MACH–BREUER–BROWN THEORY. See WITKIN’S PERCEPTION THEORY.
MACH–DVORAK PHENOMENON. See PERCEPTION (I. GENERAL), THEORIES OF.
MACHINE THEORY. See PERCEPTION (II. COMPARATIVE APPRAISAL), THEORIES OF.
MACH’S THEORY OF BODILY ROTATION. See WITKIN’S PERCEPTION THEORY.
MAIER’S LAW. This is a cynical ‘‘law’’ stated by the American psychologist Norman R. F. Maier (1900–) to the effect that ‘‘if the data do not fit the theory, the data must be disposed of.’’ Apparently, Maier was chiding his colleagues for excessive concern with their own particular theoretical models (Reber, 1995).
REFERENCES
Maier, N.R.F. (1929). Reasoning in white rats. Comp. Psy. Mono., 6, no. 29.
Maier, N.R.F. (1930). Reasoning in humans: I. On direction. J. Comp. Psy., 10, 115–143.
Maier, N.R.F. (1932). The effect of cerebral destruction on reasoning and learning in rats. J. Comp. Neurol., 54, 45–75.
Maier, N.R.F., & Schneirla, T. (1942). Mechanisms in conditioning. Psy. Rev., 49, 117–133.
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