Coherence in human experience and psychological science

Social psychology is a highly diverse area of scientific inquiry that has left no stone unturned in its attempt to capture the nuances of human experience. The field’s wide-ranging agenda is commendable, but it has had the unin-tended effect of promoting a highly fragmented discipline. With a topical land-scape ranging from cardiovascular processes to inter-group relations, it’s not surprising that the field is populated by an untold number of disconnected mini-theories and equally independent research strategies. The lack of theo-retical and paradigmatic coherence has generated concern from several quar-ters in recent years. But lamenting this state of affairs is one thing, and fixing it is quite another. Is it possible to impose theoretical integration on the com-plexity and vagaries of human social experience? If so, what should such a the-ory look like? CRITERIA FOR THEORETICAL COHERENCE For a comprehensive theory of social psychology to “work, ” it must satisfy sev-eral requirements. To begin with the obvious, such an account must identif