ArticlePerspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science2021
The Theory Crisis in Psychology: How to Move Forward.
Article in Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed.
- Implications of the Network Theory for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2023Trial
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- Advancing clinical psychology with improved doctoral training in science.Training and education in professional psychology · 2026Article
- Analytical Robustness and Competing Interpretations in Violent Video Game Research: A Response to Teng and Bushman's (2026) Reanalysis of Lacko et al. (2024).Aggressive behavior · 2026Article
- Analyzing multidimensional formal dynamic models in psychology: A tutorial using graphical tools.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- The five Garners: The psychological contributions of Professor Wendell R. Garner.Memory & cognition · 2026Article
- Longitudinal validation of the GHQ-12 and PHQ-2 in Chilean social housing populations in urban regeneration contexts.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2026Article
- The optics of introspection: a two-axis model of self-reflective distortion.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- How much less is enough? A reflexive perspective on the theory of simplified information processing by Voigt et al. (2025).Frontiers in sociology · 2026Article
- Applying advanced psychometrics to antipsychotic treatment trials: A protocol comparing effect estimates.Open research Europe · 2026Article
- Self-Objectification, Body Surveillance, and Body Shame Across Countries: A Comparison Between US, UK, Belgian, Israeli, and Thai Women.Psychologica Belgica · 2026Article
- Measurement reliability, construct validity, and transparent reporting in original and replication psychological research.PloS one · 2026Article
- Developmental frameworks, what have you done for me lately?Development and psychopathology · 2025Article
- Improving statistical reporting in psychology.Communications psychology · 2025Review
- Synergy between resilience and empathy in health sciences students: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Addressing the theory crisis in statistical learning research.NPJ science of learning · 2025Review
- Network psychometrics and the network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder: A conceptual and methodological overview.Journal of traumatic stress · 2025Review
- Article
- Current interpretations of the I-PACE model of behavioral addictions.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Review
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
Meehl argued in 1978 that theories in psychology come and go, with little cumulative progress. We believe that this assessment still holds, as also evidenced by increasingly common claims that psychology is facing a "theory crisis" and that psychologists should invest more in theory building. In this article, we argue that the root cause of the theory crisis is that developing good psychological theories is extremely difficult and that understanding the reasons why it is so difficult is crucial for moving forward in the theory crisis. We discuss three key reasons based on philosophy of science for why developing good psychological theories is so hard: the relative lack of robust phenomena that impose constraints on possible theories, problems of validity of psychological constructs, and obstacles to discovering causal relationships between psychological variables. We conclude with recommendations on how to move past the theory crisis.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.