Theoretical psychology is concerned with theoretical and philosophical aspects of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. It is an
interdisciplinary field
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
with a wide scope of study.
It focuses on combining and incorporating existing and developing theories of psychology non-experimentally. Theoretical psychology originated from the
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
, with
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
and
rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...
at the base of each new idea. It existed before
empirical
Empirical evidence is evidence obtained through sense experience or experimental procedure. It is of central importance to the sciences and plays a role in various other fields, like epistemology and law.
There is no general agreement on how t ...
or
experimental psychology
Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...
. Theoretical psychology is an interdisciplinary field involving psychologists specializing in a wide variety of psychological branches. There have been a few prominent pioneers of theoretical psychology such as
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was t ...
,
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
,
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
, and
John B. Watson
John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
. There has also been a number of notable contributors which include
Jerome Kagan,
Alan E. Kazdin,
Robert Sternberg,
Kenneth J. Gergen, and
Ulric Neisser
Ulric Richard Gustav Neisser (December 8, 1928 – February 17, 2012) was a German-American psychologist, Cornell University professor, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He has been referred to as the "father of cognitive ps ...
. These contributors may publish in a variety of journals, including journals for general psychology, like ''
American Psychologist
''American Psychologist'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association. The journal publishes articles of broad interest to psychologists, including empirical reports and scholarly reviews covering science ...
''. There are several journals dedicated specifically to theoretical psychology, like ''
Theory & Psychology
''Theory & Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Psychology. The journal's founding editor is Henderikus J Stam. The journal's current editor is Kieran C O'Doherty. It has been in publication sin ...
'' and ''
Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology''. Many other organizations are beginning to recognize theoretical psychology as a formal subdivision of psychology.
Origin
Theoretical psychology emerged from
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, more specifically from the
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
. Philosophy strives to understand nature and structure of concepts, the laws in which these concepts occur, and the theories that combine the laws together. One of these specific branches of philosophy of science is theoretical psychology. Philosophy of science does not use the
scientific method
The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...
to empirically derive ideas about the physical world through conducting experiments and interpreting results. However, it is still about science with an emphasis on the
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
and
rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...
behind science itself, bringing to light what cannot be explained by empirical measures. It is also
metaphysically and
epistemologically focused on all humans while incorporating the nature and essence of
human knowledge
Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
. Just as the philosophy of science is to science, theoretical psychology is to psychology in that it is the logic and rationality applied to
concepts
A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs.
Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, psy ...
,
laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
, and
theories
A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
. Theoretical psychology is not in place to discern which theories are more truthful or more correct. Many consider theoretical psychology as the support or rationalization of an "idea" within psychological theory that is more "truthful". However, this is not the case. Theoretical psychology is scientifically grounded in ideas of what is known through epistemology.
Theoretical psychology existed long before any branches of traditional empirical and
experimental psychology
Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...
. As a result, there is much more depth and breadth of knowledge from which to draw, making it less common for new developments to come about in the present day because many "new" approaches are drawing from and revitalizing past theories. In doing so, new knowledge, frames of reference, and mindsets are brought to these foundational theories. This may be due to ideas taking longer to develop and gain momentum than related fields in empirical based psychology.
Relationship to philosophy and scope
Theoretical psychology is a rational, non-experimental approach to
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. In psychology, as with any field of study, there are three
philosophical
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
perspectives and methodologies of ways to derive knowledge about the reality of the world.
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
(use of intellect and reason of the mind),
Empiricism
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along ...
(use of our individually experienced sensorium), and
Skepticism
Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...
(knowledge beyond mere appearance that is not able to be studied) characterize the three perspectives in understanding theoretical concepts relating to laws which help to understand larger theoretical theories.
Of the philosophical perspectives, rationalism is the most pertinent to this discipline of psychology. Theoretical psychology is not experimental or clinically based and focuses on non-experimental ways to acquire knowledge about psychological topics.
