Speaker
Lisa Osbeck, University of West Georgia
Title
Imaginary gardens with real toads in them. What do psychological studies of science reveal about science and psychology?
Abstract
The talk will explore implications of historical and contemporary studies that attempt to investigate empirically the complexities of science as practiced, with emphasis on broadly psychological studies of science. With reference to research examples on modeling, anthropomorphism, and replication discourse, we will consider the ontological and epistemological significance of broadly psychological studies, especially those that strive for integrated accounts of cognitive and social processes. Controversies attending these efforts are discussed also, with the aim of illustrating a variety of ways the polemics in psychological studies of science reflect fault lines in the discipline of psychology more generally.
Bio
Lisa Osbeck is currently Professor of Psychology and director of the MA program at the University of West Georgia. She received a PhD in General Psychology from Georgetown University, followed by a fellowship at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh. While at West Georgia she was actively involved in the ethnographic study of four bioengineering labs at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Nancy Nersessian, P.I.), which led to the publication of Science as Psychology: Sense-Making and Identity in Science Practice (Osbeck, Nersessian, Malone, & Newstetter, 2011; co-winner of the William James Book Award from APA Division 1 for 2012) and related journal articles. Lisa is also co-editor of Rational Intuition: Philosophical Roots, Scientific Investigations (Cambridge, 2014), with Barbara Held. Her current project is Values in Psychological Science: Re-envisioning our epistemic priorities (contracted, Cambridge University Press). She is a Fellow of three APA divisions. Awards include the Sigmund Koch award for Early Career Contributions to Psychology (2005), the Theodore Sarbin award (2012) from Division 24, and the Arthur J. Staats lecture, sponsored by the American Psychological Foundation (2016). She is an associate editor for New Ideas in Psychology and Qualitative Psychology and is on the editorial boards of four additional journals.