Paul E. Meehl

Paul Everett Meehl ( born January 3, 1920 in Minneapolis, † 14 February 2003) was an American psychology professor and philosopher of science. His main concern was to accelerate the progress of his time unsubstantiated areas of psychology (especially clinical psychology, personality psychology, psychological counseling and community psychology ), by being placed on a scientific basis. He was instrumental in the development of multivariate methods for the analysis of experimentally obtained data. His research convinced him that, among other intelligence, schizophrenia and anhedonia have a genetically determined proportion.

Life and career

Meehl studied psychology at the University of Minnesota in his hometown of Minneapolis, where he Bachelor 1942 and 1945 acquired the title of Doctor. There he remained throughout his career, during which he held teaching jobs in psychology, law, psychiatry, neurology, and philosophy.

Meehl was a leading philosopher of science. He was a follower of Karl Popper's falsificationism.

In his book, Clinical vs.. Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence (1954 ), he analyzed the presumption that formal algorithmic evaluation fewer criteria behavior more predictable and to make better treatment decisions, as the common operation of the clinicians who often highly complex information subjectively evaluate and make decisions on subjective, informal, intuitive. One reason for this is that formal algorithms, as opposed to expert judgments are 100% reliable methods, ie, with the same data come they always the same predictions and judgments. In contrast, for example, contradict experienced radiologists in the evaluation of X-ray images themselves in 20 % of cases. Another reason is that experts have too much confidence in their long-term forecasts, in which chance plays a role. Meehls book caused a storm of protest, however, was by many (2011: 200 ) confirms studies. Among many others, confirmed a meta-analysis of 2000 this assumption Meehls In personnel decisions interviews degrade the quality of the candidate selection.

Meehl was involved in the development of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ( MMPI ), in particular on its k- scale.

Meehl was elected in 1962 as president of the American Psychological Association.

In 1994 he was a co-signatory of the essay Mainstream Science on Intelligence, written by Linda Gottfredson and published in December 1994 by the Wall Street Journal.

Donald R. Peterson, a student Meehls, published in 2005 under the title Twelve Years of Correspondence With Paul Meehl: Tough Notes From a Gentle Genius their correspondence.

From 1951 to 1993 Meehl worked as a psychotherapist.

Awards

Works (selection)

Meehl published in his career about 200 essays, including the following:

• Paul E. Meehl (1978). Theoretical Risks and Tabular Asterisks: Sir Karl, Sir Ronald, and the Slow Progress of Soft Psychology (PDF, 831 kB). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 46, pp. 806-834
• Kenneth and Paul E. Meehl MacCorquodale (1948 ). ON A DISTINCTION BETWEEN Hypothetical Constructs AND Intervening Variables. Classics in the History of Psychology, retrieved 22 August 2011
• Paul E. Meehl (1956). Wanted -A good cookbook. American Psychologist, 11, 263-272
• Paul E. Meehl (1986). Causes and Effects of My Disturbing Little Book. Journal of Personality Assessment, 50, pp. 370-375 ( with "My Disturbing Little Book " refers to Clinical vs. Statistical Prediction)

Literature on Paul E. Meehl

• William M. Grove, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Niels G. Waller: In appreciation: Paul E. Meehl ( 1920 to 2003 ). American Psychological Society Observer 16 (7 ), 2003.
• Paul E. Meehl Paul E. Meehl. In G. Lindzey ( Ed. ): A history of psychology in autobiography. Vol 8, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989, pp. 337-389, doi: 10.1037/11347-010.
• Osvaldo F. Morera, Robyn M. Dawes: Clinical and Statistical Prediction After 50 Years: A Dedication to Paul Meehl. In: Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 19, 2006, pp. 409-412, doi: 10.1002/bdm.538.
• Daniel Kahneman (2011): Thinking, fast and slow, Allen Lane paperback, ISBN 978-1-846-14606-0, in Chapter 21: ". Intuition vs. Formulas", pp. 222-233.