false if a key deductively-derived hypothesis is rejected
by empirical observations.7
In sum, the P/E approach that currently underlies
research in marketing emphasizes (a) the development
of axiomatic theory through the use of deductivelyderived
hypotheses which are manipulated via formal
rules of symbolic logic, and especially (b) objective
empirical observations that give meaning to the theoretical
propositions and are used to rigorously test
them, perhaps even falsify them. Thus, many people
consider the P/E approach to be rational (in the formal
logical sense).
The Relativistic/Constructionist Approach
In the P/E perspective of science, certain factors are
excluded from consideration, including the effects of
(a) social interaction and influence among scientists,
(b) the idiosyncratic beliefs and values of individual
scientists, and (c) scientists' subjective interpretations