It explores the theoretical knowledge behind its encompassed ideologies. Oftentimes this includes, but is not limited to, non-experimental critiques to different schools of thought, and the usefulness of psychological concepts. Theoretical psychology is a discipline that bases its information through inference, as opposed to empirically acquired information. Hypotheses are then exchanged and further built upon from different perspectives. Theoretical Psychology also deals with manipulating non-scientific, common words (
hypothetical constructs) into scientifically objective terms (
intervening variables). Theoretical psychology requires full agreement on the different viewpoints to be able to see the point as a theory. As a result, many of its topics remain in continuous debate.
Theoretical psychology is the
logic of psychology and all of its components. This means when theories within psychology oppose or compete, theoretical psychology does not select which is correct. It describes the nature and composition of psychology's many ideas. To explain the logic of psychology, there has been a conclusion of the principles belonging to the three classified areas. Psychology is built on the principle of being able to reference
observable behavior,
physical environment, and/or
physiological states. Theoretical psychology is an important aspect that continues to play a role in modern psychology. While there are some downfalls to theoretical psychology, there are also strengths and benefits it brings to the field.
The scope that theoretical psychology covers is vast. Professionals have the opportunity to use this method of seeking out theoretical knowledge to begin research in a variety of subjects. This allows for a great deal of knowledge to be explored by means of inference rather than seeking out tangible data to draw ideas. Theoretical psychology is an interdisciplinary field involving psychologists specializing in
cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...
,
social psychology
Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
,
developmental psychology
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...
,
personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:
* Describing what per ...
,
clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...
,
perceptual psychology
Perceptual psychology is a subfield of cognitive psychology that concerns the conscious and unconscious innate aspects of the human cognitive system: perception.
A pioneer of the field was James J. Gibson. One major study was that of affordances ...
,
neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...
,
biological psychology
Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,[Psychobi ...](_blank)
,
evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regard to the ancestral problems they evolved ...
,
historical psychology,
economic psychology,
political psychology
''Political Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published bimonthly by Wiley on behalf of the International Society of Political Psychology. The editors-in-chief are Orla Muldoon of the University of Limerick, Ireland and James Liu ...
, and
critical psychology. It is important to acknowledge these fields do not discount empiricism, but rather explore new ideas with a theoretical approach first.
Pioneers

A brief history into the field of theoretical psychology includes some prominent pioneers. To begin,
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was t ...
(1874) originally worked as a professor of philosophy. His focus was on the subjective study of an individual's
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
, he believed that this was a key factor to the field of psychology. This aspect of psychology was unable to be shown with a large amount of empirical evidence, but remained a theory throughout the history of Psychology. Next,
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
(1890) worked as a psychologist and a philosopher. His career focused around the idea of
free will
Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, which is theoretical in nature. He also assisted in forming the
James-Lange theory of
emotion
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
, which is based upon many theoretical factors.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
(1905) was also an important pioneer for theoretical psychology. Freud founded the
psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of the innate structure of the human soul and the dynamics of personality development relating to the practice of psychoanalysis, a method of research and for treating of Mental disorder, mental disorders (psych ...
of psychology. He did not rely on empirical data when making his theories, but instead looked for philosophical explanations. Freud often shared his view that he did not need empirical evidence for his theory, because he simply knew it is true. Another pioneer was
John B. Watson
John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a List of psychological schools, psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.Watson, J ...
(1913). Watson founded the theory of
behaviorism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
in psychology through the article "Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It". Although Behaviorism has a strong emphasis on empirical psychology, forming the methods cannot be empirically tested, and is therefore considered theoretical psychology.
Notable contributors
There are some notable individuals that have, and continue to make a large impact on theoretical psychology.
Jerome Kagan's (1971) work on
personality traits
In psychology, trait theory (also called dispositional theory) is an approach to the study of human personality. Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of ''traits'', which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thou ...
and
aging
Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...
,
emotion
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
, and
temperament
In psychology, temperament broadly refers to consistent individual differences in behavior that are biologically based and are relatively independent of learning, system of values and attitudes.
