Examines the nature and uses of metatheory. Current needs for metatheoretical understanding are discussed in the context of increased skepticism about grand narratives. A focus on the lived meanings of existing metatheory and meta discourse points to the importance of cultural psychology in addressing some of the conceptual, methodological, and axiological problems being faced. It is proposed that cultural psychology can illuminate the semantic sources and pragmatics of academic discourse in the social sciences and facilitate a reflexive understanding of ways (...) of being and knowing. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

Responds to S. C. Yanchar and K. B. Kristensen's comments on L. T. Hoshmand and J. Martin's proposal for a naturalistic epistemological approach. Further clarification of the proposal is provided and implications for the development of a theory of method and issues of communal evaluation and intelligibility are discussed. 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

It is proposed that psychologists need a working theory of knowledge for conceptual and discourse purposes. Arguments are made from a pragmatist view of science for a conception of inquiry practice that may resolve current paradigm conflicts and support a viable methodological pluralism. The suggestion is made that a naturalized approach to research practice, such as historical-descriptive case study, may illuminate the judgments and intentions constitutive of our applied epistemology and methodological choices. Implications of such meta-methodological understanding for research training (...) and a contingent theory of knowledge for psychological science are discussed. (shrink)

This special double issue was borne out of a desire to bring together examples of current approaches to cultural theorizing in the field of psychology. These articles represent different ontological and epistemological positions from which one can consider the integration of culture and psychology. We see the first three articles as attempting to deepen our understanding of culture with conceptual framing and philosophical grounding that articulate the relationship of the cultural and the personal. These articles are committed to moving beyond (...) subject-object dualism towards a non-dualistic ontology. A second set of articles honors the existing work in the scientific tradition while proposing to bridge it with the interpretive approaches, creating metatheories as a result, and calling for methodological pluralism. One theme common to these articles is that bringing culture into psychology requires not only a broadening of theoretical perspectives, but also a greater inclusiveness in our epistemological and methodological commitments. Though we have tried to be inclusive, this present collection of articles is far from comprehensive in terms of the range of possible theoretical perspectives on culture. We invite future authors to turn the critical cultural lens on the theoretical efforts featured in this special issue, and to present other approaches that are not represented here. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)