Reflections on an application of realism in psychology

This comment on "Scientific Realism and the Issue of Variability in Behavior" (Arocha, 2021) succinctly summarizes the features of the positivist background that are found in the standard model of research implemented in psychology; moreover, this comment emphasizes that this model is unable to move the psychological sciences toward discoveries. Arocha (2021) put the realist paradigm forward as an alternative for psychology researchers. This paradigm changes the ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions of psychological sciences. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of the sociocultural and mental mechanisms of psychological functioning. The comment concludes with an outline of some objectives of realist psychological research.