Observing effects in various contexts won’t give us general psychological theories

Christopher Donkin; Aba Szollosi; Neil R. Bramley

doi:10.1017/S0140525X21000479

Observing effects in various contexts won’t give us general psychological theories

Christopher Donkin, Aba Szollosi, Neil R. Bramley

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate

Abstract / Description of output

Generalization does not come from repeatedly observing phenomena in numerous settings, but from theories explaining what is general in those phenomena. Expecting future behavior to look like past observations is especially problematic in psychology, where behaviors change when people’s knowledge changes. Psychology should thus focus on theories of people’s capacity to create and apply new representations of their environments.

Original language	English
Article number	e13
Pages (from-to)	32-33
Journal	Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Volume	45
Early online date	10 Feb 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21000479
Publication status	Published - 2022

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10.1017/S0140525X21000479

DonkingEtalBABS2021ObservingEffects
This article has been published in a revised form in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21000479. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press
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Cite this

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title = "Observing effects in various contexts won{\textquoteright}t give us general psychological theories",

abstract = "Generalization does not come from repeatedly observing phenomena in numerous settings, but from theories explaining what is general in those phenomena. Expecting future behavior to look like past observations is especially problematic in psychology, where behaviors change when people{\textquoteright}s knowledge changes. Psychology should thus focus on theories of people{\textquoteright}s capacity to create and apply new representations of their environments.",

author = "Christopher Donkin and Aba Szollosi and Bramley, {Neil R.}",

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AB - Generalization does not come from repeatedly observing phenomena in numerous settings, but from theories explaining what is general in those phenomena. Expecting future behavior to look like past observations is especially problematic in psychology, where behaviors change when people’s knowledge changes. Psychology should thus focus on theories of people’s capacity to create and apply new representations of their environments.

U2 - 10.1017/S0140525X21000479

DO - 10.1017/S0140525X21000479

M3 - Comment/debate

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JO - Behavioral and Brain Sciences

JF - Behavioral and Brain Sciences

M1 - e13

ER -

Observing effects in various contexts won’t give us general psychological theories

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