Thread by @PsychScientists

Some interesting things for me to reflect on coming out of replies to this thread...a few here

https://twitter.com/PsychScientists/status/1332361131684466690

First, I didn’t actually say ‘do eco psych or get out’. I said ‘pick a damn theory and commit to it till it breaks or doesn’t’. I’m not sure that was clear though because boy did some people reflexively yell at me for being an eco psych cultist

Second, some fascinating misunderstandings of how science works. Committing to a theoretical approach, coming to grips with where it comes from, what it assumes, etc, is not dogmatism, it’s a critical part of science! (As is leaving and never returning to ideas that didn’t work)

Imagine if physics was still re-litigating whether phlogiston was a contender explanation. No one would ever get anything done.

Imagine if physicists panicked at every hard-to-explain-right-away result. What a mess it would be!!

Good science means embracing a solid theory (like relativity, or evolution, or eco psych, or hell, even info processing) and working the ever loving shit out of it till it breaks or you can safely face the reality of the evidence

A huge part of the problem for non eco coaches is that the science they rely on has gotten worse over the years. From the 50s to the 90s, scientists engaged with the implications of computationalism and representations. You couldn’t swing a concept without hitting philosophising

The 21st C has basically just shrugged and gone ‘let’s just crack on’. This would be ok except there remain major unsolved challenges and the field only did this because it stopped teaching its graduates theory details and focused on methods. The field’s cut off from its roots

Psychology is paying the price for this with a replication crisis. Rote application of methods with no good grounding in where those came from has been a bloody disaster for the field. (Not everyone, but the majority I think)

If you don’t understand where your methods come from, you can’t properly interrogate them when they fail, or innovate based on theory when you find a gap in what you can do. You’re just fucking around trying to find out

So. It’s important for coaches to understand that you can be rigorous and sceptical and open to being wrong AND STILL be firmly committed to applying one approach over the other. In fact, *it’s the only way you can*

Let’s see, what else.

Oh right. Lots of the usual ‘but eco psych can’t explain feelings/brains/memory’ type objections. The reply is both important and unsatisfying - we can’t do it *yet*. As Geoff Bingham repeatedly taught me, there’s a history here

Eco psych in coaching is about 15-20 years behind eco psych in science, in terms of what questions it has tackled. Eco psych also does things in a certain order; perception of the physical environment first, no jumping to brains etc till we get the job description right

This all means eco dynamics is (sensibly) still solving problems around perception and manipulation of the physical environment. It doesn’t say how to use verbal instruction, but not because it cannot in principle, because it cannot do the topic justice *yet*

‘We’re working on it’ is a frustrating answer (trust me, I’ve been annoying people with it for years). But unfortunately it’s the deal - the state of the art is good but still a LONG way to go

What we researchers need is a) all the gaps that you can see and want filled (so we try to answer relevant questions) and b) some patience as we try to rise to the challenge.

I am working on a project just now that, at its core, is about education of the ecological approach and, longer term, creating a place for these discussions to happen where they can actually spark the necessary work. Early days yet, so patience please, but I am working on it :)

This is why I have been throwing these threads out here. I do it to organise my thoughts, refine my understanding of these topics, learn more about the gaps people worry about, and so on. I try to be provocative rather than an ass, but I know my mileage varies there

Thanks to every coach that engages in good faith. For what it’s worth, I always listen and I reflect on everything that comes up. You are fuel for my attempts to do all this stuff properly, and I can’t do it without you :)
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Oh, actually, one more thing. A couple of you are bullies. I want you to know that I see you, and I have zero tolerance for your bullshit. Reflect a little, please, but do not mistake me for a viable target.