Toward a brighter future for psychology as an observation oriented science

Abstract

Serious criticisms of psychology's research practices and data analysis methods date back to at least the mid-1900s after the Galtonian school of thought had thoroughly triumphed over the Wundtian school. In the wake of Bem's (2011) recent, highly publicized study on psi phenomena in a prestigious journal, psychologists are again raising serious questions about their dominant research script. These concerns are echoed in the current paper, and Observation Oriented Modeling (OOM) is presented as an alternative approach toward data conceptualization and analysis for the social and life sciences. This approach is rooted in philosophical realism and an attitude toward data analysis centered around causality and common sense. Three example studies and accompanying data analyses are presented and discussed to demonstrate a number of OOM's advantages over current researcher practices.

Keywords: Observation Oriented Modeling; integrated models; null hypothesis significance testing; research methods.

Figure 1

Multigram for Gender –> Infidelity Type Choice model.

Figure 2

Expected pattern of observations according to evolutionary theory.

Figure 3

Standard mediation model showing both direct and indirect effects.

Figure 4

Variable-based model showing full mediation.

Figure 5

Standard variable-based moderation model.

Figure 6

Multigram showing results conforming final effect (Y, cure) to mediating cause (Z, enzyme).

Figure 7

Multigram showing results conforming mediating cause (Z, enzyme) to initial cause (X, drug) for only those observations classified correctly in first step of the analysis.

Figure 8

Multigram showing summary pattern for all observations on the three orderings: drug ingestion (X), enzyme secretion (Z), and disease state (Y).

Figure 9

Simple variable-based model for study of Terror Management Theory.

Figure 10

Integrated model for study of Terror Management Theory.

Figure 11

Hypothesized patterns of observations for study of Terror Managemnt Theory

Figure 12

Multigram of actual observations for Terror Management Theory study.