Although researchers attempt to modify theories to address contradictory evidence, they cannot ignore repeated disconfirmations indefinitely. If scientists are consistently unable to improve their research designs or adjust their theories to account for ongoing failures in prediction, they must eventually abandon the weakened theories and replace them with more successful models.

Abandoning a Scientific Theory

To illustrate how a theory can be updated rather than discarded, consider Robert Zajonc's work on social facilitation. Had Zajonc not observed social facilitation in cockroaches, he might not have rejected drive theory altogether. Instead, he could have adjusted the theory by adding a boundary condition, proposing that drive theory is valid but only applicable to organisms with highly developed nervous systems.

Example of Modifying a Theory

What is a common practice among researchers when a hypothesis is disconfirmed by new evidence, rather than immediately discarding the original theory?

When a hypothesis is disconfirmed by new observations, it is standard scientific practice to immediately discard the underlying theory entirely.

Instead of immediately discarding a theory after a disconfirmed hypothesis, researchers often use the contradictory evidence to modify it. By adjusting the theory's boundary conditions or addressing unmet assumptions, scientists can adapt the framework so that it successfully accounts for the new observations.

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In actual scientific practice, researchers do not immediately abandon a theory when a hypothesis is disconfirmed. A single disconfirmation could be the result of a Type II error, a flawed research design where variables were not properly manipulated or measured, or an indication that a relatively minor, unstated assumption of the theory was not met.

Practical Complications of Hypothesis Disconfirmation

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