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Which theory fails? A reply to McManus
Author(s) -
Annett Marian
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1985.tb01927.x
Subject(s) - falsifiability , psychology , heuristic , interpretation (philosophy) , point (geometry) , population , task (project management) , cognitive psychology , epistemology , social psychology , mathematics , philosophy , linguistics , geometry , management , economics , demography , sociology
The claim that the right shift (RS) theory fails is examined and rejected on several grounds. First, it is uncertain that the symmetric bimodal (SB) theory can generate predictions that are clearly distinct from those of the RS theory. Second, the interpretation of the empirical data depends on an analysis of the skills required for the task and of the samples tested; the latter were not drawn from the general population. Third, the aim of seeking algorithmic solutions is inappropriate as an alternative to the original aim (Annett & Kilshaw, 1983) of testing whether previously successful heuristic solutions could be rejected. Fourth, the common‐sense classification into left‐ and right‐handers, although undoubtedly the starting point of all analyses of laterality, including that of the RS theory, has led to little progress in the search for the causes and consequences of lateral asymmetries. The classification can lead to sterile arguments about the ‘true’ incidence of left‐handedness, of which examples are to be found in McManus's paper. Finally, elaborate statistical techniques may assist but cannot supplant the careful evaluation of evidence. The RS theory is falsifiable, but not on the grounds suggested by McManus.