The rhetoric of psychological research and the problem of unification in psychology

Bibliographic Data

ID18946397
AuthorsMichael W Katzko (Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume57
Issue4
Pages262-270
Publication date2002-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Psychologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-066X • E-ISSN: 1935-990X
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/0003-066x.57.4.262
PMID11975376
OpenAlexW2075582686
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited69

There has been in the field of psychology a long and well-documented discontent with an apparent disorganization in its literature, most often interpreted as reflecting the absence of a unifying theory. This article examines some alternative ways in which some of the disorganization is being actively created by forms of argumentation used in reporting and discussing psychological research. One institutionalized form of argumentation used in reporting data actually generates the proliferation of theoretical terms in the literature. A second form of argumentation reifies theories into social groups, incorporating values that discourage theoretical integration. Some of the discontent arises from the incompatibility between the values latent in such social organizations and the values that motivate scientific inquiry at a personal level

Argumentation theory · Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Psychological research · Rhetoric · Sociology · Unification · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Representations and Identity

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