Some Fundamental Problems in Experimental Psychology: An Overview

The application of the experimental approach to a multidimensional discipline presupposes that it will work, that control and analysis will generate explanations which will lead to a unified theory for a restricted behavior domain, and that there will be a fundamental basis for our concepts, scales, and methods which will justify the measurable generalization of that theory. Yet little of this appears to be happening. It is suggested that, in the name of basic research, more effort be directed toward fitting our empirical approach to the subject matter rather than attempting to do the reverse. This may mean less control, greater descriptive generality, and more tolerance for diverse theoretical positions.