Psychological and Cultural Barriers of Methodological Underdevelopment in Behavioral Research in Iran: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

Asadipour, Yeganeh; Salehi, Keyvan

Psychological and Cultural Barriers of Methodological Underdevelopment in Behavioral Research in Iran: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Yeganeh Asadipour ¹

Keyvan Salehi ²

¹ Ph.D. Student in Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Associate professor, Division of Research and Assessment, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Behavioral science research in Iran faces numerous methodological ambiguities. Despite the importance of investigating these issues, the research gap remains unresolved. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify and analyze the psychological and cultural barriers contributing to the methodological underdevelopment of research in the behavioral sciences, employing an exploratory mixed-methods approach in two phases. In the qualitative phase, to identify the psychological and cultural barriers, a systematic review of 29 selected documents and 11 semi-structured interviews was conducted. The qualitative findings led to the identification of 43 indicators and 10 criteria (Scientific Ambiguity Aversion, Research Inefficacy Perception, Research Innovation Resistance, Motivational Research Reluctance, Research Perfectionism Pressure, Scholarly Yield Obsession, Scientific Ambiguity Aversion, Scientific Mimetic Dependence, Scientific Mentorship Patronage, and Scientific Spectatorship)These barriers coalesced into two core domains: psychological roadblocks and cultural constraints. In the quantitative phase, expert opinions from 60 informants were analyzed using the Friedman test. The results indicated that among the psychological and cultural barriers, academic spectator cultivation had the highest perceived impact, whereas research neophobia ranked the lowest. These findings suggest that psychological and cultural obstacles not only act as inhibiting factors but also exert extensive detrimental effects—scientific, social, and motivational—on the body of behavioral science research.The study emphasizes the need to move beyond theoretical consumerism toward indigenous theory-building and the development of concepts and frameworks tailored to Iran’s context. This underscores the urgency of implementing effective, evidence-based interventions informed by the present findings to enhance the methodological quality of research and foster transformative progress in the humanities.

Keywords

Research Methodology

Psychological Barriers

Cultural Barriers

Behavioral Sciences

Iran

Mixed-Methods Research

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