Siegel 1987

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/siegel-1987 1/8

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, Volume 52, 306-312, November 1987

I

T H E L I M I T S O F S C I E N C E I N C O M M U N I C A T I O N

GERALD M. SIEGELUniversity of Minnesota, M inneapolis

D I S O R D E R S

Science is a powerful tool when it addresses the kinds of questions it wag designed to answer, but there are also importantquestions in communication disorders that fall outside the limits of science. Three such areas are discussed: Questions concerningsocial and personal values, questions that call for logical rather than scientific endeavors, and questions that should not be posedbecause we already know the answers and would not be influenced by contrary findings.

I I I

The ASHA conference on education in communication

disorders (Bees & Snope, 1983) made it evident that science

is considered by m embers of this profession to be an

extremely important component of clinical practice and

preparation. At that conference numerous speakers extolled

the values of science for the edification of students and as a

model for therapy. Flower (1983) and Kent (1983) went

further and suggested that our status as an autonomousprofession in control of its own destiny is contingent on our

ability to create our own research base and to generate our

own scientific and technological advances. This testimony

to the importance of science in our profession in the 1980s

is no more than a reaffirmation of themes that motivated its

earliest leaders (Paden, 1970). And yet, while we may be

justifiably proud of the commitinent to science in our

educational and professional programs, we should also be

mindful that there are limits to the r each of science, that not

all problems are susceptible of scientific solutions.

I have taken the title of this paper from a book by P. B.

Medawar (1984), one of the most astute commentators on

contemporary science. Medawar notes that science is most

successful when it answers the kinds of questions it wasdesigned to answer, but that there are important questions

that fall outside of science--questions of public policy, of

social and personal values, of faith and belief--that are no

less important because they are not susceptible to scientific

study. In the current paper I suggest that there are also

problems in communication disorders that are best ad-

dressed outside the orbit of science. After a discussion of he

nature of science, I will develop these limitations in three

areas: (a) Questi ons o f values, (b) questions that require a

logical rather than a scientific understanding, and (c) ques-

tions that should not be pos ed because we already know the

answers an d would not be inf luenced by contrary findings.

T h e N a t u r e o f S c ie n c e

The literature abounds with definitions of science, both

technical and popular, methodological and philosophical.

As pervasive and important as science is to the fabric of

modern life, the definitions are often at variance with

each other. According to Popper (1968):

Science is not a system of certain, or well-established,statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances

towards a state of finality. Our science is not knowledge; itcan never claim to have attained truth, or even a substitutefor it, such as probability. (p. 276)

Medawar (1984) rejects the notion that there could be

any single approach that qualifies as science or the

scientific method:

I go along with the opinion of William Whewell, BertrandRussell and Karl Popper that scientists do not make theirdiscoveries by induction or by the practice of any otherone method. The "scientific method" is therefore illusory.... A scientist commands a dozen different strategies ofinquiry in his approximation to the truth. (pp. 16--17)

However, in an earlier book, Medwar (1979) was will-

ing to characterize the ordinary functions of science:

"Most of the everyday business of the empirical sciences

consists in testing experimentally the logical implications

of hyp0t hese s-- that is, the con sequenc es of assuming for

the time being that they are true." (p. 85).

Johnston and P ennypa cker (1980) define science from a

behaviorist's perspective that emphasizes the necessity

for prediction and control in scientific explanation. Forthem, science describes a set of behaviors that culminate

in certain kinds of verbal statements: "We define scienceas the colle ction of hum an activities for whic h the conse-

quences are statements of contingencies that allow pre-

diction and control .. . . It is erroneous to refer to science

as knowledge because knowledge is only the byproduct

of science" (pp. 412-413).

For Marx (1951), empirical measurement is at the heart

of science, but there is more to science than collecting

data. "Theory or general explanation is the ultimate

objective of science" (p. 5).

Even Mark Twain has a view of science, expressed in a

lovely work of fiction, Eve's D iary. Twain, it appears, had a

view of knowledg e that follows closely the pr ocedures of an

empirical scientist. The following insight was purportedly

noted by Eve shortly after she was created and was busy

exploring the natural phenom ena she encountered in Eden:

It is best to prove things by actual experiment; then youknow; whereas i f you depend on guessing and supposingand conjecturing, you will never get educated. Somethings you can ' t find out; but you will never know youcan 't by guessing and supposing; no, you have to bepatient and go on experimenting until you find out that

© 1987, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 306 0022-4677/87/5204-0306501.00

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


you can't find out. And it is delightful to have it that way,it makes the world so interesting. I f there wasn't anythingto find out, it would be dull. Even trying to find out andnot finding out is just as interesting as trying to find outand finding out, and I don't know but more so.

Like so many of the impor tant concepts we appeal to

repeatedly, there is no single, unified definition of sci-

ence or of the pr actice of scientists. Kuhn (1986) recent ly

summar ized the curr ent confusions concerning the status

of science, as understood by philosophers and historians

of science: "We simply no longer have any useful notions

of how scienc e works or of what scientific progress is" (p.

33). Nevertheless, scientists continue to work, laborato-

ries continue to pour out new discoveries, and books and

journal articles continue to proliferate, often to the con-

sternation of those of us who are more commi tted to keep

up, than wise enough to come in out of the deluge.

My own orientation, at least to behavioral science, is close

to Eve' s diary entry or to Johnston and Pennyp acker (1980).

I view speech and hearing science as an activity that

aggressively explores relationships between environmentalevents and the persons who are influenced and who, in

turn, influence the environment. Like Marx (1951) and

others, I believ e that the object of behavioral science is to

explain behavior, but, in the tradition of behaviorism, I

regard the most satisfying explanation as one that is ob-

tained through prediction and control. Zuriff (1985) cap-

tures the essence of this approach in an excellent analysis of

behaviorism. For behaviorists, he says,

Prediction and control are proposed as the defining char-acteristics of their science, and even of science in getaeral.That is, an activity is judged as "scientific" to the extentthat it contributes to the prediction and control of phenom-ena. (p. 9)

Clearly, this definition of science is one not embr aced by

all scientists and certainly not by all who delve into com-

munication behaviors. I don't intend to argue the merits of

this definition in the c urrent paper. I frankly don't think it is

critical for the thesis that science, however defined, is

bounded and does not have an infinite reach. I mean to

suggest that there are issues and misunderstandings that are

not clarified by the application of scientific methods, at least

so far as they involve experimental applications or the

conduct o f research. I will argue, for example, that a logical

analysis will sometimes convince a scientist that experi-

mentation is unnec essar y in resolving a problem. In certain

instances, rather than embark on a program of research, thescientist might do bette r to take stock of the constructs he or

she is working with, to look carefully at the definitions

being used, or to analyze the logic of the premises. Such

activities are n ot unscientific. Nor are they, in my opinion,

intrinsically scientific. Th ey do not requir e the special skills

of scientific training and rely, to a muc h greater extent, on

logical analysis. I will not quarrel with someone who insists

that logical analysis is, after a l l , an intrinsic part of scientific

method. It is possible to disagree on the scope of a defini-

tion of science and on the validity of a behavioral approach

to communication and its disorders and still consider the

SIEGEL: Lim its o f Sc ience 307

significance of values, logical analysis, and wasteful uses of

science; and that, I believe, is what is important.

