Lisa Osbeck, Ph.D.

Professor & Program Coordinator of Psychology
School of Social Sciences College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

678-839-0604
losbeck@westgaIhjpRLpX9oKQvnDYT32GDcmwxsnUsXLmtFf4PhmZGw0MpcY0hzW4Fn0DOE.edu

Melson Hall - Room 124
Office Hours
By appointment

Download curriculum vitae for Lisa Osbeck, Ph.D. in MS Word
Lisa Osbeck, Ph.D.

Lisa's interests include general psychology, philosophy of science, methodology, psychology of science, and interdisciplinarity. She has been a visiting Fellow in the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, and visiting research faculty in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Lisa's teaching interests include personality theory, history and philosophy of psychology, and special topics seminars on research and theory. Authored books: Ever Not Quite: Pluralism(s) in William James and Contemporary Psychology (Cambridge, 2023, with S. Araujo); Values in Psychological Science: Re-imagining Epistemic Priorities at a New Frontier (Cambridge, 2019); Science as Psychology: Sense-making and Identity in Science Practice (Cambridge, 2011, with N. Nersessian, K. Malone, and W. Newstetter). Edited books: Person-Centered Studies in Psychology of Science (with S. Antczak); Psychological Studies of Science and Technology (Palgrave, 2019; with K. O'Doherty, E. Schraube & J. Yen); Rational Intuition (Cambridge, 2014, with B. Held).

  • B.A., Psychology, University of Michigan,
  • MA, Clinical Psychology, Michigan State,
  • PhD, General Psychology, Georgetown University,

Spring 2025 Sections

Fall 2024 Sections

Summer 2024 Sections

Spring 2024 Sections

Fall 2023 Sections

Summer 2023 Sections

Spring 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Kirschner, S. R., Levitt, H. M., Osbeck, L. M., & Hammack, P. L. (2023). A decade of Qualitative Psychology: Reflections and recommendations from associate editors. Qualitative Psychology, 10(3), 383–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000270

Osbeck, L., & de Freitas Araujo, S. (2023). The future of cognitive science is pluralistic, but what does that mean?. Rivista internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia, 14(1-2), 11-26. [View Publication (PDF)]

Araujo, S. & Osbeck, L. (2023). Ever not quite: Pluralism(s)in William James and contemporary psychology. Publication anticipated early 2023. [View Publication External Resource]

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2019). “Groping for trouts in a peculiar river:” Challenges in exploration and application for ethnographic study of interdisciplinary science. In K. O’Doherty, L. Osbeck, E. Schraube, & J. Yen (Eds.): Psychological st

Antczak, S. L., & Osbeck, L. M. (2020). Defining and containing a crisis: Comment on Wiggins and Christopherson (2019) and Morawski (2019). Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 40(1), 65–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/teo0000145

Osbeck, L. M., & Antczak, S. L. (2020). Introduction: Revisiting “Truth” in an Era of “Post-Truth”. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 1-9.

Osbeck, L. M. (2020). We Still Aren’t Certain What We’re Doing: Reflections on the Complexities of Psychological Science and Intersubjective Epistemology. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 33(1), 36-43.

Osbeck, L. M. (2020). Lost and found in the margins: Women, interdisciplinary collaboration, and integrative development. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 40(1), 32.

Osbeck, L. M. (2020). General psychology as common ground and point of view: Enduring and evolving features. Review of General Psychology, 24(1), 6-17.

de Freitas Araujo, S., & Osbeck, L. M. (2020). William James and the Role of Psychology in Philosophy. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.

Osbeck, L.M. (2021). Summary and commentary on Scientific Psychology’s Troubling Inertia. In J. Lamiell and K. Slaney (Eds), Problematic research practices and inertia in scientific psychology. Routledge.

Osbeck, L.M. & Antczak, S.L. (2021). Generalizability and qualitative research: A new look at an ongoing controversy (Introduction to special issue edited by Osbeck & Antczak). Qualitative Psychology 8(1), 62

Osbeck L.M. (2021) Values and persons: The persistent problem of values in science and psychology. In: McCallum D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Human Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4106-3_87-1

O’Doherty, K., Osbeck, L., Schraube, E., and Yen, J. (2019) Psychological studies of science and technology. Palgrave.

