The Significance Problem of Social-Psychological Research Results
One of the topical problems of social psychology is the significance of the research results. After experiments are retried using published techniques, more than a half of these experiments have no confirmation. The verification of the Zimbardo “prison” experiment is one of the most famous examples. Flimsy evidence calls into doubt the predictive function of science and creates difficulties for the practical application of results. The article discusses some sources of flimsy evidence, such as problems of certainty of the theory underlying the study, selection of the object of the study, non-compliance with the experiment, confirmation bias. The influence of the social set patterns leads to a decrease in the level of objectivity of the reliability of study significance when materials are published. A possible source of uncertainty is the inadequate use of mathematical statistics during research data processing. The difficulties of disclosing the social-psychological research of the phenomenon under consideration reduce the accuracy. Another aspect is the problem of the principle of determinism observance. The emphasis on neurophysiological arguments often provides unjustified advantages to materialistic determinism over psychological and logical ones. Some of the aspects are illustrated with references to specific studies in which a decrease in confidence may occur.