Neuropsychological assessment methodology revisited: metatheoretical reflections.

Theory building in neuropsychology, similar to other disciplines, rests on metatheoretical assumptions of philosophical origin. Such assumptions regarding the relation of psychological and physiological variables influence research methodologies as well as assessment strategies in fields of application. Here, we revisit the classic procedure of Double Dissociation (DD) to illustrate the connection of metatheory and methodology. In a seemingly unbridgeable opposition, the classical neuropsychological procedure of DD can be understood as either presupposing localizationism and a modular view of the brain, or as a special case of the generalized neuro-lens model for neuropsychological assessment. In the latter case, it is more easily compatible with a perspective that emphasizes the systemic-network, rather than the modular, nature of the brain, which as part of the organism, proportionately mediates the situatedness of the human being in the world. This perspective not only makes it possible to structure ecological validation processes and give them a metatheoretical foundation, but also to interlace it with the phenomenological insight that the laboratory as one context of empirical research may be analyzed in terms of situated experience. We conclude with showing that both the localizationist and the system science approach can agree on a view of the brain as a dynamical network, and that metatheory may thus offer important new perspectives of reconciliation.

Theoretical psychology: discursive transformations and continuity in Psychological Research/Psychologische Forschung.

Psychological Research (formerly Psychologische Forschung) has been published for a century which makes it a valuable subject matter for historical investigations. The journal's development bears traces of the progress in psychology. This development is of particular interest for the field of theoretical psychology which investigates the epistemological and methodological background. Our hypothesis is that the history of Psychological Research is indicative for the transformations within the discourse of the discipline, i.e., the general context of communication in psychology. We revisit the changes in the editorial practises of the journal through a scientometric mixed-methods approach, combining bibliometric analyses which compare Psychological Research to Psychological Review and the British Journal of Psychology with a single-case investigation. Regarding form, we find continuities and disruptions in the development of the editorial customs from long and single-author to short and multi-author contributions. Investigating content through word frequency analysis shows that the journal's history reflects the rise of the cognitivist paradigm as well as a transition from theoretical discourse towards experimentation. The analysis of a single case demonstrates the nature of past theoretical discourse in contrast to contemporary practises. Overall, our findings support the assumption of discursive transformations. From the perspective of theoretical psychology, these transformations can be described as a shift towards Methodism which entails a critical negligence of theory.

The Problem of the Task. Pseudo-Interactivity as an Experimental Paradigm of Phenomenological Psychology.

Real-life problems are almost always socially complex, even when we are by ourselves. Psychological problem-solving research must therefore integrate complexity as a domain of investigation. However, the simulation of complex interactions represents a major challenge to designing experiments dealing with the nature of social interaction: Simulated social interaction, even when enacted by confederates, is not identical to the actual social interaction. Subjects will tend to enact simulated interaction in distinct ways. To understand these differences, the different situation enactments ought to be analyzed psychologically. Essentially, an instruction to perform in an experimental setting cannot guarantee that the experimental subject will take a certain attitude toward the situation. Early psychology of thought considered the social nature of the experimental situation when discussing the notion of the task. Modern experimental psychology can draw on these reflections in order to grasp better the essential characteristics of social complexity and to establish pseudo-interactivity as a phenomenologically enriched experimental paradigm. Its methodological power is illustrated by an exploratory experimentation on problem-solving.

Is There a Problem in the Laboratory?

Problem-solving research in the field of psychology has been closely linked to laboratory investigations throughout its development. However, there is a questionable conceptual assumption underlying this commitment to the laboratory, namely the assumption that one can reduce all problem-solving behavior to a cognitive mechanism. Upon validating this assumption from a phenomenological standpoint, doubts about its foundations emerge. For when we consider the experiential conditions that characterize a problematic situation, we come to determine several phenomenal aspects that are not taken into account in this approach. A phenomenologically revised notion of the problem therefore demands a modification of the scope of the empirical research. First, this paper investigates the configuration of the laboratory as an arena of experience based on Lewin's field theory. This investigation indicates instructions as a key component of the laboratory. Second, a phenomenological description proposes a novel understanding of the problem. In this part it is shown that it is wrong to presume that problematic situations can be evoked arbitrarily by instructions. Finally, further contemplations help outlining the empirical requirements for exhaustive research. They call for novel paradigms in empirical psychology, such as live streaming, which are more faithful to the phenomenology of problems.