Va l u e s

There exist perplexing issues concerning clinical man-

agement of communication disorders that require public

debate and clear thinking, though they are not the kinds of

questions science is designed to answer. Perhaps most

pressing in this arena is the basic quest ion of whom it is we

should serve. Basic values change. In the 1950s, very few

speech-language pathologists worked with the mentally

retarded. At a time when caseloads in the public schools

were often well over 100, it was ques tioned wheth er it was

a justifiable use of the speech-langua ge pathologist's time

and skill to offer service to retarded children. For example,

Brown (1956) wrote the following in the widely used

textbook, Speech H andicapped School Children:

Professional personnel in speech, education, medicine,and other fields dealing with retarded children should notfall prey to wishful thinking. Of course, it is possible toimprove the speech of a feeble-minded child by intensivetraining, and it is also possible to improve his intelligencetest scores somewhat. Only infrequently, however, arethese changes indicative of real improvement in thechild's ability to make his own way. (p. 307)

Implicit in Brown's comments is the view that the

justification for dispensing service is that such service

makes it possible for the client "to make his own way."

That view embraces a set of values with far-reaching

consequences. For example, one implication is that if the

clinician's efforts are unlikely to lead to an independent ,

contributing member of society, it may be unethical to

persevere in those efforts.

Robert West was even more explicit and the following

quote was repr inted in editions of his textbook up into the

1960s:

The mongol is particularly unresponsive to speech reha-bilitation, and it is practically useless to attempt suchtraining. Rehabilitation of speech of the mongol, there-fore, should be undertaken only with the clear under-standing of everyone concerned that the therapy is exper-imental, and any possible results will be meager and inproportion to the patient's level of intelligence. (West &Ansberry, 1968, p. 66)

Over the years, values concerning who should or

should not be given special educational services havechan ged radically. 1 The jus tification for ther apy is no

lit should be noted for the record that as early as i939 CharlesVan Riper was expressing a rather different attitude about theobligation of our profession to retarded children:

Nevertheless, children of low intelligence are generallyretarded in speech and must be taught patiently andcarefully by means of the special techniques known to theteacher of subnormal children. These children needspeech training even more, perhaps, than the usual courseof study given them would seem to indicate. Training inthe manual and domestic arts should be supplemented bymuch speech training. (Van Riper, 1939, p. 184)

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


3 0 8 Jou rna l of Speech and Hearing Disorders 52 3 0 6 - 3 1 2 N o v e m b e r 1 9 87

l o n g e r t h a t i t m u s t h o l d t h e p r o m i s e o f p r e p a r i n g t h e

c l i e n t fo r i n d e p e n d e n t a n d p r o d u c t i v e w o r k . I t is n o w

a s s u m e d t h a t e d u c a t i o n i s j u s t i f i e d i f i t b e n e f i t s t h e

i n d i v id u a l , w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e r e i s a n a c c o m p a n y i n g

r e t u r n t o s o c i e t y . P u b l i c L a w 1 42 h as e n s h r i n e d t h e v a l u e

t h a t a l l c h i l d r e n h a v e t h e r i g h t t o a n e d u c a t i o n , i n t h e

l e a s t r e s t r i c t i v e e n v i r o n m e n t , t h a t w i l l b r i n g t h e m t o t h e

f u l l e s t p o s s i b l e r e a l i z a t i o n o f t h e i r a b i l i t i e s , r e g a r d l e s s o fw h e t h e r t h e y u l t i m a t e l y e n d u p o n t h e t a x ro l ls .

I ro n ic a l ly , t h is m o re a l t ru i s t i c s o c ia l s t a n c e h a s c re a t e d i t s

o w n c o n fl i ct s o f v a l u e s . T h e p e n d u l u m h a s s w u n g s o f a r a s

t o m a k e t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l c o m p e t e n c y

u n c l e a r . I n r e c e n t y e a r s i t h a s b e e n a r g u e d t h a t t h e p r o v i n c e

o f s p e e c h - l a n g u a g e p a t h o l og i s t s a n d a u d i o lo g i s ts s h o u l d

i n c l u d e r e a d i n g p r o b l e m s , t o n g u e t h r u s t, s w a l l o w i n g, f e e d -

i n g a b n o r m a l i t i es , a n d c l i e nt s s o s e v e r e l y h a n d i c a p p e d t h a t

" c o m m u n i c a t i o n " i s e q u a t e d w i t h s i m p l e s e n s o r y s t i m u l a -

t i o n . F r o m a p e r i o d w h e n t h e p r o f e s s i o n w a s n a r r o w l y

e x c l u s i v e , w e h a v e b e c o m e a l m o s t r e c k l e s s l y i n c l u s i v e i n

t h e w i l l i n g n e ss t o w o r k i n s o m a n y a r e a s .

S i m i l a r q u e s t i o n s a r i se w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e e l d e r l y a n d t h e

c h r o n i c a l l y il l. I t i s a q u e s t i o n o f v a l u e s w h e t h e r w e s h o u l d

w o rk w i th in d iv id u a l s w h o a re in a l l l i k e l ih o o d c lo s e to th e

e n d o f t h e i r l i v e s a n d w h o , t h o u g h t h e y m a y p r e v i o u s l y

h a v e b e e n c o n t r i b u t i n g m e m b e r s o f s o c ie t y , a r e v e r y u n -

l ik e ly to m a k e fu r th e r c o n t r ib u t io n s . F o r th e m , th e ju s t i fi c a -

t i o n f o r s e r v i c e c a n n o t b e w h a t t h e y w i l l r e t u r n . N o r i s

p r o g n o s i s f or i m p r o v e m e n t a c l e a r g u id e l i n e . F o r s o m e

c l i e nt s t h e b e s t t h a t t h e r a p y m a y d o i s t o m a i n t a i n t h e s t at u s

q u o , o r t o s l o w p r o g r e s s i v e d e g e n e r a t i o n o f p e r f o r m a n c e ,

a n d y e t w e f e e l a n o b l i g a ti o n t o p r o v i d e w h a t h e l p w e c a n ,

to e a s e th e i r l i v e s a s m u c h a s p o s s ib l e .

V a l u e q u e s t i o n s m e e t u s a t e v e r y tu r n . C o n c e r n s a b o u t

w h i c h c l i e n t s w e s h o u l d s e r v e , w h a t t h e c r i t e r i a s h o u l d

b e f o r a c c o u n t a b i l i t y , h o w t o m e a s u r e t h e c o s t o f s e r v i c e sa g a i n s t t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e o f c l i e n t s - - t h e s e a n d t h e s c o r e

o f o th e r s t h a t f a l l i n t h e d o m a i n o f v a l u e s a r e o f c e n t r a l

i m p o r t a n c e f o r o u r f i el d . T h e y n e e d t o b e a i r ed , d e b a t e d ,

b r o u g h t t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f s t u d e n t s , d i s c u s s e d a t n a t i o n a l

a n d l o c a l m e e t i n g s . E m p i r i c a l e v i d e n c e i s i m p o r t a n t i n

b o l s t e r i n g a r g u m e n t s a n d a s a b a s i s f o r m a k i n g d e c i s i o n s ,

b u t i n m a t t e rs o f v al u e s , th e e v i d e n c e c a n b e m a r s h a l e d t o

s u p p o r t c o n f l i c t i n g p o l i c i e s a n d t h e d e c i s i o n s m u s t b e

m a d e o u t s i d e t h e r e a l m o f s c ie n c e .

