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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Quantitative Psychology and Measurement
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1374308
This article is part of the Research Topic Critical Debates on Quantitative Psychology and Measurement: Revived and Novel Perspectives on Fundamental Problems View all 10 articles

Qualitative (pure) mathematics as an alternative to measurement

Provisionally accepted
Václav Linkov Václav Linkov 1,2*
  • 1 Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • 2 Transport Research Centre, Brno, South Moravia, Czechia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper focuses on the possible usage of qualitative mathematics in psychology. Qualitative mathematics is understood to be equivalent to pure mathematics. First, it is explained that mathematics is a discipline studying patterns in reproducible mental objects. Qualitative mathematics is presented as an alternative to measurement, potentially offering the same level of exactness, clarity, and rigor. This perspective might lead psychologists to explore connections between a phenomenon and any kind of mathematical structure, regardless of whether the structure is quantitative. Usage of (any) mathematical structures might require scholars who are familiar with them. Consequently, changes in mathematics education may also be needed. Introducing nonnumerical structures into mathematics education-thereby partially revisiting the New Math Movement-could train individuals more prepared for a creative approach to the use of structures and less inclined to view everything as quantitative.

    Keywords: Measurement, Qualitative Mathematics, quantification, Psychology, Non-numerical, mathematics education

    Received: 21 Jan 2024; Accepted: 13 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Linkov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Václav Linkov, Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.