suttora, C, Stillwell, A., … Teymoori, A. (2017). Ambivalent stereotypes link to peace, conflict, and inequality across 38 nations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 114, 669–674.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferguson, C. J., & Hartley, R. D. (2020). Pornography and sexual aggression: Can meta-analysis find a link? Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. doi.org/10.1177/1524838020942754Google ScholarPubMed
Fiske, S. T. (2017). Prejudices in cultural contexts: Shared stereotypes (gender, age) versus variable stereotypes (race, ethnicity, religion). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 791–799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, S. T., Bergsieker, H. B., Russell, A. M., & Williams, L. (2009). Images of Black Americans: Then, “them,” and now, “Obama!” Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 6(1), 83–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hatch, S. G., Esplin, C. R., Aaron, S. C., Dowdle, K. K., Fincham, F. D., Hatch, H. D., & Braithwaite, S. R. (2020). Does pornography consumption lead to intimate partner violence perpetration? Little evidence for temporal precedence. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 29(3), 289–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2–3), 61–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levine, T. R. (2018). Ecological validity and deception detection research design. Communication Methods and Measures, 12(1), 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2015). Modern attitudes toward older adults in the aging world: A cross-cultural meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 141, 993–1021.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salmon, C. (2020). Multiple methodologies: Addressing ecological validity and conceptual replication. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), 373–378. doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000213CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodley of Menie, M. A., Heeney, M. D., Peñaherrera-Aguirre, M., Sarraf, M. A., Banner, R., & Rindermann, H. (2020). A meta-analysis of the “erasing race” effect in the United States and some theoretical considerations. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1635. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01635Google Scholar