Not every part of a tree is a tree: A reply to Matta and Frank (2025).
回应Matta和Frank的评论，澄清并扩展了关于一致性研究应采纳整体视角的论点，说明该视角如何解决他们提出的理论和方法问题。
Our recent article on congruence research (Yao & Ma, 2023) advocated the need to adopt a holistic approach to studying congruence effects and to developing stronger congruence theories. Matta and Frank (2025) offered an insightful commentary on our article, highlighting theoretical and empirical/inferential concerns. These concerns include (a) whether the exact correspondence effect is the theoretical goal and (b) when researchers should consider applied conditions or reported conditions in congruence research. While Matta and Frank acknowledged the value of the holistic perspective, they recommended testing one's hypothesized form of congruence as the goal of future congruence research. We thank Matta and Frank for bringing up these issues. These issues have gained increased relevance and urgency especially after Yao and Ma (2023) identified several common issues in published congruence studies and offered suggestions for improvements. This reply is intended to clarify and extend our arguments on the holistic perspective, illustrating how this perspective can help address the concerns they raised and further advance congruence research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).