Logical Analysis

M e d a w a r ( 1 9 8 4 ) h a s n o t e d t h a t science h a s s e v e r a l

m e a n i n g s , i n c l u d i n g t h e n a m e f o r a s e t o f p r o c e d u r e s a n d

f o r t h e b o d y o f o r g a n i z e d k n o w l e d g e d e r i v e d f r o m t h o s e

p r o c e d u r e s . H o w e v e r , w h e n K e n t (1 98 3) a n d F l o w e r

( 1 98 3 ) a n d o t h e r s u r g e t h a t t h e c l i n i c a l p r a c t i c e o f c o m -

m u n i c a t i o n d i s o r d e r s i s , o r o u g h t t o b e , s c i e n t i f i c , I

b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y a r e a s k i n g t h a t th e m e t h o d s o f s c i e n ce

s e r v e a s a g u i d e f o r c l i n i c a l p r o c e d u r e s . T h o u g h t h e r e i s

n o s i n g l e a p p r o a c h t h a t q u a l i f i e s a s s c i e n c e , M e d a w a r

( 1 97 9 ) i s o l a t e d a t l e a s t o n e a t t r i b u t e t h a t h e c o n s i d e r e d t o

b e u n i v e r s a l : " C r i t i c i s m i s th e m o s t p o w e r f u l w e a p o n i n

a n y m e t h o d o l o g y o f s c i e n c e ; i t is t h e s c i e n t i s t ' s o n l y

a s s u r a n c e t h a t h e n e e d n o t p e r s i s t i n e r ro r . A ll e x p e r i m e n -

t a t io n i s c r i t i c i s m " (p . 9 4 ) .

N o t a ll c r it i c is m n e e d b e e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n , h o w e v e r . I n

o u r v e n e r a t i o n f o r s c ie n c e , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r t h e s e i e n -

t i tl e m e t h o d , w e h a v e t a u g h t g e n e r a t i o n s o f s t u d e n t s t o

c o n c l u d e t h e i r t h e s e s o r d i s s e r t a ti o n s w i t h a n a p p e a l f o r

f u r t h e r r e s e a rc h . S o m e t i m e s , h o w e v e r , k n o w l e d g e w o u l db e b e t t e r s e r v e d b y c r i t i c i s m r a t h e r t h a n r e s e a r c h . F o r

e x a m p l e , S i e g e l , K a t su k i , a n d P o t e c h i n ( 1 9 8 5) a r g u e d t h a t

q u e s t io n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f c o g n i ti o n t o

l a n g u a g e a r e n o t s u s c e p t i b l e o f e m p i r i c a l r e s o l u t i o n b e -

c a u s e t h e d e f i n i t i o n s i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e o f " l a n g u a g e " a n d

" c o g n i t i o n " a r e t o o f l u i d a n d i m p r e c i s e . W e s u g g e s t e d

t h a t o n e c a n n o t r e s o l v e w h e t h e r l a n g u a g e c a u s e s c o g n i -

t i o n o r c o g n i t io n c a u s e s l a n g u a g e d u r i n g d e v e l o p m e n t

u n l e s s t h e r e i s a g r e e m e n t a b o u t w h a t t h e t e r m s l a n g u a g e

a n d c o g n i t i o n r e f e r t o , u n l e s s t h e y e n c o m p a s s i n d e p e n -

d e n t d o m a i n s , a n d u n l e s s t h e t e r m s a r e d e f i n e d i n w a y s

t h a t r e m a i n q u a l i t a ti v e l y c o n s t a n t o v e r th e d e v e l o p m e n -

t a l p e r i o d i n q u e s t i o n .

I f t h e d e f i n i t i o n s o f t h e b a s i c t e r m s f r e e l y v a r y , t h e

a n s w e r a b o u t c a u s a l re l a t i o n sh i p s w i l l d e p e n d o n w h a t i s

t a k e n t o b e l a n g u a g e a n d w h a t c o g n i t io n , r a t h e r t h a n o n a

n a t u ra l p h e n o m e n o n . I f b y c o g n i t io n o n e a u t h o r m e a n s

p e r f o r m a n c e o n t h e U z i g i r i s H u n t , a n d a n o t h e r o n t h e

S t a n fo r d B i n e t, t h e n t h e o u t c o m e o f r e s e a r c h m a y v e r y

w e l l d e p e n d o n w h i c h t e s t i s u s e d . I f la n g u a g e i s s o m e -

t i m e s u s e d t o r e f e r t o s y n t a c t ic s t r u c t u r e s a n d s o m e t i m e s

t o p r e v e r b a l g e s t u r e s t h e c h i l d m a k e s t o r e c r u i t t h e

l i s t e n e r ' s a t t e n t i o n , i t i s h a r d t o i m a g i n e h o w a s t a b l e

a n s w e r t o th e r e l a t i o n s h ip o f c o g n i t io n a n d l a n g u a g e

c o u l d b e o f f er e d . I f th e v e r y s a m e b e h a v i o r s a r e s o m e -

t i m e s t a k e n a s i n d i c e s o f l a n g u a g e a n d a t o t h e r s a s i n d i c e s

o f c o g n it i o n , t h e n a n y a t t e m p t t o p u r s u e t h e q u e s t i o n o ft h e r e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e t w o d o m a i n s i s f u r t h e r

t h w a r t e d , a n d n o a m o u n t o f e m p i r i c a l i n v e s t i g a ti o n i s

l i k e I y t o r e s o l v e t h e c o n f u s i o n .

A n o t h e r e x a m p l e o f a f u n d a m e n t a l i s s u e t h a t is b e t t e r

r e s o l v e d b y a l o g i c a l t h a n a n e m p i r i c a l p r o g r a m i s t o b e

f o u n d i n r e c e n t d i s p u t e s c o n c e r n i n g t h e n a t u r e o f s t u tt e r-

i n g . I n a n u m b e r o f p l a c e s , P e r k i n s (1983, 1984 , 1986a ,

1 9 8 6 b) h a s o f f e r e d a n e w d e f i n i t i o n o f s t u t t e r i n g t h a t

i n c l u d e s t h e p r o v i s i o n t h a t s t u t t e r i n g i n v a r i a b l y i n v o l v e s

t h e l o s s o f v o l i t i o n a l c o n t r o l . A c c o r d i n g t o P e r k i n s :

An ind ispu tab le rea l i ty fo r peop le who cons ide r them-selves to be s tutterers is tha t they feel as if they lose

control o f the ir speeeh when they s tu t te r . . . I f invo lun-ta ry d isrup t ion o f the f low of speech is the es sence o f theexper ience of s tuttering, then it must form the core of thedefinition. B ut only the person w ho has that experien ce isp r ivy to it . No one e lse can ve r i fy i t . . . The impl ica t ion o fthe foreg oing analysis is that a valid def inition of s tutteringpreclud es its being reliable. (Perkins , 1983, p. 247)

P e r k i n s s e e s a p a r a d o x i n t h a t t h e e s s e n c e o f s t u t t e r i n g

i n v o l v e s a n u n o b s e r v a b l e , p r i v a t e e v e n t w h i c h , i n t h e

i n t e r e s t s o f r e l i a b i l i t y o f o b s e r v a t i o n , h a s s y s t e m a t i c a l l y

b e e n e x c l u d e d f r o m d e f i n it i o n s o f s t u tt e r in g , r e s u l t i n g i n

a d e f i n i t i o n t h a t a t b e s t i s r e l i a b l e b u t c a n n o t b e v a l i d .

