Are Experiments Possible
The Limitations of a Posteriori Control in Experimental Behavior Analysis: The Case of Clinical Process Research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20400369 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward B Royzman (0000-0001-9529-4950, University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 171-196 |
| Publication date | 2000-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theory & Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-3543 • E-ISSN: 1461-7447 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0959354300102002 |
| OpenAlex | W2096965802 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 24 |
The paper critically examines the inferential logic underlying Mill's methods of agreement and difference as it is applied in present-day behavioral science where the methods in question are embodied in the socalled `treatment-control random design' (Mayo, 1996). The reputed goal of the design is to be able to arrive at judgments of sufficient causation (e.g. `X is a sufficient cause of [condition for] Y'). This is accomplished by `neutralizing' the influence of the extraneous variables inherent in a particular (experimental) set of conditions by way of creating another (control) set of conditions which is identical to the experimental prototype in every way except for one element (the independent variable). Any difference between the effects of the two sets (the experimental effect) is, then, said to reflect or be a product of the independent variable in question. As I argue, the above-mentioned inference is rooted in the generally tacit assumption of effect independence, that is, the view that the `extraneous' and the `independent variable' components comprising the experimental condition end up exerting completely separate or isolated effects on the dependent variable under consideration. It is argued that the said assumption, given both the inherent conceivability and the empirical ubiquity of various interaction effects, has no logical foundation and, thus, cannot be affirmed with any degree of certainty. The non-acceptance of the assumption calls into question the logical viability of clinical process research
Causation · Certainty · Epistemology · Inference · Mathematical economics · Statistics · Variables · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Mathematics · Meta-analysis and systematic reviews · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Artificial Intelligence
Negativity Bias, Negativity Dominance, and Contagion
Nonsupport Experiences of Young Adult Cancer Patients
Mixed Messages
Temporality of Customer Experience in Tourism—A Multi‐Method Ethnography of the Eastern Express in Turkey
Positivity and Negativity Dominance in Citizen Assessments of Intergovernmental Sustainability Performance
Studies in the Methodology and Foundations of Science
Error and the Growth of Experimental Knowledge
Learned Helplessness
The Powerful Placebo
Failure to escape traumatic shock.
Effects of inescapable shock upon subsequent escape and avoidance responding.
Representative design and probabilistic theory in a functional psychology.
The principle of belief congruence and the congruity principle as models of cognitive interaction.
The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
Event-related functional MRI
Placebos and common factors in two decades of psychotherapy research
Fact and Method
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2001 - 2026 (26) |
| Highly cited | No |