Ph.D., General Psychology, Georgetown University
A.B., Philosophy, Duke University
Interests: Theoretical and philosophical psychology, Wittgenstein and the philosophical analysis of psychological concepts, early social development
Selected Publications
Tissaw, M. A. (2013). The person concept and the ontology of persons. In J. Martin & M. H. Brickhard (Eds.), The psychology of personhood: Philosophical, historical, social-developmental, and narrative perspectives (pp. 19-39). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tissaw, M. A. (2010). A critical look at critical (neo)personalism: Unitas multiplex and the 'person' concept. In J. T. Lamiell & L. Laux (Eds.), Is There a Place for Personalistic Thinking in 21st Century Psychology? [Special issue]. New Ideas in Psychology, 28, 159-167.
Tissaw, M. A. (2007). Making sense of neonatal imitation. In L. M. Osbeck & M. A. Tissaw (Eds.), Reflections on critical engagement with mainstream psychology [Special issue]. Theory & Psychology, 17, 217-242.
Harré, R., & Tissaw, M. A. (2005). Wittgenstein and psychology: A practical guide. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
Tissaw, M. A. (2000). Psychological symbiosis: Personalistic and constructionist considerations. In J. T. Lamiell and W. Deutsch (Eds.), Psychology and critical personalism [Special issue]. Theory & Psychology, 10, 847-876.
Selected Conference Presentations
Tissaw, M. A. (2011, June). What does infant habituation research tell us that rules of language use do not? In K. Slaney (Chair), What's in a Name?: Conceptual Analysis as a Methodological Imperative in Psychological Science. Symposium conducted at the 72nd Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.
Tissaw, M. A. (2007, June). Epistemological blind spots in empirical developmental research on human infants and the qualification of results in light of conceptual analysis. In. M. A. Tissaw (Chair), Transdisciplinarity Within Psychology. Symposium conducted at the 12th Conference of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada.
Tissaw, M. A. (2007, June). WittgenStern: On the grammatical coherence of the person as unitas multiplex. In J. T. Lamiell (Chair), Is there a place for critical personalism in 21st Century Psychology? Symposium conducted at the 12th Conference of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada.
Tissaw, M. A. (2007, April). The grammar of words pertaining to normative action: Rules, regularities, contingencies, and causes. Paper presented at the 99th meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
Tissaw, M. A. (2005, August). Cognitive representation as mentalism: Heteronomous and heterogeneous explanation regresses. In L. M. Osbeck (Chair), Revisiting representation and its discontents. Symposium conducted at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.
Osbeck, L. M., & Tissaw, M. A. (2003, August). Psychology, philosophy, and points between: Theoretical psychology and the analysis of mainstream productions. In J. S. Reber (Chair), The future of theoretical psychology: New scholars contributions. Symposium conducted at the 111th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Tissaw, M. A. (2001, June). Smedslund and Wittgenstein: Contrasting philosophical methods for scientific psychology. Paper presented at the 9th Conference of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Tissaw, M. A. (2000, March). Tractarian psychology and Wittgenstein's later philosophical method. Paper presented at The American University Russell and Wittgenstein Conference in Honor of Rom Harré, Washington, D.C.