The yin and yang of progress in social psychology: Seven koan.

Abstract

We describe the current dissatisfactions with the paradigm that has recently guided experimental social psychology-testing of theory-derived hypotheses by means of laboratory manipulational experiments. The emerging variant of doing field experiments does not meet the criticisms. It is argued that an adequate new paradigm will be a more radical departure involving, on the creative side, deriving hypotheses from a systems theory of social and cognitive structures that takes into account multiple and bidirectional causality among social variables. On the critical side, its hypotheses testing will be done in multivariate correlational designs with naturally fluctuating variables. Some steps toward this new paradigm are described in the form of seven koan.

Reducing Implicit Prejudice

“…However, saying whether something can be true is a small claim. From a perspectivist approach to science, all claims are true -if only in very limited circumstances (McGuire, 1973). For practical interests, the question is not "Can an effect occur?"…”

History of Social Psychology: Insights, Challenges, and Contributions to Theory and Application

“…We also trust that it will be also apparent that whenever our field becomes preoccupied with investigations focused on one "pole" or the other-for example, human "rationality" versus "irrationality" or the essential "goodness" versus "evil" of human nature-there comes a point of diminishing returns whereby the payoffs for investigators willing to explore the opposite pole become increasingly attractive. Moreover, events in the world outside academia may accelerate the speed and extent of "yin-to-yang" movements in the field that might start for other reasons (McGuire, 1973). Likewise, whenever one set of methods or paradigms, with its various expedient compromises and choices in terms of balancing desire for control of variables against that of capturing real-world complexity and consequential responses, comes to dominate our field for a period of time, the use of alternative procedures and designs (calling for different trade-offs and compromises) gains in value, and attractiveness.…”

Die noodsaaklikheid vir ’n vak-filosofiese ueskouing van die bedryfsielkunde*

“…V eld sm a n (Vgl. Argyris, 1968;tíonncr, 1967;Chapanis, 1967;Finkelman, 1978;Harré & Secord, 1976;Joynson, 1970;Kock, 1969;Kruger, 1979;McGuire, 1973;Slaggs, 1934;Westland, 1978. ) 3.4 Is die algemeen aanvaarde studie-objek van die Bedryfsielkunde, nl.…”