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Concerns About Theorizing, Relevance, Generalizability, and Methodology Across Two Crises in Social Psychology
1Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands.
International Review of Social Psychology
|September 15, 2025
Summary
Social psychology has faced two major crises, raising concerns about theory strength, research relevance, generalizability, and methods. Addressing these issues requires coordinated scientific research to prevent future crises.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Scientific Methodology
Background:
- Social psychology experienced crises in the 1960s-1970s and from 2010-present.
- Concerns include theory robustness, societal impact, effect generalizability, and methodological/statistical issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare concerns across both social psychology crises.
- Evaluate progress on reforms and identify persistent challenges.
- Analyze the role of incentives in these crises.
Main Methods:
- Literature review comparing issues from the two crises.
- Analysis of reforms and progress.
- Reflection on scientific incentives.
Main Results:
- Identified similarities in concerns across both crises.
- Noted that some issues have seen reform, while others persist.
- Highlighted the impact of incentives on research practices.
Conclusions:
- A coordinated approach to scientific research is essential.
- Proposes strategies to prevent a third crisis in social psychology.
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