Sir Karl, Sir Ronald, (Sir) Paul, and the human element in the progress of soft psychology

Abstract

Meehl’s article related to theoretical risks and tabular asterisks reminds us of the importance of thinking and theorizing as well as hypothesizing and testing, a point that is as relevant today in soft psychology as it was in 1978. Although progress is impeded by the profusion of tabular asterisks, we should recognize as well that the course of events is shaped by the actors involved—theories not only fade away, they are excluded by these actors.