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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 1, 131-137 (1981)
DOI: 10.1177/014616728171020
© 1981 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

On the Conceptual Disconfirmation of Theories

Anthony G. Greenwald

Ohio State University

David L. Ronis

Michigan Cancer Foundation

The first author's concepts of operational and conceptual disconfirmability are revised on the basis of recent critiques appearing in this journal. Operational and conceptual disconfirmation can be conceived as alternative resolutions of the disconfirmation dilemma, which is the problem faced by a researcher when a theoretical prediction is empirically disconfirmed. Operational disconfirmation corresponds to the conclusion that the prediction failed because of invalid procedures, while conceptual disconfirmation corresponds to the conclusion that the theoretical analysis underlying the prediction was faulty. Social psychology may indeed differ from other disciplines in being more prone to the operational disconfirmation conclusion.


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