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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 Open the ORCID record for Youri L. Mora [Opens in a new window] ,
Olivier Klein Open the ORCID record for Olivier Klein [Opens in a new window] ,
Christophe Leys Open the ORCID record for Christophe Leys [Opens in a new window]  and
Annique Smeding Open the ORCID record for Annique Smeding [Opens in a new window]
Youri L. Mora
Affiliation:
Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP 122, 50-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. Youri.mora@ulb.be Olivier.klein@ulb.be Christophe.leys@ulb.be 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. Youri.mora@ulb.be Olivier.klein@ulb.be Christophe.leys@ulb.be 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. Youri.mora@ulb.be Olivier.klein@ulb.be Christophe.leys@ulb.be 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. Annique.Smeding@univ-smb.fr http://smeding.free.fr/index.php/Main/HomePage
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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
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e84
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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