The methodological crisis of contemporary psychology: An epistemological perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2026-8-2-167-174Keywords:
methodological crisis of psychology, fragmentation, empiricism, individualism, dialectics, integration of psychological knowledgeAbstract
Introduction. This article analyzes the methodological crisis of contemporary psychology — the crisis that has accompanied the discipline throughout its history and remains acute in the 21st century. It is shown that the crisis manifests itself in various forms: fragmentation of knowledge, reductionism, methodological individualism, the reproducibility crisis, the problem of WEIRD samples, and the theoretical fragility of the conceptual apparatus. The study aims to identify the historical dynamics of these crisis phenomena and to substantiate the need for a change in epistemological strategy.
Materials and Methods. The study is conducted as a theoretical and methodological analysis. The material includes both classical and contemporary works on the philosophy and history of psychology (W. James, K. Bühler, H. Driesch, L. S. Vygotsky, E. Husserl, S. Koch), data from the Open Science Collaboration project, and recent meta-analyses.
Results. Key manifestations of the crisis are identified: (1) the lack of a unified subject matter and conceptual apparatus of psychology (‘a giant with feet of clay’); (2) the dominance of the ‘cult of empiricism’ coupled with low reproducibility of results (36–39%, according to a large replication study); (3) methodological individualism leading to the ‘disappearance of the social’ in social psychology; and (4) the non‑representativeness of WEIRD samples, which undermines the universality of conclusions. It is shown that the most highly cited works are often non‑reproducible, indicating institutional distortions in the system of scientific incentives.
Conclusion. Overcoming the crisis requires a shift toward intensive theoretical and methodological work. Dialectics is a promising research method capable of moving beyond empiricism and reductionism and ensuring the integration of psychological knowledge.
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Zagaria, A., Ando, A., Zennaro, A. (2020) Psychology: A Giant with Feet of Clay. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, vol. 54, pp. 521–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-020-09524-5 (In English)
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