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


A n d , o f c o u r s e , r e l i a b i l i t y i s a h o l l o w a t t r i b u t e w h e n t h e r e

i s n o v a l i d i t y . P e r k i n s ' s i d e a s a b o u t t h e e s s e n t i a l n a t u r e o f

s t u t t e r i n g h a v e b e e n c r i t i c i z e d b y W i n g a t e ( 1 9 8 4) a n d i n

a n e s p e c i a l l y t h o u g h tf u l r e s p o n s e b y M a r t in a n d

H a r o l d s o n ( 1 9 8 6 ) :

To the degree tha t Perk ins ' s de f in i t ion rests r ig id ly on theassertion that s tuttering really is the involuntary loss ofspeec h control, then the definition prob ably will not proveto be too useful. To assert that the on ly valid definition ofs tu t te r ing invovles behaviors tha t by the ir ve ry na turecannot be observe d re l iab ly s imply prec ludes meaningfu lscientific inquiry. (p. 189)

I w o u l d a r g u e f u r t h e r t h a t P e r k i n s ' s d e f i n i t io n o f s t u tt e r -

in g fa i l s t h e t e s t o f u s e fu ln e s s b e c a u s e i t is , i n r e a l i ty , a

th e o ry p o s in g a s a d e f in i t io n . T h e a s s e r t io n th a t s tu t t e re r s

e x p e r i e n c e a t e m p o r a r y l o s s o f c o n t r ol d u r i n g s p e e c h i s a

p o i n t o f v i e w , a h y p o t h e s i s t h a t d e s e r v e s s e r i o us d e b a t e , b u t

i t i s n o t a n " i n d i s p u t a b l e r e a l i t y . " T h e e v i d e n c e w e h a v e

c o n c e r n i n g s t u t t e r e r s ' i n n e r f e e l i n g s a r e v e r b a l s t a t e m e n t s .S t a t e m e n t s a b o u t i n n e r f e e l i n g s a r e b y n o m e a n s e q u i v a l e n t

t o th e f e e l i n g s t h e m s e l v e s , a n d w e c a n n o t b e s u r e t h a t

s t u t te r e r s a r e a n y m o r e r e l i a b l e a b o u t r e p o r t i n g t h e i r f e e l -

i n g s th a n a r e e x t e r n a l o b s e r v e r s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h r o u g h t h e

s p o n ta n e o u s in t e ra c t io n s th a t o c c u r in th e ra p y , c l in i c i a n s

m a y i n a d v e r t e n t l y t e a c h s t u t t e r e r s w h a t t h e c l i n i c i a n b e -

l i e v e s t h e s t u t t e r e r s h o u l d b e e x p e r i e n c i n g . S t u t t e r e r s' e x -

p e r i e n c e s a n d t h e i r r e p o r t s c o n c e r n i n g t h o s e e x p e r i e n c e s

a x e n o t immu n e to d i s to r t io n , s o c ia l i n f lu e n c e , a n d o th e r

s o u r c e s o f i n a c c u r a c y a n d u n r e l i a b i l i ty t h a t a f f ec t t h e j u d g -

m e n t s o f e x te r n a l o b s e r v e r s .

T h e c l a i m t h a t s t u t t e r i n g i s e s s e n t i a ll y t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f

lo s s o f c o n t ro l w i l l b e d i f f i c u l t t o e v a lu a te in a n y e v e n tb e c a u s e i t i n v o k e s u n o b s e r v a b l e s a n d p r e c l u d e s p u b l i c

v e r i f i c a t io n . I a g re e w i th Ma r t in a n d Ha ro ld s o n (1 9 8 6 ) th a t

t h i s a s p e c t o f P e r k i n s ' s t h e o r y r e d u c e s i ts u s e f u l n e s s

( t h o u g h n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i ts c o r r e ct n e s s) . O n e m i g h t a r g u e , a s

a p ra g ma t i s t , t h a t a th e o ry i s o f l i t t le p ra c t i c a l u s e , e v e n i f i t

i s tr u e , i f i t c a n n o t b e e v a l u a t e d . T h e t h e o r y m a y o r m a y n o t

p ro v e s a t i s fa c to ry fo r th i s a n d o th e r r e a s o n s . I d o n o t w i s h to

a r g u e h e r e w i t h t h e t h e o r y P e r k i n s h a s p r e s e n t e d . I t se e m s

c l e a r, h o w e v e r , t h a t r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e m e r i t s o f t h e t h e o r y , i t

o u g h t n o t t o m a s q u e r a d e a s a d e f i n i t i o n . I t i s n o m o r e

d e f e n s i b l e t o d e f i n e s t u t t e r i n g a s a n i n v o l u n t a r y l o s s o f

c o n t ro l th a n i t i s t o d e f in e i t a s a g e n e t i c d i s o rd e r , o r a s a

s p a s m o p h e m i a , o r a s a l e a r n e d b e h a v i o r . R a t h e r t h a n p r e d -i c a t e d a s d e f i n i t i o n s , t h e s e v i e w s s h o u l d b e r e t a i n e d a s

t h e o r i e s a b o u t t h e n a t u r e o f s t u tt e r in g . T h e o r i e s a r e s u s c e p -

t i b l e o f e x p e r i m e n t a l t e s t a n d d i s c o n f i r m a t io n . D e f i n i t i o n s

a re n o t .

I n s u m m a r y , t h e r e a r e t i m e s w h e n l o g ic a l a n al y s i s o f t h e

f o r m a n d t e r m s o f a q u e s t io n i s a m o r e u s e f u l w a y o f d e a l in g

w i t h i t t h a n t o l a u n c h a p r o g r a m o f r e se a r c h a n d e x p e r i m e n -

t a ti o n . A c a r ef u l e v a l u a t i o n o f th e q u e s t i o n b e i n g a s k e d m a y

i n d i c a t e t h a t r a t h e r t h a n r e s e a r c h o r e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n , w h a t

i s n e e d e d i s a r e t h i n k i n g o f t h e t e r m s o f t h e q u e s t i o n a n d

t h e d e f i n i ti o n s t h a t a r e b e i n g u s e d .

SIEGEL: Limits o f Science 3 0 9

Wasteful Uses of Science

F i n a l l y , t h e r e a r e i n s t a n c e s w h e n t h e l i m i t s t o s c i e n c e

o u g h t t o b e v o l u n t a r i l y i m p o s e d b e c a u s e t o d o o t h e r w i s e

i s w a s t e f u l o f s c i e n t i fi c r e s o u r c e s . T h e r e a r e a t l e a s t t w o

k i n d s o f q u e s t i o n s t h a t , in m y o p i n i o n , d o n o t w a r r a n t

s c i e n t i f i c e f fo r t s.

T h e f ir s t a r e q u e s t io n s n o t w o r t h a n s w e r i n g b e c a u s et h e y e m a n a t e f r o m t o o f l im s y a f o u n d a t io n . T h e h e l p i n g

p r o f e s s i o n s a r e v e r y v u l n e r a b l e t o f a d s , u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d

c l a im s , p o o r l y t h o u g h t o u t t h e r a p y r e g i m e s , a n d p r e p o s -

t e r o u s p r o p o s a l s f o r th e r a p y . I f th e s c ie n t if i c c o m m u n i t y

m u s t e x p l o r e e v e r y c r a c k p o t t h e r a p y p r o p o s a l , i t w i l l

n e v e r g e t o n t o th e b u s i n e s s o f b u i l d i n g a f u n d a m e n t a l

k n o w l e d g e b a s e . T h e r e m u s t b e s o m e w a y o f sc r e e n in g

t h e q u e s t i o n s t o b e e x p l o r e d . N o t e v e r y c a n d i d a t e t h e r a p y

t h a t i s o f f e r e d i s w o r t h y o f s c i e n ti f i c t e s t .