Some researchers point to association of tempera ...
could be considered theoretical psychology due to Kagen dedicating much of his work to psychology constructs, specifically to the developmental psychology. As a science gains new empirical procedures it also generates new information.
Donald Meichenbaum (1977) had work that focused on
cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders.
Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...
.
Meichenbaum did the majority of his work in the field of cognitive psychology. He compared his theory to
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...
. Its main focus is connecting
cognitive processes
Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ima ...
and relations to things such as clients' feelings, behavior, and consequences of these. It also factors in physiologic and social cultural processes.
Alan E. Kazdin (1980) had theories that focuses on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a style in children and adolescence. He focuses on child and adolescent
psychopathologies such as
depression and conduct problems. His writings on research strategies and methods have set a high standard for rigor in the field.
Robert Sternberg's (1990) main focus revolves around some theoretical idea that include;
creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
,
wisdom
Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...
,
thinking styles,
love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
, and
hate
Hatred or hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Ha ...
. Sternberg often includes politically charged articles that focus on admissions testing and general intelligence. He performed both empirically driven and theoretical work.
Kenneth J. Gergen's (1991) work on social psychology as history was used towards generative theories, realities and relationships, the saturated self, positive aging, and relational being. He included many theoretical ideas such as culture and science, assumptions, views on
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
, and relations. Many of his idea's were theoretical in nature.
Ulric Neisser
Ulric Richard Gustav Neisser (December 8, 1928 – February 17, 2012) was a German-American psychologist, Cornell University professor, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He has been referred to as the "father of cognitive ps ...
(1995) has work that's related to
cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...
, specifically the idea of
flashbulb memories. Although he used empirical data to test this idea, he originally took the concept from theoretical work.
These individual's and many others continue to impact psychology with theoretical ideas that may or may not be yet supported by empirical data.
Modern organizational support
The
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
has the division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology as Division 24. Theoretical Ideas are also associated to the division of
humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force" ...
(32). According to the American Psychological Association, "Division 24: Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology encourages and facilitates informed exploration and discussion of psychological theories and issues in both their scientific and philosophical dimensions and interrelationships." The International Society for Theoretical Psychology, the Section of History and Philosophy of Psychology (25) of the Canadian Psychological Society, the Section of History and Philosophy of psychology of the
British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom.
History
It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...
, the International Human Science Conference, and the
Society for Philosophy and Psychology also offer organizational support. Universities that currently have Theoretical Psychology/Human Science programs include
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...
, the
University of Dallas
The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas, United States. Established in 1956, it is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Southern Associat ...
,
Seattle University,
West Georgia College,
University of Calgary
{{Infobox university
, name = University of Calgary
, image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
, former ...
,
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
,
York University
York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
,
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
,
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
and
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
.
Research methods
Theoretical psychology works together with empirical psychology to form a symbiotic relationship. Theoretical psychology is not constrained by empirical research or laboratory studies. It allows for scientists to freely search for knowledge that we have yet to be able to study empirically or are not yet capable of studying empirically. For theoretical psychology, its strength lies in the realm of rationality, focused on big picture ideas. However, on its own it is not a complete way to gain particular knowledge of reality. This is where the empirical based branches of psychology has strength. Theoretical psychology can more heavily rely on an idea about human nature that is universal, even when it is not known why or how this particular trend happens in the world, either individualistically or collectively.
Empirical psychology is what allows for humans to make insights on these big picture ideas at a more palatable, applicable and individualistic and way that gives practical information about reality. Theoretical psychology is not a universal psychological theory able to explain all topics without the use of empirical research. Theoretical psychology is not fundamental or comprehensive theory of psychology, rather, for theoretical psychology to operate correctly it is important to supplement empirical psychology and give reason to topics and produce theories until they can be empirically verified by the other branches of psychology.
