Psychology's Reform Movement Needs a Reconceptualization of Scientific Expertise
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Uygun Tunç, Duygu
Tunç, Mehmet Necip
Abstract / Description
Science is supposed to be a self-correcting endeavor, but who is "the scientific expert" that corrects faulty science? We grouped traditional conceptualizations of expertise in psychology under three classes (substantialist, implicitist, and social conventionalist), and then examined how these approaches undermine scientific self-correction in reference to various components of the credibility crisis such as fraud/QRP’s, the inadequate number of replication studies, challenges facing big team science, and perverse incentives. Our investigation pointed out several problems with the traditional views. First, traditional views conceptualize expertise as something possessed, not performed, ignoring the epistemic responsibility of experts. Second, expertise is conceived as an exclusively individual quality, which contradicts the socially distributed nature of science. Third, some aspects of expertise are taken to be implicit or relative to the established research practices in a field, which leads to disputes over replicability and makes it difficult to criticize mindless scientific rituals. Lastly, a conflation of expertise with eminence in practice creates an incentive structure that undermines the goal of self-correction in science. We suggest, instead, that we conceive an expert as a reliable informant. Following the extended virtue account of expertise, we propose a non-individualist and a performance-based model, and discuss why it does not suffer from the same problems as the traditional approaches, and why it is more compatible with the reform movement's goal of creating a credible psychological science through self-correction.
Keyword(s)
expert epistemic responsibility extended cognition distributed cognition self-correction virtue epistemologyPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2023-02-23
Journal title
Social Psychological Bulletin
Publisher
PsychArchives
Publication status
acceptedVersion
Review status
reviewed
Is version of
Citation
Uygun Tunç, D., & Tunç, M. N. (in press). Psychology's reform movement needs a reconceptualization of scientific expertise [Accepted manuscript]. Social Psychological Bulletin. http://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12547
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Uygun_Tunc_Tunc_2023_Reconceptualizing_scientific_expertise_SPB_AAM.pdfAdobe PDF - 281.14KBMD5: e179433fb2b3487c93c1f2aa774f0f28Description: Accepted Manuscript
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Uygun Tunç, Duygu
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Tunç, Mehmet Necip
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2023-02-23T15:59:55Z
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Made available on2023-02-23T15:59:55Z
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Date of first publication2023-02-23
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Abstract / DescriptionScience is supposed to be a self-correcting endeavor, but who is "the scientific expert" that corrects faulty science? We grouped traditional conceptualizations of expertise in psychology under three classes (substantialist, implicitist, and social conventionalist), and then examined how these approaches undermine scientific self-correction in reference to various components of the credibility crisis such as fraud/QRP’s, the inadequate number of replication studies, challenges facing big team science, and perverse incentives. Our investigation pointed out several problems with the traditional views. First, traditional views conceptualize expertise as something possessed, not performed, ignoring the epistemic responsibility of experts. Second, expertise is conceived as an exclusively individual quality, which contradicts the socially distributed nature of science. Third, some aspects of expertise are taken to be implicit or relative to the established research practices in a field, which leads to disputes over replicability and makes it difficult to criticize mindless scientific rituals. Lastly, a conflation of expertise with eminence in practice creates an incentive structure that undermines the goal of self-correction in science. We suggest, instead, that we conceive an expert as a reliable informant. Following the extended virtue account of expertise, we propose a non-individualist and a performance-based model, and discuss why it does not suffer from the same problems as the traditional approaches, and why it is more compatible with the reform movement's goal of creating a credible psychological science through self-correction.en_US
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Publication statusacceptedVersionen_US
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Review statusrevieweden_US
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SponsorshipThis work was partially funded by the European Union and the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council under the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Cofund program Co-Circulation2.en_US
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CitationUygun Tunç, D., & Tunç, M. N. (in press). Psychology's reform movement needs a reconceptualization of scientific expertise [Accepted manuscript]. Social Psychological Bulletin. http://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12547en_US
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ISSN2569-653X
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/8083
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12547
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Language of contentengen_US
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PublisherPsychArchivesen_US
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.32872/spb.10303
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/agk4b
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Keyword(s)experten_US
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Keyword(s)epistemic responsibilityen_US
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Keyword(s)extended cognitionen_US
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Keyword(s)distributed cognitionen_US
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Keyword(s)self-correctionen_US
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Keyword(s)virtue epistemologyen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitlePsychology's Reform Movement Needs a Reconceptualization of Scientific Expertiseen_US
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DRO typearticleen_US
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Journal titleSocial Psychological Bulletinen_US
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Visible tag(s)PsychOpen GOLDen_US
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Visible tag(s)Accepted Manuscripten_US