How to Facilitate Theory Building in Psychological Research? A Proposal for the Assessment of Theoretical Rigor
Knowledge advances by theories and their iterative testing. Yet, psychology is facing a theory crisis, characterized by ambiguous theories and the lack of formalization (Muthukrishna & Henrich, 2019; Oberauer & Lewandowsky, 2019). In this unconference, we want to bring together theory enthusiasts from various fields and discuss measures to facilitate and incentivize more rigorous theorizing in psychological research. As a concrete example, we introduce a set of indicators for the assessment of theoretical rigor that are meant to establish hygiene standards for the development and testing of theories in psychological research. After a brief input, we invite all participants to gather in groups and discuss the utility of such indicators in practice or develop their own ideas to improve and incentivize more precise theorizing in psychological research. Feedback and ideas will be collected, and we will explore the potential for tangible initiatives that could follow from this unconference.