ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the cognitive and social psychological aspects of the peer review process in science. More specifically, it focuses on judgments and decisions made by individuals in groups that result in disagreements about a scientific matter. The analysis encompasses various kinds of peer review conflicts, whether about a manuscript, a grant proposal, a university department’s research, or something else. This research is completed by reviewing relevant literature on peer reviews, group conflicts, group decisions and scientific controversies; and analyzing a peer conflict on a Ph.D. examination committee. The chapter results in a framework for studies of peer review disagreements.