I n c o n t r a s t t o o p i n i o n s v o i c e d b y P e r k i n s ( 1 9 8 6 a ,

1 9 8 6b ) , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n t o a s k o f a t h e r a p y i s

n o t w h e t h e r i t w o r k s , b u t r a t h e r w h e t h e r i t m a k e s s e n s e .

I f t h e p r e m i s e s u n d e r l y i n g a p r o p o s e d t h e r a p y a p p r o a c h

a r e o b v i o u s l y i n c o r r e c t , o r i f t h e y c a n n o t b e r e c o n c i l e d

w i t h c u r r e n t t h e r a p y a n d r e s e a r c h , t h e t h e r a p y i s a v e r y

p o o r c a n d i d a t e a n d u n l i k e l y t o m a k e a n y l a s t i n g c o n t r i -

b u t i o n t o t h e w e l f a r e o f c l i e n t s. F u r t h e r m o r e , i t i s n o t a

u s e f u l e x p e n d i t u r e o f sc i e n t i fi c e f f o r t a n d r e s o u r c e s t o t e s t

s u c h t h e r a p y r e g i m e s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e r e w i l l b e d e s -

p e r a t e c l i e n t s w h o w i l l c l a m o r f o r a n y t h e r a p y i f i t is

s u f f i c i e n tl y p r o m o t e d , a n d c l i n i c i a n s w h o w i l l a ls o s u c-

c u m b .

T o p r o t e c t c l ie n t s a n d t h e p r o f e s s i o n , w e m u s t s c r u p u -

l o u s ly a v o i d e x t e n d i n g t h e " b o t t o m l i n e " p h i l o s o p h y t o

c o m m u n i c a t i o n d i s o r d e r s - - t h a t w h a t m a t t e r s i s o n l y

w h e t h e r o r n o t a p r o p o s e d t h e r a p y m e t h o d w o r k s . N o

t h e r a p y m e t h o d i s l i k e l y t o b e a p p r o p r i a t e i n a g i v e n fo r mf o r a l l cl i e n t s . C l i n i c i a n s w i l l a l w a y s h a v e t h e t a s k o f

t a i l o r i n g g e n e r a l m e t h o d s t o s p e c i f i c c l i e n t s b a s e d o n

f u n d a m e n t a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g s o f t h e b e h a v i o r a l p r o c e s s e s

i n v o l v e d . I f t h e t h e r a p y m a k e s n o c o n c e p t u a l s e n s e, t h e

c l i n ic i a n i s h o p e l e s s l y h a n d i c a p p e d . I t m a y w o r k f o r a

p a r t i c u l a r c l i e n t , b u t t h e c l i n i c i a n h a s n o w a y o f p r e d i c t -

i n g th e o t h e r c l i e n t s f o r w h o m t h e t h e r a p y a p p r o a c h w i l l

b e a p p r o p r i a t e , o r h o w t o r e p a i r i t w h e n i t d o e s n o t w o r k .

A l m o s t a n y t h e r a p y m e t h o d w i l l w o r k f o r s o m e c l i e n t o n

s o m e o c c a s i o n . R e s e a r c h d e s i g n e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t

t h e r e i s n o d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t a k i n g s u g a r p i ll s v e r s u s

d a i l y ex e r c i s e s i n c r a w l i n g o r s p e a k i n g w h i l e a s c e n d i n g

i n e l e v a t o r s w i l l n o t b e c o n v i n c i n g t o c l i e n t s w h o a r e

d e s p e r a t e a n d m a y h a v e h e a r d o f a c a s e in w h i c h t h e

m e t h o d s d i d w o r k . W h a t i s n e e d e d a r e r e s e a r c h a n d

t h e o r i e s t h a t a d d to k n o w l e d g e a n d t h e r a p i e s t h a t c a n b e

r e l a t e d t o t h e a v a i l a b l e k n o w l e d g e b a s e .

T h e s e c o n d c l a s s o f q u e s t i o n s t h a t I d o n o t b e l i e v e

o u g h t t o b e t h e s u b j e c t o f s c i e n t i fi c i n q u i r y a r e t h o s e

w h o s e a n s w e r s w i l l i n n o w a y a f f ec t o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g s

o r o u r b e h a v i o r . I t i s t r u e , a s K u h n ( 1 97 0 ) h a s p o i n t e d o u t ,

t h a t a s ig n i f ic a n t c o m p o n e n t o f n o r m a l s c i e n c e i n v o l v e s

p o s i n g q u e s t i o n w h o s e a n s w e r s a r e a l r e a d y s t r o n g l y a n -

t i c i p a t e d b y t h e p r e v a i l i n g t h e o r y o r p a ra d i g m . B u t c o n -

t r a r y r e s u l t s c a n o c c u r. A n o m a l i e s d o a c c u m u l a t e , u l t i -

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


3 1 0 Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders 52 3 0 6 - 3 12 N o v e m b e r 1 98 7

m a t e l y l e a d i n g t o s c i e n t i f ic r e v o l u t i o n s . I t i s a m i s u s e o f

r e s e a r c h t o p o s e a q u e st i o n w h e n t h e a n s w e r i s no t o n l y

a n t i c i p a t e d , b u t n o o t h e r a n s w e r w i l l b e a l l o w e d . T h i s

c a n o c cu r , h o w e v e r , w h e n q u e s t i o n s a r e p o s e d f o r p o l i t -

i c a l o r s o c ia l r a th e r th a n s c i e n t i f i c r e a s o n s .

O n e s u c h q u e s t i o n i s " D o e s t h e r a p y w o r k ? " I d o n o t

b e l i e v e t h a t i s a p r o p e r q u e s t i o n f o r r e s e a r c h , a t l e a s t

p a r t l y b e c a u s e m o s t o f u s w o u l d n o t a c c e p t t he r e s u lt s o fa n y s t u d y t h a t d e m o n s t r a t e d o t h e r w i s e . T h e r e a s o n f o r

p u t t i n g t h a t q u e s t i o n t o te s t i s n o t t o le a r n a b o u t t h e r a p y ,

b u t r a t h e r t o s a t i s f y t h e s k e p t i c s w h o l o o k a t c o m m u n i c a -

t i o n t h e r a p y w i t h a j a u n d i c e d e y e a n d a s h ri n k i n g p u r s e .

A p h a s i a t h e r a p y i s a fi n e e x a m p l e o f h o w t h e a c c o u n t -

a b i l i t y m o n s t e r c a n i n d u c e u s t o m a l a d r o i t e f f o r t s . D a r l e y

( 1 97 2 ) p o s e d s e v e r a l q u e s t i o n t h a t h e f e l t a p h a s i a t h e r a -

p i s t s m u s t a d d r e s s b e c a u s e p h y s i c i a n s a n d p o l i t i c i a n s

w e r e p o s i n g t h e m . T h e f i r s t q u e s t i o n i s t h e f a m i l i a r

" D o e s t h e r a p y w o r k ? " I t w a s e x p r e s s e d b y D a r l e y a s:

Does language rehabi l i ta t ion accomplish measurab legains in language function beyond what can be expected

to occur as a result of spontaneous recovery? Or, s tateddifferently, does thera py have a decis ive influence o n thecourse of recovery and the u l t imate ou tcome? (Darley ,1979., p. 4)

M o r e t h a n a d e c a d e l a t e r , W e r t z ( 1 9 8 8 ) r a i s e d t h e s a m e

q u e s t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o a p h a s i a t h e r a p y a n d c o n c l u d e d

s o m e w h a t e q u i v o c a l l y t h a t e v i d e n c e m o u n t s f o r a n a ff ir -

m a t i v e a n s w e r t o D a r l e y ' s q u e s t i o n , t h o u g h t h e d e f i n i ti v e

t r e a t m e n t s t u d y h a s n o t b e e n d o n e . I b e l i e v e t h a t th e

d e f i n it i v e t r e a t m e n t e x p e r i m e n t c a n n o t b e d o n e ; o u t c o m e

r e s e a r c h i s s i m p l y c o n f o u n d e d b y t o o m a n y u n c o n t r o l la -

b l e v a r i a b l e s r e l a t i n g t o t h e c l i e n t , t h e t h e r a p i s t , t h e

s e t t i n g , t h e m e t h o d o f t h e r a p y , t h e m e a s u r e s t a k e n , a n d s o

o n .

