Latent variables, psychological constructs, and the prospect of scientific kinds in psychology

Marion Kathe Godman, Martin Bellander

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In this paper, we consider how latent variables of mainstream quantitative psychology fits with two different models of scientific kinds. On the one hand, there is a good reason to think they fit with taxonomic and predictive success criteria that are popular within an epistemic understanding of scientific kinds. On the other hand, they conflict with widely shared person-based ontological commitments that underwrite psychological kinds because this research rests in large part on between-individual studies. We explore the implications of the different views on scientific kinds and argue that this is indeed a dilemma for the scientific discipline of psychology.
Original languageEnglish
JournalBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science
ISSN0007-0882
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

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