Paul E. Meehl

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Paul Everett Meehl (born January 3, 1920 in Minneapolis , † February 14, 2003 ) was an American clinical psychologist and professor of psychology . He was a leading philosopher of science and a supporter of Karl Popper's falsificationism .

His main concern was to accelerate the progress of the then poorly founded areas of psychology (especially clinical psychology , personality psychology , psychological counseling and community psychology ) by placing them on a scientific basis. He was significantly involved in the development of statistical methods for evaluating experimentally obtained data. His research convinced him that intelligence , schizophrenia and anhedonia , among others , have a genetically determined part.

He is one of the 100 most cited psychologists of the 20th century.

life and career

Meehl studied psychology at the University of Minnesota in his native Minneapolis, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1942 and his doctorate in 1945. He stayed there throughout his career, during which he received teaching assignments in psychology, law, psychiatry, neurology and philosophy.

In 1962 he was elected President of the American Psychological Association . From 1951 to 1993 Meehl worked as a psychotherapist .

In 1994 he co-signed the essay Mainstream Science on Intelligence , along with 51 other intelligence researchers such as Raymond Cattell , Hans Eysenck , Alan S. Kaufman , Nadeen L. Kaufman .

Work

To statistics

In his book Clinical vs. Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence (1954) he analyzed the assumption that the formal, algorithmic evaluation of fewer criteria can predict behavior better and make better therapy decisions than the usual way of working of clinicians, which sometimes uses highly complex information subjectively evaluate and make their decisions subjectively, informally, intuitively . One reason for this is that, in contrast to expert judgments , formal algorithms are 100% reliable, i.e. with the same data they always come to the same predictions and judgments. On the other hand, experienced radiologists, for example, contradict themselves in 20% of the cases when assessing x-rays. Another reason is that experts have too much faith in their long-term predictions, where chance plays a role. Meehl's book triggered a storm of indignation, but was confirmed by numerous (2011: around 200) studies. Among many others, a meta-analysis from 2000 confirms Meehl's assumption. When it comes to personnel decisions , interviews degrade the quality of the candidate selection .

To schizophrenia

Meehl's work on the search for the genetic component of schizophrenia is of great importance. He postulated an inherited factor that he called "integrative neural defect" or "schizotaxia". Meehl described carriers of this factor as schizotypic and were characterized by four characteristics:

  • cognitive gliding, which is the mildest form of schizophrenic thinking disorder
  • Aversion to interpersonal relationships (in the form of social anxiety, distrust, expectation of rejection and conviction that you are not lovable)
  • Anhedonia (a marked and permanent limitation in the ability to be happy)
  • ambivalence

People with a genetic predisposition to schizotaxia can be in different parts of the schizophrenic spectrum and develop different forms there - from well-compensated schizotype to severe schizophrenia. However, all of them develop the four characteristics mentioned above to different degrees. Chapman's popular schizotype questionnaire is based on this concept of schizotaxia and measures 3 dimensions: physical anhedonia, perceptual distortions and magical ideas.

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

Awards

  • 1958: Distinguished Scientific Contributor Award from the American Psychological Association (APA)
  • 1962: President of the APA
  • 1965: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1987: Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1993: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge from the APA
  • 1996: Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology from the APA
  • James McKeen Cattell Fellow of the American Psychological Society (now Association for Psychological Science )
  • William James Fellow of the American Psychological Society

Works (selection)

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

Literature on Paul E. Meehl

  • William M. Grove, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Niels G. Waller: In appreciation: Paul E. Meehl (1920-2003). 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 , therein Chapter 21: "Intuitions vs. Formulas", pp. 222-233.
  • Donald R. Peterson: Twelve Years of Correspondence With Paul Meehl: Tough Notes From a Gentle Genius . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steven J. Haggbloom et al .: The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. In: Review of General Psychology . tape 6 , no. 2 , 2002, p. 139–152 , doi : 10.1037 / 1089-2680.6.2.139 ( psu.edu [PDF]).
  2. ↑ Vita ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tc.umn.edu
  3. ↑ Linda Gottfredson (December 13, 1994). " Mainstream Science on Intelligence ". Wall Street Journal , p A18.
  4. ^ Paul J. Hoffman, Paul Slovic , Leonard G. Rorer (1968). An Analysis-of-Variance Model for the Assessment of Configural Cue Utilization in Clinical Judgment . Psychological Bulletin , 69, pp. 338-339
  5. ↑ D. Kahneman (2011), p. Lit., p. 223
  6. ^ A b Grove, WM, Zald, DH, Hallberg, AM, Lebow, B., Snitz, E., & Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis . Psychological Assessment , 12, 19–30
  7. ↑ Richard A. DeVaul et al. (1987). Medical School Performance of Initially Rejected Students . JAMA , 257, pp. 47-51
  8. ↑ Henning Saß et al .: On the etiological status and therapy of schizoid and schizotypic personality disorder. 2001. doi : 10.1055 / s-2001-16542 .
  9. ^ Paul E. Meehl (1956). Wanted - A good cookbook . American Psychologist , 11, 263-272

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Meehl, Paul E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meehl, Paul Everett (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American psychologist and philosopher of science
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Minneapolis , USA
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 2003