(Cornell University)
Whose Minds Matter? Theoretical and Practical Implications of Representation in Psychological Science
Since the cognitive revolution, psychology has shifted its research focus toward conducting primarily “basic” research studies in laboratory and other non-naturalistic settings with convenience samples that enable us to isolate mechanisms of interest. While this shift in research approach has expedited the rate of discovery in one sense, the shift away from studying naturally occurring behavior in a variety of settings with diverse groups of people has created a tension—it has limited the field’s ability to apply our findings to contemporary problems in the world. In this talk I will discuss the distinction between mechanisms for explaining behavior and mechanisms for changing behavior, and their implications for advancing psychological theory as well as the development and scaling of interventions that leverage psychological insights to improve social outcomes.
The colloquium will be held on zoom. Please contact siev.1@osu.edu for the zoom link.