Statisticism Explained! What Happened in the Scientific Field of Psychology?

In this episode you can hear the third and final part of my conversation with Professor Emeritus James T. Lamiell. We talked about his book “Psychology’s Misuse of Statistics and Persistent Dismissal of its Critics” (2019).

The main topic of the book is “statisticism”, a term coined by the author to describe an ascendant and continuing, yet unfortunate, practice in mainstream psychology. In this final part, Professor Lamiell talks about the historical developments that led to the ascendance of statisticism in psychology.

He also guides us through his own path and decision-making as a scientist with historical, methodological, and philosophical questions, in a field of science that did not always embrace such approaches! At the end of the video, he offers key takeaways for psychologists and non-psychologists, based on his book.

So what can we learn from the historical developments of psychology that led to statisticism? And what are the main takeaways of Professor Lamiell’s book?