F u r t h e r m o r e , s u c h a s t u d y i s s u p e r f l u o u s b e c a u s e w e

d o n o t n e e d s c i e n c e t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e r a p y w o r k s . I t

s e e m s i n c o n t r o v e r t i b l e t h a t a ll h u m a n b e h a v i o r i s p o t e n -

t i a l l y m a l l e a b l e , a n d t h a t n o n e o f u s , c l i e n t o r t h e r a p i s t , i s

w o r k i n g t o t h e a b s o l u t e l i m i t s o f h i s o r h e r a b i l i ty .

R e g a r d l e s s o f o n e ' s t h e o r e t i c a l a p p r o a c h , t h e r a p y u l t i-

m a t e l y c o n s is t s i n c r e a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s i n w h i c h b e h a v i o r

w i l l c h a n g e , a n d , g i v e n i t s m a l l e a b i l i t y , b e h a v i o r c a n

a l w a y s b e m o d i f i e d a t l e a s t t o s o m e e x t e n t . T h e i s s u e ,

t h e r e f o r e , i s n o t w h e t h e r t h e r a p y w o r k s , b u t r a t h e r

w h e t h e r i t is w o r t h t h e c o s t , w h e t h e r t h e g a i n s j u s t i f y t h e

e x p e n s e s ; b u t i s s u e s o f t h i s s o r t ar e , a s I a r g u e d e a r l i e r ,

n o t q u e s ti o n s t h a t s c i e n c e w a s d e s i g n e d t o a n s w e r . T h e y

a r e , r a t h e r , q u e s t i o n s o f v a l u e s .R e g a r d l e s s o f h o w o n e m i g h t f e e l a b o u t b e h a v i o r m o d -

i f i c a t i o n a s a t h e r a p e u t i c s y s t e m , t h e r e i s n o a p p r o a c h t o

t h e r a p y t h a t m a k e s m o r e l a v is h u s e o f e x p e r i m e n t a l

m e t h o d s a n d d a t a c o l l e c t i o n . B e h a v i o r t h e r a p i s ts , h o w -

e v e r , a r e n o t l i k e l y t o q u e s t i o n t h e b a s i c p r e m i s e t h a t

t h e r a p y w o r k s . R a t h e r , i f a p a r t i c u l a r a p p r o a e h t o t h e r a p y

i s n o t w o r k i n g , t h e y w i l l b e g i n e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h

s m a l l e r t h e r a p e u t i c s t e p s , d i f f e r e n t s t i m u l i , m o r e p o w e r -

f u l r e i n f o r c e r s , a d i f f e r e n t s c h e d u l e o f r e i n f o r c e m e n t , a n d

s o o n . I n t h e f a c e o f f a i l u r e , t h e s e c l i n i c i an s a s s a il t h e i r

c l i n i c a l p r o c e d u r e s , c o n f i d e n t t h a t s o m e c o m b i n a t i o n o f

v a r i a b l e s w i l l g e t th e c l i e n t o n t h e p r o p e r t r a c k . T h e y u s e

e x p e r i m e n t a l m e t h o d s t o e v a lu a t e t h e r a p y b u t n o t t o as k

t h e b a s ic q u e s t io n , D o e s t h e r a p y w o r k ?

M y s e c o n d r e a s o n f o r d i s c o u r a g i n g r e s e a r c h t o te s t

w h e t h e r t h e r a p y w o r k s is b e c a u s e I am c o n v i n c e d t h a t no

e x p e r i m e n t a l o u t c o m e w o u l d c o n v i n c e a c l i n i c i a n t h a t

t h e r a p y d o e s n o t w o r k , a n d I d o n o t b e l i e v e i t i s u s e f u l t o

d o r e se a r c h w h e n o n l y o n e o u t c o m e w o u l d b e a e c e p t e d .W h e n e v e r a n e x p e r i m e n t i s d e s i g n e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e

e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e r a p y , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o m a k e i n n u m e r -

a b l e d e c i s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e k i n d o f t h e r a p y , i t s d u ra -

t i o n a n d s c h e d u l i n g , t h e s e t t i n g i n w h i c h i t i s t o b e

a d m i n i s t e r e d , t h e s e l e c t i o n o f t h e c l i n i c i a n s , a n d a h o s t o f

o t h e r v a r i a b l e s . T h e i n t e r a c t i o n s a m o n g t h e s e v a r i a b l e s

a r e s o n u m e r o u s , a n d s o c o m p l e x , t h e p o s s i b i l i t y i s a l w a y s

o p e n t h a t a d i f f e re n t c o m b i n a t i o n w o u l d b e m o r e b e n e f i -

c i al . T h u s , i f a s t u d y f a i ls t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e r a p y

w o r k s , t h e s c i e n t i s t w i l l r e d o i t u s i n g s o m e o t h e r v e r s i o n

o f t h e r a p y o r a d i f f e r e n t c o m b i n a t i o n o f v a r i a b l e s . B e -

c a u s e w e a l r e a d y k n o w i n o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l b o n e s t h a t

s o m e f o r m o f t h e r a p y i s b o u n d t o c h a n g e a c l i e n t ' sb e h a v i o r , a n a p p a r e n t f a i lu r e w i t h a p a r ti c u l a r c o m b i n a -

t i o n o f v a r i a b l e s i s a l w a y s a n i n v i t a t i o n t o d e v i s e a n e w

c o n s t e l l a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n t o c o n c l u d e i n a n y g e n e r a l s e n s e

t h a t t h e r a p y i s n o t e f f e c t u a l .

T h e r e a r e t r e a t m e n t d e s i g n s t h a t a r e p o t e n t i a l l y m o r e

i n f o r m a t i v e t h a n g l o b a l t e s t s o f e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e r a p y .

M a n y y e a r s a g o R e y n o l d s ( 1 9 6 3 ) u r g e d t h a t s p e c i a l e d u -

c a t i o n t r e a t m e n t r e s e a r c h s h o u l d l o o k a t i n t e r a c t i o n s

b e t w e e n t r e a t m e n t m e t h o d s a n d c l i e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

