Anatomy of a Psychological Theory: Integrating Construct-Validation and Computational-Modeling Methods to Advance Theorizing

Abstract

Discussions about the replicability of psychological studies have primarily focused on improving research methods and practices, with less attention paid to the role of well-specified theories in facilitating the production of reliable empirical results. The field is currently in need of clearly articulated steps to theory specification and development, particularly regarding frameworks that may generalize across different fields of psychology. Here we focus on two approaches to theory specification and development that are typically associated with distinct research traditions: computational modeling and construct validation. We outline the points of convergence and divergence between them to illuminate the anatomy of a scientific theory in psychology—what a well-specified theory should contain and how it should be interrogated and revised through iterative theory-development processes. We propose how these two approaches can be used in complementary ways to increase the quality of explanations and the precision of predictions offered by psychological theories.

A critical assessment of reconsolidation interference as a tool for therapeutic forgetting

“…An important aspect of a good theory is its specificity, allowing for the derivation of precise predictions that can be tested experimentally. However, it has been argued that most theories in the behavioral sciences are weak, given that they are too vague to allow for clear predictions (e.g., concerning the conditions under which the effect occurs or the magnitude of the effect) (28,(42)(43)(44)(45)(46).…”

“…This in turn allows for the derivation of specific hypotheses that are able to challenge and improve the theory in case of disconfirmation by empirical data. An emerging approach to make more precise predictions is the use of computational models (28,44), but see (76). Rare examples of such approaches exist in the reconsolidation literature (77)(78)(79), with each of the proposed computational models focusing on a specific subset of data within the reconsolidation field.…”

Integrating Media Selection and Media Effects Using Decision Theory

“…This inflexibility is a strength in that it allows researchers to ensure that they are on the same page when communicating a model's assumptions and predictions (Smaldino, 2017). Although much can be accomplished through construct validation, clarification, and other efforts (DeAndrea & Holbert, 2017;Grahek et al, 2021;Slater & Gleason, 2012), the exact assumptions and predictions of verbal theories nonetheless run the risk of being misinterpreted or inconsistently applied. This is especially the case when different methods are used to test the predictions of the same model (Farrell & Lewandowsky, 2010) when the same model is tested across different researchers or research groups (Guest & Martin, 2021;van Rooij & Baggio, 2021), or when the complexity of the system described by the model necessitates that analogies or "folk theories" be used to communicate about it (Jolly & Chang, 2019;Rozenblit & Keil, 2002).…”

“…Berlo, 1960;Schramm, 1955), research approaches that consider "complexity as a matter of course" (Weber, Mathiak, et al, 2009, p. 50) still have not gained widespread traction in the field, limiting theory development at the intersection of the two domains. Recent work has demonstrated the utility of formal modeling as a tool for developing theories of complex processes in psychology and other cognate fields (Grahek et al, 2021;Guest & Martin, 2021;van Rooij & Baggio, 2021). Herein we provide an overview of formal modeling rooted in decision theory (Dayan & Daw, 2008;Körding, 2007), an especially promising framework for theoretical integration and innovation in media psychology.…”

Disentangling Paradigm and Method Can Help Bring Qualitative Research to Post-Positivist Psychology and Address the Generalizability Crisis

“…We wholeheartedly agree with this call (Galliher et al 2017), and add that qualitative methods are particularly well-suited to the task. There is a renewed interest in the critical subject of construct validity (e.g., Grahek et al, 2021), and yet what is often left overlooked is the need to properly understand the nature of the construct itself. The ongoing fracas around the construct of ego depletion is an excellent example.…”