Science progresses by finding and correcting problems in theories. Good theories are those that help facilitate this process by being hard to vary: They explain what they are supposed to explain, they are consistent with other good theories, and they are not easily adaptable to explain anything. Here we argue that, rather than a lack of distinction between exploratory and confirmatory research, an abundance of flexible theories is a better explanation for the current replicability problems of psychology. We also explain why popular methods-oriented solutions fail to address the real problem of flexibility. Instead, we propose that a greater emphasis on theory criticism by argument might improve replicability.

科学通过发现和纠正理论中的问题来取得进步。好的理论是那些通过难以改变来帮助促进这一过程的理论：它们解释了他们应该解释的东西，它们与其他好的理论一致，并且不容易适应解释任何事情。在这里，我们认为，与其缺乏探索性研究和验证性研究之间的区别，不如说大量灵活的理论可以更好地解释当前心理学的可复制性问题。我们还解释了为什么流行的面向方法的解决方案未能解决灵活性的真正问题。相反，我们建议通过论证更加强调理论批评可能会提高可复制性。