Amateur Hour: a thinking guide for independent researchers (and academics thinking independently)

An excerpt from Mohlhenrich and Krpan (2022)

What follows is an excerpt from “Amateur Hour: Improving knowledge diversity in psychological and behavioral science by harnessing contributions from amateurs” by Erik Mohlhenrich and SoS co-founder Dr. Dario Krpan (full paper here). In this paper, the authors outline a theory of how amateur researchers can best make contributions to psychology and behavioral science (PBS). Though focusing on PBS and amateur scientists, the framework applies to all fields and researchers; in brief, researchers should seek to focus on areas or forms of research which tend to be neglected due to the incentives and constraints of the academic system (“blind spots”).

We share this in hopes that it might provide some general guidance for amateur or early-career academics researchers who might join the SoS Research Collective (see last week’s announcement post for more information).

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Exploring the space for contributions

We propose that amateur psychologists can most effectively improve knowledge diversity in PBS if they focus on “blind spots”—endeavors that are neglected in academia (e.g., because they are not incentivized, or due to some other constraints) but have a large potential to lead to new insights and discoveries (Table 1). For example, the “slow scholarship” movement highlights how scholars face a general intensification in the pace of work and an increasing pressure to publish (Harland, 2016; Hartman & Darab, 2012). Research indicates that the average number of publications at time of hiring for science faculty positions has been steadily rising in recent years) (Pennycook & Thompson, 2018; Reinero, 2019; Van Dijk, Manor, & Carey, 2014); trends like this may influence researchers, especially early career researchers, away from projects that require dedication over a long period of time. This suggests that long-term research projects are generally a neglected area in academia and amateurs could do valuable work by focusing their efforts in that way (Table 1). This may involve spending decades to build rich and multilayered psychological theories, investigating psychological phenomena in greater detail, etc. Although not in PBS, Gregor Mendel is an example of an amateur who made a breakthrough that took a considerable amount of time; his experiments on pea plants took seven years to complete and took nearly 40 years to be understood as a scientific breakthrough (Henig, 2000; Weiling, 1991).

Given that academic psychology emphasizes experimental research, perhaps to the exclusion of basic observational work (Muthukrishna & Henrich 2019; Rozin, 2007; Rozin, 2009), amateurs could make contributions by conducting observational studies that aim to identify new phenomena or characterize the generalizability of already known phenomena (Table 1). In particular, amateurs with access to non-WEIRD populations, niche subcultures, unusual datasets, or unique environments may be able to provide novel observations. These observations could then either guide their own theoretical ideas and independent research, or they could be used to inform academic psychologists about what their work is potentially missing or to inspire new academic research.

Another scientific activity which amateurs could focus on is speculation (Table 1), which has played a crucial role in many scientific discoveries (Achinstein, 2018; Stauffer, 1957). In some cases, scholars were forced to speculate about phenomena that could not yet be empirically investigated due to methodological limitations, and these speculations then guided the research once the methodology became sufficiently advanced (Koyré, 2013). In other cases, unrestrained speculation beyond the available scientific evidence led to new insights that inspired research and produced novel discoveries (Stauffer, 1957). However, modern scientific norms and the general focus on experimental research discourage professional scientists from discussing or publishing some of their wilder speculations (Bunge, 1983; Panchin, Tuzhikov, & Panchin, 2014; Starokadomskyy, 2015; Swedberg, 2018). Free from these norms, amateurs could work to collect, organize, and publish their own speculations or those of professional collaborators. Given the accessible subject matter of psychology, it is not unreasonable to think that layman could provide valuable insights.

Academic researchers are disincentivized from pursuing interdisciplinary research (Table 1). The disciplinary structure of many universities, funding bodies, journals, and professional organizations makes it more difficult to procure funding, publish, and receive recognition for research that does not neatly fit into one discipline (Bark, Kragt, & Robson, 2016; Bromham, Dinnage, & Hua, 2016; Campbell, 2005; Lamont, Mallard, & Guetzkow, 2006; Uzzi et al., 2013; Yegros-Yegros, Rafols, & D’este, 2015). In addition to these structural challenges, there are social and attitudinal barriers that may dissuade academics from conducting interdisciplinary research (Campbell, 2005; Macleod, 2018; Morse et al., 2007; Siedlok & Hibbert, 2014). Differences in expertise, jargon, and norms between disciplines make it challenging for a researcher to do individual or even collaborative work outside their field (Campebell, 2005; Cummings & Kiesler, 2008; Macleod, 2018; Morse et al., 2007; Siedlok & Hibbert, 2014). Potential interdisciplinary researchers may also face the loss of credibility that comes from not being an expert in one particular field (the “expert’s dilemma”) (Yanai & Lercher, 2020). Amateur researchers are more likely to either not be subject to these challenges (e.g., they may not be pursuing funding) or not care about them (e.g., they may not be as concerned with credibility or how they fit into the academic job market) and thus are free to pursue interdisciplinary projects in a way that academics are not.

Academic researchers are also disincentivized from pursuing projects that are more “aimless” in nature (Table 1), which means they do not have planned outcomes or predetermined goals and arise from intrinsically enjoyable activity that is not necessarily goal-oriented (Clark, 2018; Friston et al., 2017). Such projects may involve simply collecting observations and thoughts about human behavior or mental processes out of interest, but these observations and ideas may over time naturally grow into theories, research projects, and other endeavors that can enrich psychological knowledge. Aimless projects may suffer from a “failure to launch” problem in that it will be difficult for academic researchers to justify devoting significant time and resources to projects that do not have a clear focus or sell in the very initial stages. On the other hand, amateurs would not face these constraints and would be able to “play” with different ideas and observations to explore where this can take them.

Amateurs can also make research contributions by focusing on uncommon research areas (Table 1) that are neglected for some reason. These research areas may be outside the realm of hot topics (Rozin, 2007) that can lead to many citations and therefore advance one’s career, they may be a taboo, or they may represent something that is generally not associated with academic psychologists (e.g., religious behavior) (Bloom, 2012; Norenzayan, 2016; Rozin, 2007). There are also some subjects that may be inherently difficult to study because they require considerable domain-specific knowledge (e.g., high-level athletic performance, hunting or survival skills, extensive meditation practice) which a professional researcher is unlikely to have. Collaboration with amateurs who have special knowledge or abilities could provide unique insights into these areas.

Additional Musings on Blind Spots

Taken together, this discussion highlights one general area in “research-space” that may be especially promising: long, aimless, speculative, and interdisciplinary research on uncommon or taboo subjects. Again, although not in PBS, we might hold up Charles Darwin as an exemplar. While Darwin eventually did become a renowned professional scientist, at the time of his departure on the HMS Beagle in 1831 he was very much an amateur, a 22-year-old with no advanced degree or publications to his name who had to pay his own way on the voyage (Bowlby, 1990; Keynes & Darwin, 2001). Darwin’s work on evolution certainly took a long time to develop (the Beagle’s voyage took 5 years and he did not publish On the Origin of Species until 23 years after he returned). It was aimless in the sense that he did not set out from the beginning to develop a theory of evolution. His work was highly interdisciplinary (Darwin drew on numerous fields within the biological sciences in addition to geology and economics), was the culmination of a huge amount of basic observational work, and was not necessarily an experimental contribution (though he did make those as well), but primarily theoretical (and sometimes more speculative) in nature. Darwin’s theories were taboo in the sense that they went against the prevailing theological ideas of the time and caused significant controversy (and still do). We speculate that there may one day be a Charles Darwin of the mind who follows a similar path and hope that this paper provides the smallest nudge in the right direction.

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