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Tutorial

Formalizing Verbal Theories

A Tutorial by Dialogue

Published Online:October 28, 2020https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000428

Abstract

Abstract. We present a tutorial for formalizing verbal theories of psychological phenomena – social or otherwise. The approach builds on concepts and tools from the mathematics of computation. We use intuitive examples and illustrate the intrinsic dialectical nature of the formalization process by presenting dialogues between two fictive characters, called Verbal and Formal. These characters’ conversations and thought experiments serve to highlight important lessons in theoretical modeling.

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