Zero-Variable Theories and the Psychology of the Explainer

Wicklund, Robert A.

In Zero-Variable Theories, Dr. Robert Wicklund invites the reader to consider the psychological perspective of the "explainer". In examining the over-simplifications that have become dominant in modern psychology, the author points to such factors as competition with other explainers and pressure to offer and promulgate a unique explanation. The explainer is characterized as equating theory with simple, fixed categories, and as defending those categories as one would defend a personal territory, fending off competing explainers through mis-use of statistical devices. The end result is the formulation of theories that neglect the perspectives of those whose behaviors are to be explained, and which simultaneously exclude psychological variables.

Details

Published by: Springer

Publication Date: 2011-10-28

Format: Paperback

ISBN-13: 9781461279747

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-3344-2

Dimensions: 235cm x155cm

Pages: 156