Background Video
Paul Meehl
Paul Meehl was a pioneer in proposing the use of algorithmic decision-making in many areas of psychology, including clinical diagnosis and prognosis. He introduced the distinction between clinical and actuarial (algorithmic) judgment or prediction.
Travel back to 1989 and experience a portion of Meehl’s lecture at the University of Minnesota in which he introduces the issue of clinical vs. statistical prediction - click on the image below to find the lecture Philosophical Psychology Session #09, starting at timestamp 1:14:00).
Required Reading
In this session we will discuss Meehl’s proposals and its implications for applied practice in the behavioral sciences and society at large. Please read the recommended reading below by Dawes, Faust, and Meehl (1989) (ca. 60 minutes) for an overview of Meehl and related work.
Dawes, R. M., Faust, D., & Meehl, P. E. (1989). Clinical versus actuarial judgment. Science, 243(4899), 1668–1674. http://doi.org/10.2307/1703476
Session Slides