B o r k o v e c a n d B a u e r ( 1 9 8 2 ) a n d K a z d i n ( 1 9 8 2 ) a l s o s u g -

g e s t t h a t p sy c h o l o g i c a l t r e a t m e n t r e s e a r c h s h o u l d t a k e

i n t o a c c o u n t t h e i n t e r a c t i o n s a m o n g c o n t r i b u t i n g v a r i a -

b l e s. K e n d a l l a n d N o r t o n - F o r d ( 19 82 ) c o m m e n t t h a t t he

s e a r c h fo r a t h e r a p e u t i c " h o l y g r a i l " h as b e e n a b a n d o n e di n f av o r o f " a t t e m p t s t o i d e n ti f y t h e t h e r a p e u t i c i n t e r v e n -

t i o n a n d t y p e o f t h e r a p i s t t h a t w i l l b e m o s t l i k e l y t o

p r o d u c e r e s u l t s t h a t a r e m o s t i m p o r t a n t i n t h e c a s e o f e a c h

d i f fe re n t ty p e o f c l i e n t " (p . 4 3 4 ) . Ya te s (19 8 1 ) h a s s u g -

g e s t e d t h a t t h e r a p y r e s e a r c h s h o u l d a l w a y s b e d e s i g n e d

i n s u c h a w a y a s to t e s t t h e v a l i d i t y o f a t h e o r y r a t h e r t h a n

t o t e s t a p a r t i c u l a r t h e r a p e u t i c m e t h o d , s o t h a t a t t h e v e r y

l e a s t t h e r e s e a r c h w i l l p r o v i d e s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l i n fo r -

m a t i o n a b o u t t h e n a t u r e o f a b e h a v i o r a l p r o c e s s . Y a t e s

a r g u e d t h a t w e k n o w t o o l i t t l e a b o u t b e h a v i o r a n d i t s

m o d i f l e a t i o n t o b e c o n c e r n e d w i t h c o m p a r i n g a v a i l a b l e

t h e r a p i e s . W e n e e d , i n s t e a d , t o d e s i g n c l i n i c a l r e s e a r c h t o

a d v a n c e b a s l e b e h a v i o r a l k n o w l e d g e .

T h e n e e d t h a t c l i n i c i a n s a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f e e l t o

e s t a b l i s h t h e e f f i c a cy o f t h e r a p y i s a r e s p o n s e t o r e a l a n d

u r g e n t p r e s s u r e s a p p l i e d b y p o l i t ic i a n s , l e g i sl a t o r s , p h y -

s i c ia n s , a n d t h e c l i e n t s t h e m s e l v e s a s p a r t o f a g e n e r a l

m o v e m e n t t o w a r d a c c o u n t a b il i t y . W e a r e o b l i g e d t o es -

t a b l is h t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d u s e f u l n e s s o f o u r w o r k . I t i s

a l s o e n t i r e l y l e g i t i m a t e t h a t t h e o f f ic i al s w h o m a k e p u b l i c

p o l i c y a n d a l l o c a t e p u b l i c r e s o u r c e s s h o u l d a s k p e n e t r a t -

i n g q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e e f f i c a c y o f t h e r a p y . W e d a r e n o t

a s s u m e t h a t b e c a u s e o u r m o t i v e s a r e p u r e a n d o u r d e d i -

c a t i o n h i g h , t h e r e i s n o n e e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e h o w " w e

c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e p u b l i c w e l f a r e . H o w e v e r , t h e w a y to

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


e d u c a t e t h e p u b l i c i s n o t , i n m y o p i n i o n , t h r o u g h d i s i n -

g e n u o u s r e s e a r c h w h o s e s o le p u r p o s e i s t o d e m o n s t r a te

c o n v i n c i n g l y t h a t t h e r a p y w o r k s . M e d a w a r ( 19 8 4, p . 1 8)

h a s c o m m e n t e d t h a t "p o l i ti c a l a n d a d m i n i s tr a t iv e p r o b -

l e m s a r e n o t i n g e n e r a l s c i e n t i f ic i n c h a r a c t e r , s o t h a t a

s c i en t i fi c e d u c a t i o n o r a s u c c e s s f u l r e s e a r c h c a r e e r d o n o t

e q u i p o n e t o s o l v e t h e m . " I b e l i e v e t h a t r e s e a r c h d e -

s i g n e d t o c o n v i n c e t h e p u b l i c o f t h e e f f i c ac y o f t h e r a p y i s

p o l i t i ca l r a t h e r t h a n s c i en t i fi c a n d i s t h e r e f o r e b e y o n d t h e

l i m i ts o f s c i e n c e . T h e t a s k o f e n l i s t i n g p u b l i c r e c o g n i t i o n

a n d s u p p o r t is o n e o f p e r s u a s i 0 n a n d e d u c a t i o n , n o t o n e o f

s c i e n t i f i c i n q u i r y .

C O N C L U S I O N

I h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o a p p l y s o m e o f M e d a w a r ' s n o t i o n s

a b o u t t h e l im i t s o f s c i e n c e t o c o m m u n i c a t i o n d i s o r d e r s .

S c i e n c e i s a v e r y p o w e r f u l t o o l f o r a n s w e r i n g t h e q u e s -

t i o n s i t w a s d e s i g n e d t o a n s w e r , b u t t h e r e a r e re a l m sw h e r e s c i e n c e i s n o t t h e f ia os t e f f e c ti v e a p p r o a c h t o

e l u c i d a t i n g a n d s o l v i n g p r o b l e m s . Q u e s t i o n s o f s o c i et a l,

p r o f e s s i o n a l , a n d p e r s o n a l v a l u e s a r e i m p o r t a n t i n d e e d ,

b u t t h e y a r e n o t t h e k i n d s o f q u e s ti o n s s c i en c e w a s

d e s i g n e d t o a n sw e r . W e n e e d t o f in d a n o t h e r f o r u m f o r

d i s c u s s i n g t h e s e i s s u e s, a n d w e n e e d t o p r e p a r e s t u d e n t s

t o d e a l w i t h s u c h q u e s t i o n s o u t s i d e t h e b o u n d s o f s c i-

e n c e . O t h e r q u e s t i o n s s h o u l d n o t b e p r e s s e d i n to t h e

m a c h i n e r y o f s c i e n c e b e c a u s e t h e y a r e b e s t t re a t e d

t h r o u g h l o g i c a l a n a l y s is . S c i e n c e w i l l n o t b r i n g c l a r it y to

c o n c e p t s t h a t ar e v a g u e l y o r i n c o n s i s t e n t l y d e f i n e d . F i -

n a l ly , s c i e n ti s t s o u g h t to p o s e q u e s t i o n s w h o s e s o l u t io n s

w i l l e l u c i d a t e b a s i c b e h a v i o r a l p r o c e s s e s r a t h e r th a n

q u e s t i o n s t h a t a r e m o t i v a t e d b y p o l it i c al c o n s i d e r a t i o n s .R e s e a r c h s h o u l d n o t b e u n d e r t a k e n i f t h e o u t c o m e is

f o r e o r d a i n e d a n d i n c a p a b l e o f c h a n g i n g t h e s c i e n ti s t' s

c o n c e p t i o n s . P r o b l e m s t h a t fa ll o u t s i d e t h e l i m i ts o f

s c i e n c e a r e n o l e s s i m p o r t a n t t h a n t h o s e t h a t s c i e n c e c a n

p r o p e r l y a d d r e s s , b u t t h e y r e q u i r e a l t e rn a t iv e m o d e s o f

i n q u i r y , a n d i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o r e c o g n i z e t h e l im i t s o f

s c i e n c e s o t h a t t h e a l t e r n a t iv e s w i l l b e i n v o k e d w h e n

a p p r o p r i a t e .

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Por t ions o f t h is pa pe r w e r e p r e pa r e d w h i l e t he a u t ho r w a s onsabba t i ca l l e ave to the Un ive r s i ty of Ca l i fornia , S anta Ba rba ra ,1985 - 1986 . T he a u t ho r i s g r a te f u l t o R oge r a nd J a n i s I ngha m f o rnum e r ous s t im u l a t i ng c onve r s a t i ons c onc e r n i ng t he r o l e o f sc i-e nc e i n c o m m uni c a t i on d i so r de r s.

