There's nothing so testable as a strong theory

Roger Sansom and Mindy E. Bergman

Chapter 5 in How to Conduct and Publish High-Quality Research in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, 2025, pp 52-62 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Abstract : Good theories are testable, strong, and well-supported. Most theories in IO psychology do not meet these standards; notably, most are not testable. This is not because human behavior is complex or because our theories are probabilistic. Instead, it is because our so-called theories are so general that they can be consistent with too broad a range of results. What IO psychologists typically call theories should actually be seen as theoretical frameworks that guide our hypotheses, which generally are strong and testable, and our methods. This chapter explains why we make these claims, highlighting key philosophy of social science topics to illuminate how theoretical frameworks can advance IO psychology and also how to avoid giving theories undue credit. We conclude with a focus on how researchers can conduct better research and write better manuscripts by having a clearer understanding of philosophy of social science and how it relates to scientific practice.

Keywords: Theory testing; Theory choice; Theory strength; Theoretical framework; Deduction; Philosophy of social science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035307739
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