Raymond Cattell - Scientific Orientation

Scientific Orientation

When Cattell entered the field of psychology in the 1920s, he felt that the domain of personality was dominated by ideas that were largely theoretical and intuitive with little research basis. Cattell believed in E.L. Thorndike’s empirical viewpoint that “If something actually did exist, it existed in some amount and hence could be measured.”

Cattell found that concepts used by early psychological theorists tended to be subjective and poorly defined. For example, after examining over 400 published papers on the topic of "anxiety" in 1965, Cattell stated "The studies showed so many fundamentally different meanings used for anxiety and different ways of measuring it, that the studies could not even be integrated.”. Early personality theorists tended to provide little objective evidence or research bases for their theories. Cattell wanted psychology to become more like other sciences, where a theory could be tested in an objective way that could be understood and replicated by others. In Cattell's words:

“Psychology appeared to be a jungle of confusing, conflicting, and arbitrary concepts. These pre-scientific theories doubtless contained insights which still surpass in refinement those depended upon by psychiatrists or psychologists today. But who knows, among the many brilliant ideas offered, which are the true ones? Some will claim that the statements of one theorist are correct, but others will favour the views of another. Then there is no objective way of sorting out the truth except through scientific research."

Psychologist Art Sweney, an expert in psychometrics, summed up Cattell’s methodology:

“He was without exception the one man who made the most major strides in systematizing the field of behavioral science from all of its diverse facets into a real science based on empirical, replicable and universal principles. Seldom has psychology had such a determined, systematic explorer dedicated not only to the basic search for scientific knowledge but also to the need to apply science for the benefit of all.”