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The abandonment of latent variables: Philosophical considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2010

Peter Zachar
Peter Zachar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Montgomery, AL 36124. [email protected]
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Abstract

Cramer et al.'s critique of latent variables implicitly advocates a type of scientific anti-realism which can be extended to many dispositional constructs in scientific psychology. However, generalizing Cramer et al.'s network model in this way raises concerns about its applicability to psychopathology. The model could be improved by articulating why a given cluster of symptoms should be considered disordered.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 2-3 , June 2010 , pp. 177 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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