Many authors have argued that applying social psychology to the solution of real world problems builds better theories. Observers have claimed, for example, that of human behavior applied social psychology reveals more accurate principles because its data are based on people in real-life circumstances (Helmreich, 1975; Saxe & Fine, 1980), provides an opportunity to assess the ecological validity of generalizations derived from laboratory research (Ellsworth, 1977; Leventhal, 1980), and discloses important gaps in existing theories (Fisher, 1982; Mayo & LaFrance, 1980). Undoubtedly, many concrete examples can be mustered in support of these claims. But it also can be argued that applying social psychology to social issues and problems builds better research methods. Special methodological problems arise and new perspectives on old methodological problems emerge when re searchers leave the laboratory and tackle social problems in real-world settings. Along the way, we not only improve existing research techniques but also devel op new research tools, all of which enhance our ability to obtain valid results and thereby to understand and solve socially relevant problems. Indeed, Campbell and Stanley's (1966) seminal work on validity in research design grew out of the application of social science in field settings. In this spirit, the principal aim of this volume is to present examples of methodological advances being made as researchers apply social psychology in real-life settings.

In recent years an increasing dissatisfaction with methods and thinking in psychology as a science can be observed. The discipline is operating under the tension between the traditional quantitative and the new qualitative methodologies. New approaches emerge in different fields of psychology and education—each of them trying to go beyond limitations of the mainstream. These new approaches, however, tend to be “historically blind” – seemingly novel ideas have actually been common in some period in the history of psychology. Knowledge of historical trends in that context becomes crucial because analysis of historical changes in psychology is informative regarding the potential of “new/old and forgotten” approaches in the study of psyche. Some approaches in psychology disappeared due to inherent limitations of them; the others disappeared due to purely non-scientific reasons. And some new approaches were rejected long ago for well-justified scientific reasons. This book brings together contributions from leading scholars in different fields of psychology – cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, cultural psychology, methodology of psychology. Each of the contributors discusses methodological issues that were more thoroughly understood more than half a century ago than they are now. Overall, the contributions support the idea that in important ways 60 years old psychology was far ahead of the most recent trends in mainstream psychology.

Methodological Issues in Psychology is a comprehensive text that challenges current practice in the discipline and provides solutions that are more useful in contemporary research, both basic and applied. This book begins by equipping the readers with the underlying foundation pertaining to basic philosophical issues addressing theory verification or falsification, distinguishing different levels of theorizing, or hypothesizing, and the assumptions necessary to negotiate between these levels. It goes on to specifically focus on statistical and inferential hypotheses including chapters on how to dramatically improve statistical and inferential practices and how to address the replication crisis. Advances to be featured include the author's own inventions, the a priori procedure and gain-probability diagrams, and a chapter about mediation analyses, which explains why such analyses are much weaker than typically assumed. The book also provides an introductory chapter on classical measurement theory and expands to new concepts in subsequent chapters. The final measurement chapter addresses the ubiquitous problem of small effect sizes in psychology and provides recommendations that directly contradict typical thinking and teaching in psychology, but with the consequence that researchers can enjoy dramatically improved effect sizes. Methodological Issues in Psychology is an invaluable asset for students and researchers of psychology. It will also be of vital interest to social science researchers and students in areas such as management, marketing, sociology, and experimental philosophy.

Dealing with the methodological and data analytic problems in developmental research, this book presents solutions advanced from the disciplinary perspectives of psychology, behavior analysis and behavioral systems, sociology, and anthropology. Topics addressed include: * the metatheoretical issues about the relationship between data and theory * the identification and analysis of age, cohort, and time-of-measurement effects * the assessment of quantitative and qualitative change * the use of group and single-subject designs for control by systematic variation * the use of systems methodology to investigate the developmental continuity and organization of behavior * the analysis of data from repeated measures designs * the use of structural equations and path analysis to test causal hypotheses * the use of structured relational matrices to study development and change This unique volume offers students an unusually wide range of research tools for identifying and studying specific developmental problems.

Simulations are widely used in the military for training personnel, analyzing proposed equipment, and rehearsing missions, and these simulations need realistic models of human behavior. This book draws together a wide variety of theoretical and applied research in human behavior modeling that can be considered for use in those simulations. It covers behavior at the individual, unit, and command level. At the individual soldier level, the topics covered include attention, learning, memory, decisionmaking, perception, situation awareness, and planning. At the unit level, the focus is on command and control. The book provides short-, medium-, and long-term goals for research and development of more realistic models of human behavior.