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External validity of social psychological experiments is a concern, but these models are useful

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2022

Youri L. Mora
Affiliation:
Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP 122, 50-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] https://cescup.ulb.be/member/youri-mora/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/olivier-klein/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/christophe-leys/
Olivier Klein
Affiliation:
Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP 122, 50-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] https://cescup.ulb.be/member/youri-mora/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/olivier-klein/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/christophe-leys/
Christophe Leys
Affiliation:
Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP 122, 50-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] https://cescup.ulb.be/member/youri-mora/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/olivier-klein/ https://cescup.ulb.be/member/christophe-leys/
Annique Smeding
Affiliation:
Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, LIP/PC2S, 73011 Chambéry cedex, France. [email protected] http://smeding.free.fr/index.php/Main/HomePage

Abstract

We agree that external validity of social psychological experiments is a concern, we disagree these models are useless. Experiments, reconsidered from a situated cognition perspective and non-linearly combined with other methods (qualitative and simulations) allow grasping decision dynamics beyond bias outcomes. Dynamic (vs. discrete) insights regarding these processes are key to understand missing forces and bias in real-world social groups.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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