http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0027(199012)34%3A4%3C745%3AAMCOAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23
The test of the effects of the "Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field" by Orme-Johnson et al. which appeared in the December 1988 issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution contains several substantial methodological problems. First, the measurement of the critical independent variable governing whether an effect should be found does not correspond to the most obvious interpretation of the theory, an interpretation used in later studies of the same theory. If population is measured using geographical radius rather than political boundaries, the observed effects should not have occurred, yet the study finds them anyway. In addition, the study did not adequately control for the possibility of reverse causation (the effects causing the treatment) or properly test for the possibility of spurious relationships. Because validation of the theory would contradict virtually the whole of contemporary understanding of causality in social behavior, insistence on such additional measurement specifications, controls, and statistical tests prior to publication would not have constituted unreasonable "censorship" of the research in question. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0027(199012)34%3A4%3C756%3ATEOTMT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z This article replies to a methodological criticism of Orme-Johnson et al., (1988). The original study reported that participants in the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi program located in Jerusalem significantly reduced tension in "collective consciousness" and behavior as measured by decreased conflict in Lebanon and improvement on several social indicators in Israel. Specification of the independent variable on the basis of political boundaries rather than geographical distance alone was shown to be consistent with both theory and forty other studies. It is explained how "reverse causation" cannot account for observed effects. Also, reanalyses show that the results are robust across fourteen alternative transfer function models. Using a purely objective criterion for model selection, the Akaike Information Criterion, the optimal model yields the most significant result (t = 5, p <.0001). Liu's linear transfer function approach yields similar results. Other robustness checks (substituting "pseudo" independent or dependent variables) do not yield spurious results. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-7732(199712)76%3A2%3C511%3AEHT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L Active and heterogeneous disciplines constantly spawn new theories and theoretical variants. By definition, each such offering is heterodox to the degree that its veracity would diminish accepted theories. Most often heterodox theories are dismissed out of hand for nonrational reasons, such that they just seem too bizarre. Most of the time, too, rational analysis supports such rejection. Of course, many important theories in science once seemed bizarre but later were accepted as evidence accumulated for them and against received views. But the lag between a premature rejection and ultimate acceptance is an inefficiency built into the theory evaluation process. Is there a way to reduce this inefficiency? Through examining a heterodox sociological exemplar, we discuss the standards to which such theories should be held in order to deserve (1) hearings in their relevant disciplines, (2) serious attention, and (3) assignment of a high likelihood of being true. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
