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Meehl on metatheory
Author(s) -
Rozeboom Wm. W.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.20184
Subject(s) - metatheory , constructive , epistemology , philosophy of science , psychology , history and philosophy of science , null hypothesis , history of psychology , philosophy , mathematics , computer science , statistics , process (computing) , operating system
This article proffers a critical survey of Paul E. Meehl's thoughts on the philosophy of science, as well as constructive criticisms of his views on corroboration of scientific theories. Using examples from clinical psychology and allied domains, six major topics are addressed: (a) the nature of theoretical constructs, (b) statistical diagnosis of clinical categories, (c) detection of hypothesized taxa, (d) null‐hypothesis significance testing, (e) complexified hypothesis testing, and (f) cliometric theory appraisal. Through numerous examples, it is shown that Paul Meehl had a superb ability to recognize, articulate, and clarify hidden complexities, and other underappreciated obscurities in important working concepts. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 61: 1317–1354, 2005.