The Power of Discrepant Results

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 24 of Discrepant Results in Mental Health Research serves as a conclusion to the content covered in the book. The chapter highlights how the book rewrites the story of psychological measurement’s relationship with physics. The old story traces back to the theory of errors. To this day, researchers see the byproducts of this old story and in a way that cuts across all of psychological research, not just mental health. The new story rekindles psychology’s relationship with physics but by linking measurement in mental health to concepts in physics that accurately reflect the kinds of data produced by mental health research. Updating psychological measurement’s relationship with physics allows researchers to ask bold questions that will dramatically impact mental health research and optimize decision-making when it comes to interpreting assessments and leveraging the data they produce.