Clash of the paradigms: A critique of an examination of the polynomial regression technique for evaluating catastrophe theory hypotheses.

The polynomial regression technique for evaluating catastrophe theory hypotheses (Guastello, 1982b, 1987, 1988) has met with criticism from Alexander, Herbert, DeShon, and Hanges (1992) regarding the specification of terms in the catastrophe model and the order in which they are entered, the role of part-whole correlations, and whether the polynomial regression technique is adequate for discerning the presence or absence of catastrophic structure. Their criticisms are unwarranted and misconceived because of inattention to some fundamental principles of mathematical catastroph theory, misuse of the polynomial regression technique in their simulations, and an outmoded paradigm of scientific inquiry