Measurement in Psychology

Thisbooktraceshowsuchaseeminglyimmutableideaasmeasurementprovedsomalleablewhenitcollidedwiththesubjectmatterofpsychology.Itlocatesphilosophicalandsocialinfluences(suchasscientism,practicalismandPythagoreanism)reshapingtheconceptand,atthecoreofthisreshaping,identifiesafundamentalproblem:theissueofwhetherpsychologicalattributesreallyarequantitative.Itarguesthattheideaofmeasurementnowendorsedwithinpsychologyactuallysubvertsattemptstoestablishagenuinelyquantitativescienceanditurgesanewdirection.ItrelatesviewsonmeasurementbythinkerssuchasHolder,Russell,CampbellandNageltoearlierviews,likethoseofEuclidandOresme.Withinthehistoryofpsychology,itconsiderscontributionsbyFechner,Cattell,Thorndike,StevensandSuppes,amongothers.Italsocontainsanon-technicalexpositionofconjointmeasurementtheoryandrecentfoundationalworkbyleadingmeasurementtheoristR.DuncanLuce.