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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Science

Background:

  • Psychology faces unique challenges due to its complex subject matter and lack of universal axioms.
  • The
  • Flatland fallacy
  • occurs when simplified theories fail to capture the high-dimensional nature of psychological phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and address the
  • Flatland fallacy
  • in psychological research.
  • To propose methods for improving the scientific rigor and model-building capacity in psychology.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of the nature of psychological science.
  • Argumentation based on the
  • Flatland
  • analogy.
  • Proposal of quantitative modeling and enhanced training as solutions.

Main Results:

  • The
  • Flatland fallacy
  • limits the development and communication of psychological models.
  • Quantitative models compel theory formalization, mitigating oversimplification.
  • Improved quantitative training can establish new research norms.

Conclusions:

  • Adopting quantitative models is crucial for advancing psychological science.
  • Enhanced quantitative training is necessary to overcome inherent limitations in psychological research and modeling.