Paradigm shift

A paradigm shift is a radical instance of scientific change in which the dominant scientific paradigm of a discipline is replaced by a new one. This concept, central to Thomas Kuhn’s account of scientific change, involves wholesale transformations in fundamental theories, concepts, methods, and standards governing a scientific discipline. Paradigm shifts are characterized by incommensurability, i.e., the inability to neutrally compare competing paradigms due to deep conceptual and methodological differences. While many examples of paradigm shifts can be found in the history of natural sciences, the applicability of this framework to psychology remains contested, as shifts like the so-called cognitive revolution arguably lack the kind of incommensurability characteristic of genuine paradigm change.