Osbeck, L. M., & Antczak, S. L. (Eds.). (2022). Person-Centered Studies in Psychology of Science: Examining the Active Person. Taylor & Francis.(Eds.). (2022). Person-Centered Studies in Psychology of Science: Examining the Active Person. Taylor & Francis. [View Publication External Resource]

Osbeck, L. (2019): Vertical and horizontal development in theoretical psychology. In T. Teo (Ed.), Contemporary challenges of theoretical psychology: Re-envisioning theoretical psychology and its relations to psychology (pp. 189-207). Palgrave Macmillan.

Osbeck, L., & Held, B. (2014). Rational intuition: Philosophical roots, scientific investigations. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sood, S. & Osbeck, L. (2018). Extending the ‘self’ into the architecture of climate change (Book review article). Theory and Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354317749332

Osbeck, L. (2018). Why science needs intuition. In E. Gantt and R. Williams (Eds.). Hijacking science: On the nature and consequences of overreach in psychology. Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

Forthcoming (In production), Cambridge University Press: Osbeck, L. Values in psychological science: Re-imagining epistemic priorities at a new frontier. Publication expected November, 2018. (Authored Volume).

Osbeck,L. (2017) Epistemic and Ethical Constraints in Personal and Social Constructions: A Response to Raskin and Debany, Journal of Constructivist Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2017.1384340

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2017). Epistemic identities in interdisciplinary science. Perspectives on Science, 25 (2), pp.226-260.

Osbeck, L. (2016) Emotion and scientific reasoning. H. Miller (Ed.), SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology (Sage).

Osbeck, L. (2015). Pragmatism in the clinic: A review of “A Metaphysics of Psychopathology” by Peter Zachar. PsyCRITIQUES, 60(1), Article 7

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2015). Prolegomena to an empirical philosophy of science. In S. Wagenknecht, N.J. Nersessian, & H. Andersen (Eds.). Empirical philosophy of science: Introducing qualitative methods into the philosophy of science, pp.13-35.

Osbeck, L. (2014). Scientific reasoning as sense-making: Implications for qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Psychology, 1(1), 34-46.

Malone, K., & Osbeck, L. (2015). Allies in interdisciplinary spaces: Theoretical psychology and science studies. In J. Martin, J. Sugarman, & K. Slaney (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of theoretical and philosophical psychology: Methods, approaches, and new d

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2013). Beyond motivation and metaphor: ‘Scientific passions’ and anthropomorphism. In Vassilios Karakostas and Dennis Dieks (Eds.) EPSA11 Perspectives & Foundational Problems in Philosophy of Science, pp. 455-466, Dordrech

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2013). Situating distributed cognition, Philosophical Psychology, Special Issue: Extended Cognition: New Philosophical Perspectives. 27(1), 82-97.

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2012). The acting person in scientific practice. In R. Proctor and J. Capaldi (Eds), Psychology of science: Implicit and explicit reasoning. NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 89-111.

Machamer, P. & Osbeck, L. (2012). Activity, perception, and reference. In P.K. Machamer & Anthanasios Raftopoulos (Eds.). Perception, realism and the problem of reference. Cambridge University Press.

Osbeck, L., Nersessian, N., Malone, K., & Newstetter, W. (2011). Science as psychology: sense-making and identity in science practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2011). Affective problem solving: emotion in research practice. Mind & Society, 10(1), 57-78.

Osbeck, L. M. (2010). The critical place of personalism: Comments on Stern and the special issue. New Ideas in Psychology, 28(2), 191-198. [View Publication External Resource]

Osbeck, L. (2009). Transformations in cognitive science: Implications and issues posed. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. Vol 29(1), Spr 2009, 16-33

Chandrasekharan, S. and Osbeck, L. (in press). Rethinking Situatedness: Environment structure in the time of the common code. Theory and Psychology.

