Consonances and controversies: Investigation and its discontents revisited

The author responds to the commentaries of 13 experts on his 1980 American Psychologist article, “Investigation and its discontents: On some constraints on progress in psychological research.” Among the themes addressed are the role of theory in psychological research, the meanings and implications of “productivity” by scholars and researchers, the role of grants, and of money in general, in directing research efforts, and the relation between psychological and neuropsychological research.     

“When you're coming from the reserve you're not supposed to make it”: Stories of Aboriginal athletes pursuing sport and academic careers in “mainstream” cultural contexts

ObjectivesThis project responds to the call for athletic career development and transitions research that centralizes the constitutive role of culture in athletes' experiences (Stambulova & Alfermann, 2009; Stambulova & Ryba, 2014). Within, we explore the cultural transitions of Aboriginal hockey players (14–22 years old) relocated into “mainstream” (Euro-Canadian) cultural contexts to pursue dual careers as students and athletes.DesignThe research was framed as a cultural sport psychology initiative. The project was rooted in a local Indigenous decolonizing methodology, which was brought forward via a participatory action research approach.MethodsMandala drawings and conversational interviews were employed as open-ended data collection processes that enabled the participants to share their stories and meanings through their own cultural perspectives. Vignettes were then used to present their accounts.ResultsThe participants' careers as athletes and students were precariously navigated within larger cultural tensions to: (a) deal with a loss of belonging in the Aboriginal community; (b) break down negative stereotypes and attitudes that Aboriginal people are not able to “make it”; and (c) give back to the Aboriginal communities they relocated away from.ConclusionsThrough a culturally resonant mode of knowledge production, the research uncovers contextual understandings of the cultural transitions experienced by Aboriginal athletes, revealing how this transition intersects with and shapes their dual careers. The project offers insight into the central role of culture in shaping athletes' dual careers, and provides impetus for more idiosyncratic approaches to be adopted in future research.     

Variables and Quantity: What Else?

The article aims to comment Toomela’s (Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science 42(3):245–265, 2008) paper on variables and quantitative psychology. Topics as the choice of variables, their measurement and statistical analysis, the deductions based on data, are briefly reviewed. All variables can be misleading if used in a misleading way, but the Author contends that the psychology based on the variables has not the possibility to represent selected samples of inner processes and contents. Quantitative analyses based on linear causality and probabilistic inference pose many problems, but some alternative approaches devised to cope with these problems are indicated. An hermeneutic approach aware of the constructivist ground of the scientific knowledge is proposed.

Cultural Complexities and Scientific Development

Methodological issues in psychology consist of a key aspect for the scientific development of the discipline. In this paper I elaborate on the reasons why I partially agree with Toomela's ideas, and why I also disagree with some of his arguments. The convergence refers to the need for a radical change concerning the widespread use of methodologies that has been typical of mainstream psychology, which still flavors too positivist and pseudo-quantitative, overlooking the central relevance of theory for scientific development. The divergence resides in Toomela's insistence to oppose what he designates as "the North American" to "the German-Austrian" scientific thinking: from my perspective, the misuse of cultural categories can only lead to misguided and unconstructive dichotomies that entails a naive concept of culture, and do not contribute to scientific development. From a contemporary systemic approach, complex issues deserve more sophisticated analysis.     

论托马斯·阿奎那对实践-行为的区分

通常在追溯实践哲学传统时,都会上寻到古希腊的亚里士多德哲学,然后就会跨过中世纪哲学而直接到近代哲学的传统,因而往往忽略了中世纪哲学传统对实践哲学的影响。然而,事实并非如此。该文选取深受亚里士多德哲学思想影响的中世纪著名哲学家托马斯·阿奎那为分析对象,以《神学大全》中论述人的部分为基础,着重阐释他从实践伦理学角度对实践一行为的三重区分。同时,本文也指出在托马斯·阿奎那的思想中,实践与制作也不可以等同．即．作为伦理行为的实践与作为机械工艺的制作所遵循的原则是不同的．     

西方理论心理学研究的新特点

理论心理学研究的复兴是近年来西方心理学发展的新特点。西方理论心理学研究的重点,并不是通过理论化的简单转向来克服心理学发展中的困难,或以总体的、一般的抽象术语重新发明元理论,而是力图在提高理论研究方式的科学化水平基础上,加强对具体的、中等水平的亚理论问题的整合性学术探讨。进一步寻求心理学理论研究走向繁荣的学科内在发展机制。     

Research quality considerations for grounded theory research in sport & exercise psychology

ObjectivesThe aims of this article are: to examine the application of grounded theory in sport and exercise psychology; to locate such applications within broader grounded theory methodological debates and; to support the future use and evolution of the method in the field.MethodsA search of the four sport and exercise psychology journals with the highest impact factors in 2007 (Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology and The Sport Psychologist) using the search term “grounded theory” and the date parameters 2000–2008 was conducted. These articles were discussed in relation to research quality concerns for grounded theory at the micro- and macro-level.ResultsTwelve articles were returned from the search. At the micro-level, eight elements representing collective sufficient conditions for grounded theory were discussed, which only two of the twelve articles returned met. Examples of common mistakes in relation to these elements were provided from the twelve articles. At the macro-level, the ontological and epistemological debates surrounding variants of grounded theory were discussed. Only one of the twelve articles explicitly recognised that there are variants of grounded theory, whilst the potential to generate more generic formal theory, and thus make a wider contribution to bodies of knowledge, was not discussed in any of the articles.ConclusionsThere are research quality concerns regarding the application of grounded theory in sport and exercise psychology at the micro- and macro-level, largely linked to a lack of understanding of the methodology and its implementation. Suggestions to address this for editors, reviewers and authors are offered.