Distinction between 'a theory being testable in principle" versus "being able to think of a *concrete* experiment to test the theory' is important, because too often if exp psychologists can't think of an experiment right away they think the theory is at fault. (cc @annemscheel)https://twitter.com/maxcoltheart/status/1049607054162182144 …
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But I have no idea if you consider me (I consider myself a modeller) a theory person and if you think I have "real experimental expertise"?
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Most people have experimental experience in the way I use these words due to the way cogsci and psych are taught. Modellers seem to emerge despite not because of most programmes — because the focus seems to be almost always empirical.
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So unless my experiences are somehow outlier ones (which they may be I realise I'm in a very small minority of people within cog/psych) I believe it's already the case that experimental experience is a baseline experience all PhDs have.
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Sometimes exp training can even hinder theoretical development. Not saying no empirical expertise is useful for theoretician, but also see how drilling of exp training can kill all conceptual creativity & make people conflate statistical hypothesis with substantive theory.
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If you're analyzing data, I think that's essentially empirical experience. I think the important aspect is just to know that data can be messy so that you don't get too attached to a particular interpretation of it.
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This is a good point, e.g. was at meeting with logicians & a cognitive scientist showed a plot of human data, with 3 noisy lines. I and other empirically trained ppl understood the general pattern. A logician asked "why do the lines zig-zag & how does your theory explain that?"
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Just saying: that some experience with the variability in data / phenomena of interest can give one a better sense of what pattern in the observations is in need of substantive theoretical explanation.
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Yeah, I've been where that logician was.
The only stats-related thing I knew before I moved to Psychology were Bayesian graphical models. I can't believe after more than a decade the module still exists and is taught by the same person! https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/manage/programmes/module-catalogue/module/COM00032H/2018-19 … - 3 more replies
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