Osbeck, L., Malone, K., & Nersessian, N. (2007). Dissenters in the sanctuary: Expanding frameworks in 'mainstream' cognitive science. Theory and Psychology. Special Issue: Critical Engagement with Mainstream Psychology, 17(2), 243-264.

Tissaw, M. & Osbeck, L. (2007). Introduction, Special Issue: Reflections on critical engagement with mainstream psychology. Theory and Psychology. 17(2), 155-168.

Osbeck, L. & Nersessian, N. (2006). The distribution of representation. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 36(2), 141-160.

Osbeck, L. and Robinson, D. (2005). Philosophical theories of wisdom. In R. Sternberg & J. Jordan (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 61-83.

Osbeck, L. (2005). Method and theoretical psychology. Theory and psychology, vol. 15(1), 5-26.

Reber, J. & Osbeck, L. (2005). Social psychology: Key issues, assumptions, and implications. In B. Slife, J. Reber, and F. Richardson (Eds.). Critical thinking about psychology: Hidden assumptions and plausible alternatives. Washington, DC, American P

Osbeck, L. (2005). Instinct, primitive cognition, and the transformation of 'intuition. In A. Mulberger and B. Gomez-Zuniga (Eds), Recent contributions to the history of the human sciences : Proceedings of the 21st Annual conference of the European Soc

Osbeck, L. (2004). Asperger syndrome and capitalist social character. Critical Psychology 11, 50-67.

Machamer, P. and Osbeck, L. (2004). The Social in the Epistemic. In P. Machamer and G. Wolters (Eds.), Values, science and objectivity, University of Pittsburgh Press.

Machamer, P. & Osbeck, L. (2003). Scientific Normativity as Non-Epistemic: A Hidden Kuhnian Legacy. Social Epistemology 17(1), 3-11.

Machamer, P. and Osbeck, L. (2002). Perception, conception and the limits of the direct theory. In L. Hahn (Ed.), The Philosophy of Marjorie Grene. The Library of Living Philosophers, Vol. XXIX. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, pp. 129-146.

Osbeck, L. (2002). Hypothesis testing behavior (Book review article). International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 16 (2), 187-190.

Osbeck, L. (2001). Direct apprehension and social construction: Revisiting the concept of 'Intuition.' Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, v. 21 (2), pp. 118-131.

Malone, K. and Osbeck, L. (2001). Is gender a meaningful category? Psychologie in Oesterreich, 4, p. 302-306.

Clegg, J., Sheard, C., Cahill, J., and Osbeck, L. (2001). Severe intellectual disability and transition to adulthood. British Journal of Medical Psychology, v. 74, 151-166.

Osbeck, L. (2001). New party, still potluck? (Book review article). Theory and Psychology, vol. 11(3), 443-447.

Machamer, P. and Osbeck, L. (2000). The new science of learning: mechanisms, models, and muddles. THEMES in Education, vol. 1.

Osbeck, L. (1999). Conceptual problems in the development of a psychological notion of 'intuition'. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 29,3, 229-249.

Osbeck, L., Perreault, S., and Moghaddam, F. (1997). Similarity and attraction among majority and minority groups in a multicultural context. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21, 1, 113-123.

Osbeck, L. (1995). Social constructionism and the pragmatic standard revisited: A reply to Botschner. Theory and Psychology, 5, 153-157.

Osbeck, L. (1993). Social constructionism and the pragmatic standard. Theory and Psychology, 3, 337-349.

Influential Works

The Republic (Plato) Confessions (Augustine) Sentences (Ockham) Rules for the Direction of the Mind (Descartes) An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (Thomas Reid) Critique of Pure Reason (Immanuel Kant) On Certainty (Ludwig Wittgenstein) The Tacit Dimension (Michael Polanyi) Experience and Nature (John Dewey) The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (J. J. Gibson) The Mentality of Apes (Wolfgang Kohler) Insight (Bernard Lonergan) The Intuitive Sources of Probabalistic Thinking in Children (E. Fischbein) Book of Hours (Ranier Maria Rilke) The Stranger (Albert Camus) Dream Songs (John Berryman) Return of the Native (Thomas Hardy)