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From description to generalization, or there and back again

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2022

Kelsey L. West
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Kasey C. Soska
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Whitney G. Cole
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Danyang Han
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Justine E. Hoch
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Christina M. Hospodar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu
Brianna E. Kaplan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003, USAkelsey.west@nyu.edu kasey.soska@nyu.edu wgcole@nyu.edu danyang.han@nyu.edu justine.hoch@nyu.edu christina.hospodar@nyu.edu brianna.kaplan@nyu.edu

Abstract

In his target article, Yarkoni prescribes descriptive research as a potential antidote for the generalizability crisis. In our commentary, we offer four guiding principles for conducting descriptive research that is generalizable and enduring: (1) prioritize context over control; (2) let naturalistic observations contextualize structured tasks; (3) operationalize the target phenomena rigorously and transparently; and (4) attend to individual data.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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