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On the Language and Logic of Psychophysiology: A Reply to Donchin
Author(s) -
Schwartz Marvin,
Pritchard Walter
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1982.tb02507.x
Subject(s) - psychology , confusion , psychophysiology , cognitive psychology , cognitive science , psychoanalysis , neuroscience
Donchin's critique of the paper by Schwartz and Pritchard illustrates several common faults in the use of language and logic. These include: 1. Inconsistent use of language and confusion in the use of theoretically meaningful terms; 2. The confusion of psychological and physiological domains, i.e., the use of psychological constructs as “explanations” in physiological theory and vice versa; 3. The tendency to be selective of data and explanations “justifying” a particular theoretical orientation without establishing criteria for the selections. For the study of electrical responses of the human brain to have significance for understanding information processing, theories must be founded in logical and consistent use of language, according to explicit decision criteria.