Probability in Theory-Building: Experimental and Non-Experimental Approaches to Scientific Research in Psychology (Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities)

Hardcover, 243 pages, NOT ex-library. Gentle age-spotting on page edges externally and on endpapers inside the book. Otherwise clean untanned condition, with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Boards show shelfworn marks, scratches, a touch of rubbing. Issued without a dust jacket. -- This work provides a critical methodological analysis of the role of probability and statistical inference in psychological theory-building. It argues against a "cookbook" or "atheoretical" approach to research, urging psychologists to develop a deeper "methodological consciousness." Drawing on the framework of the Polish idealizational theory of science (developed by the Poznan school), the author examines the philosophical assumptions underlying both experimental and non-experimental research designs. The book serves as a guide to the logic of scientific inquiry in psychology, aiming to bridge the gap between statistical practice and the philosophy of science. -- Contents: Part I. Probability and the Idealizational Theory of Science // Statistical Dependencies, Statements and the Idealizational Theory of Science (by Marek Gaul); Part II. Probability, Theoretical Concepts in Psychology, Measurement // Probability and the Understanding of Individual Differences (by Douglas Wahlsten); Modeling Cognitive Learning Steps (by Bodo Krause); A Theoretical and Experimental Inquiry into the Relation of Theoretical Concepts and Probabilistic Measurement Scales in Experimental Psychology (by Dieter Heyer and Rainer Mausfeld); Part III. Methods of Data Analysis // Rough Set Methods in Psychology (by Tadeusz Iwinski); Contrast Analysis in Behavioral Research (by Wilma Koutstaal and Robert Rosenthal); Part IV. Artifacts in Psychological Research and Diagnostic Assessment // A Mediational Model of Research Artifacts (by David B. Strohmetz and Ralph L. Rosnow); Dimensions of Diagnostic Space (by Jerzy Brzezinski). …