Avoiding “False Alarms” and “Misses” in Psychological Theory Building
Complementing the Principle of Parsimony With the Principle of Tentative Affirmation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13664770 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ulrich Weger (0000-0002-5476-0932, corresponding author), Ulrich W Weger (0000-0001-6803-6155, Department of Psychology & Psychotherapy, University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany; School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 983-999 |
| Publication date | 2019-03-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0033294119835760 |
| PMID | 30857480 |
| OpenAlex | W2922449814 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 19 |
Scientific parsimony is a reliable safeguard against speculative or ideological theorizing. But it can also hamper the advent of novel ideas and advanced paradigms if misapplied within the context of a conservative thinking style. We illustrate how the principle of parsimony is ideally suited to reduce a particular type of errors-namely the premature acceptance of speculative theories. In a signal-detection framework, such errors are called "false alarms"; but signal detection theory also points to another category of errors-namely "misses," that is, the failure to acknowledge a positively existing but elusive phenomenon. The methodological repertoire of our falsification-oriented science does not provide a similarly rigorous tool to avoid this caliber of errors. In this paper, we hence argue for introducing a complementary principle-that of tentative affirmation-to also reduce the risk of "misses." We illustrate this latter principle using the example of conceptual, nonbiological facets of psychological phenomena. We propose a roadmap that consults both principles-parsimony and tentative affirmation-in tandem to help researchers shield their theories against one-sidedness
Cognitive psychology · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Phenomenon · Computer Science · Mental Health Research Topics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |