Final answer:
Paul Meehl pushed for scientific rigor in clinical psychology, particularly advocating for the use of statistical methods over clinical intuition in assessments and emphasizing the importance of strong testable theories.
Step-by-step explanation:
Paul Meehl was a prominent figure in the field of clinical psychology who advocated for the scientific rigor and improvement of psychological assessment methods. Meehl's influence extended into the domains that include the use of statistical methods for the analysis of personality assessments and the evaluation of psychological theories. His seminal work, 'Clinical vs. Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence', challenged the field to consider the statistical prediction as a more reliable method than clinical intuition when making psychological assessments. Meehl also emphasized the importance of theory in the development and testing of psychological hypotheses, advocating for what he referred to as 'strong theories' that could be robustly tested and potentially falsified. In essence, Meehl called for a paradigm shift towards greater scientific accountability and empirical testing within the field of clinical psychology.