Positivism in Psychology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Charles W. Tolman

   Pages 1-8

3. Positivism Versus People: What Should Psychology Be About?

   • William J. Baker

   Pages 9-16

4. The Demise of Logical Positivism: Implications of the Duhem-Quine Thesis for Psychology

   • Henderikus J. Stam

   Pages 17-24

5. Neopositivism and Perception Theory

   • Charles W. Tolman

   Pages 25-45

6. Positivist Conceptions of Induction and the Rejection of Classificatory Methods in Psychological Research

   • Don Kuiken, T. Cameron Wild, Don Schopflocher

   Pages 47-56

7. Antecedents of Operationism: A Case History in Radical Positivism

   • Tim B. Rogers

   Pages 57-65

8. Operationism, Scientism, and the Rhetoric of Power

   • John A. Mills

   Pages 67-82

9. Watson’s Positivism: Materialist or Phenomenalist?

   • Charles W. Tolman

   Pages 83-102

10. Positivism and the Prospects for Cognitive Science

    • William E. Smythe

    Pages 103-118

11. Positivism and Cognitive Psychology: A Second Look

    • Siu L. Chow

    Pages 119-144

12. Problems and Prospects for Cognitive Constructionism in Postpositivist Psychology

    • Anand C. Paranjpe

    Pages 145-154

13. Positivist Influences in “Environment-Behavior” Studies: Egon Brunswik and Contemporary Social Ecology

    • Marvin J. McDonald, D. Vaden House

    Pages 155-184

14. Mediating Between Mentalism and Objectivism: The Conventionality of Language

    • Leendert P. Mos, Casey P. Boodt

    Pages 185-216

15. Back Matter

    Pages 217-221

    PDF

Positivism needs further scrutiny. In recent years, there has been little consensus about the nature of positivism or about the precise forms its influence has taken on psychological theory. One symptom of this lack of clarity has been that ostensibly anti-positivist psychological theorizing is frequently found reproducing one or more distinctively positivist assumptions. The contributors to this volume believe that, while virtually every theoretically engaged psychologist today openly rejects positivism in both its 19th century and 20th century forms, it is indispensable to look at positivism from all sides and to appraise its role and importance in order to make possible the further development of psychological theory.

• cognitive psychology
• cognitive science
• development
• perception
• psychology

• Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

  Charles W. Tolman

Policies and ethics