The metatheoretical bases of social psychological theory

Abstract

The present article deals with theory concerning interpersonal interactions of systems at the levels of individual human organisms, groups, and organizations. It involves all subsystems of these systems. It examines a number of metatheoretical constraints that may limit the development of social psychology as an empirical science. It begins by describing the sentences of one of the more classical languages used to define the structure of scientific theory, as well as criteria that are employed to evaluate these sentences. It then reviews and evaluates a number of epistemological constraints that limit the development and formulation of theories. For example, it considers the issue of complexity as a constraint, and briefly notes three possible ways to overcome complexity: (1) the construction of minitheories, (2) the use of systems theory, and (3) the development of ‘fuzzy models.’ Finally, the paper considers, given these various constraints, whether it is indeed possible for social psychologists to formulate and test sentences in a manner more or less consistent with the positivistic goals of science.

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