R E F E R E N C E S

BORKOVEC, T. D. , & BAUER, R. M . (1982 ) . Expe r imen ta l de s ignin grou p ou tcom e re sea rch. In A. S . Be l l ack, M. Her sen, &A. E. Kazdin (Eds.) , International hand book of behavior mod-ification and thera py (pp. 139--165) . N ew York: Plen um Press.

S I E G E L : L i m i t s o f S c ie n c e 3 1 1

B R O W N, S . J . ( 1956 ) . R e t a r de d s pe e c h de ve l opm e n t . I n W .John son, S . J . Brow n, J . J . Cur t i s , C. E . Ed ney , & J . Keas te r(Eds.), Speech handicapped school children (pp. 301-329) .New York: Ha rpe r & Bros .

DARLEY, F. L . (1972). T he e f f icacy of l angu age r ehabi l i t a t ion inasphasia . Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 37, 3- 21 .

FLOWER, R. M. (1983) . Loo king back ward a nd lo oking forward:Som e v i e w s t h r ough a f ou r - de c a de w i ndow . I n N . S . R e e s &

T. L. Sn0pe (Eds.) , Proceedings o f the 1983 National Confer-ence on Undergraduate, Graduate, and Co ntinuing Education( pp . 9 - 15 ). S t . Pau l , M N : A m e r i c a n Spe e c h - L a ngua g e - H e a r i ngAssoc ia t ion.

JOHNSTON, J. M., & PENNYPACKER,H. S. (1980) . Strategies andtactics of human behavioral research. Hi l l sda le , NJ : Law-r e nc e E r l ba um .

KAZDIN,A. E. (1982) . Single -ca se expe r imen ta l d e s igns in c l in-i ca l re s e a rc h a nd p r a c t ic e . I n A . E . K a z d i n & A . H . T um a(Eds.), Single-case research designs (pp. 33-47) . SanFranc i sco: Jos sey-Bass .

KENDALL, P. C. , & NORTON-FOP,D, J . D. (1982) . Th e rapy out -com e re sea rch me tho ds . In P . C. Kenda l l & J. N. Butche r(Eds.), Handb ook o f research metho ds in clinical psychology(pp. 429-460) . New York: Wi ley.

KENT, R. D . (1983) . How can w e im prove the ro l e of r e sea rch andeduca te speech- l anguage pa thologi s t s and audiologi s t s t o be

com pe ten t use r s of r e sea rch? In N. S . Rees (Ed. ) , Proceedingsof the 198 3 Conference on Undergraduate, Graduate, a ndCont inu ing Educat ion (pp. 76--86) . St . Pau l , MN : Am ericanSpe e c h - L a n gua ge - H e a r i ng A s s oc i at ion .

KUHN, T. S. (1970 ) . The structure of scientific revolutions (2nded.) . Chicago : Unive r s i ty o f Chicag o Pre s s .

KUHN, T. S . (1986). The hi s tor i e s o f s c i ence : Dive r se wor lds fordive r se audiences . Academe, 72 , 29--33.

MARTIN, R., & H AROLDSON, S. (1986) . S tut ter ing as inv olu ntaryloss of speech co nt rol : Ba rking up a ne w t r ee . Journal ofSpeech and Hearing Disorders, 51,187-189.

MARX, M. H. (1951) . Th e gene ra l na ture of t heory cons t ruc t ion.In M. Marx (Ed.) , Psychological theory (pp. 4--19) . New York:MacMi l l an .

MEDAWAR, P. B. (197 9). Advic e to a young scientist . N e w Y ork :H a r pe r & R ow .

MEDAWAR,P. B. (1984). The lim its of science. N e w Y ork : H a r pe r& R o w .PADEN, E. P . (1970) . A history of the Am erican Speech and

Hearing Association: I925-1958. W a s h i ng t on , D C : A m e r i c a nSpe e c h a nd H e a r i ng A s s oci a ti on .

PERKINS, W. H . (1983). The prob lem of de f in i t i on: C om men ta ryon " s tu t t e r ing." Journal o f Speech and He aring Disorders., 48,246--249.

PERKINS, W. H. (1984) . Stut ter in g as a ca tegorical eve nt : B arkingup t he w r ong t r e e - - R e p l y t o W i nga t e . Journal of Speech andHearing Disorders, 49, 431- 434 .

PERKINS, W. H. (1986a , Februa ry ) . Fu nc t ion s a nd ma l func t ionsof theor i e s in the rapie s . Asha, 28, 31- 33 .

PERKINS, W. H. (1986b) . M ore bi t e for a ba rk: E pi log ue to M ar t inand Haroldson ' s l e t t e r . Journal of Speech an d Hearing Disor-ders, 51,190-191.

POPPER, K. R. (1968) . The logic of scientific discovery. N e w

Y or k: H a r pe r & R ow .REES, N. S. , & SN OPE, T. L. (Eds.). (1983 ) . Proceedings of the

1983 National Conference on Undergraduate, G raduate, andContinuing Education. St . Paul , MN: Amer ican Speech-Lan-gua ge - H e a r i ng A s s oc ia t ion .

REYNOLDS, M. C. (1 963 ) . A s t ra te gy for research . ExceptionalChildren, 29, 213- 219 .

SIEGEL, G. M., KATSUKI, . , & POT ECHIN, G. (1985) . R espo nse to" C on t e m po r a r y a c c oun t s o f t he c og n i t i on /l a ngua ge r e l a ti on -ship" (Rice , 1983) . Journal o f Speech and Hearing Disorders,50 , 287- 317 .

VAN RIPER, C. (1939 ) . Speech correction. New York: Prent i ce -Ha l l ,

WERTZ, R. T. (1983). Lang uage in t e rv ent ion context and se t t i ngs

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


3 1 2 J o u r n a l o f S p e e c h a n d H e a r i n g D i s o r d e r s 5 2 3 0 6 -- 31 2 N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 7

of the aphas ic adul t : W hen ? In J . Mi l le r , D . E. Yode r , & R.Schie fe lbu sch (Eds. ), Contemporary issues in language inter-vention. Asha Reports, 12, 196-220.

WES T, R. W., & ANSBERrtY, M. (196 8) . The rehabilitation ofspeech (4 th ed . ). New York: Ha rpe r & Row.

WlNGATE, M. E. (1984) . De f in i t ion is t he p r ob l e m . Journal ofSpeech and H earing DisoCders, 49, 429- 430 .

YATES, A.J . (1981) . Behav ior the rapy: Pas t , pre sent , fu tu re - -

I m pe r f e c t ? General Psychology Review, 1,269-291.

ZUPaFF, G. E. (1985) . Behaviorism: A conceptual reconstruc-tion. N e w Y or k: C o l um b i a U n i ve r s i t y P r e s s.

R e c e i ve d N ov e m b e r 20 , 1986Accepted Janua ry 26, 1987

Requ es t s for r epr in t s sho uld be s en t to Ge ra ld M. Siege l ,Ph . D . , D e pa r t m e n t o f C om m un i c a t i on D i s o rde r s , U n i ve r s it y o f

Minnesota , 110 Shevl in Ha l l , Minneapol i s , MN 55455.

8/6/2019 Siegel 1987


1987;52;306-312 J Speech Hear Disord Gerald M. Siegel

The Limits of Science in Communication Disorders

http://jshd.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/4/306#otherarticles

This article has been cited by 2 HighWire-hosted article(s) which you can access for free at:

This information is current as of May 20, 2011

http://jshd.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/4/306located on the World Wide Web at:

This article, along with updated information and services, is


http://jshd.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/4/306




Siegel 1987

Documents

Transcript of Siegel 1987