Issues in methodology and practice
Humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
have innate wonder, exploring many topics through experience and perception. From this wonder, individuals rationally reflects on their own experiences about a specific topic. Then the individual practices
dialectics
Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...
, examining what others have said about the topic being explored with the hopes of finding a particular knowledge about the topic. Theoretical psychology serves as the bridge between the philosophical roots of psychology and the present day empirical psychology. This bridge has an emphasis and focus on forming concepts from moments of explicit behavior that are observable, excluding introspective mental events within
individual consciousness. Psychological laws are created from these observable behaviors that are derived from one concept that also contain concepts from the individual's environment of internal physiological states. These laws are categorized into
causal
Causality is an influence by which one Event (philosophy), event, process, state, or Object (philosophy), object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cause is at l ...
(
statistical
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...
) or
deterministic
Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping mo ...
/
mechanistic (nonstatistical) categories which relate simultaneous parallel traits or predict future from present or past respectively. Then these laws are organized into theories based on connections logically deduced together and open to new laws yet to be discovered or empirically verified. The ultimate and logically possible goal of theoretical psychology is to create an exact and comprehensive psychological theory. However, the concepts that are immediately observable are still abstract and difficult to define even in a basic law in an important solid theory as they relate to no physical object we can make sense of or interact with using our sensorium and empirical approaches. They are not instantiated in the world and in virtue of this they are called
theoretical concepts.
Significance
Theoretical psychology has many aspects that can be viewed as positive or negative, which depends on the interpreter. Theoretical psychology can play an important and also unique role in the field such that almost any claim can be reasonably thought of as true if it is theoretically appealing and empirically supported by research.
Theorists must be strategic and knowledgeable when shifting through experimental psychology as the field grows. This can be beneficial in the sense that individuals know theorists have made a deliberated effort when analyzing the research surrounding a theory. However, for those who are not familiar with the theoretical psychology surrounding a theory, the abundant amount of information contributing to a theory can be overwhelming.
In addition, theories can be extremely resistant to change. As theories compete, and different evidence emerges, prior theories can be extremely difficult to change. This can make it difficult for new theories to gain traction within the field of psychology. This
resiliency may in part be due to theories stated in ways that are worded too abstractly, ineffectively, and contradictory at times.
One challenge of theoretical psychology is the difficulty to explain
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
: there are many competing theories revolving around consciousness, and theoretical psychology struggles to fully explain or justify consciousness. Researchers have an extremely difficult time studying it, despite there being an entire field of psychology completely dedicated to consciousness.
Theoretical psychology can be extremely beneficial because it brings together scientific ideas and philosophical ideas of psychology. Integrating these ideas contributes to the knowledge of psychology.
Journals
The fields of
humanistic
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
and
existential, as well as the
Social Constructionist perspective of psychology, all have been fundamental to some of the first theoretical ideas as it pertains to modern theoretical psychology. Today, there are many journals that include theoretical articles. These journals include the following:
*''
Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology''
*''
Theory and Psychology''
*''
New Ideas in Psychology''
*''
Journal of Humanistic Psychology''
*''
Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that arose in the mid-20th century in answer to two theories: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner's behaviorism. Thus, Abraham Maslow established the need for a "third force" ...
''
*''
Family Process''
*''Studies in linguistics and Philosophy''
*''
Consciousness and Cognition''
*''
Theoretical Issues in Cognitive Science''
*''
Behavior and Philosophy''
*''
American Psychologist
''American Psychologist'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association. The journal publishes articles of broad interest to psychologists, including empirical reports and scholarly reviews covering science ...
''
*''
International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology''
*''Annals of Theoretical Psychology''
*''
Psychological Inquiry
The ''Psychological Inquiry'' (''PI'') is a quarterly psychology journal published by Taylor & Francis. It aims to be a forum for the discussion of theory and meta-theory, primarily in social psychology and personality. It aims to publish ideas a ...
''
*''Death and Dying''
*''
Journal of Mind and Behavior''
*''
Philosophical Psychology''
References
External links
International Society for Theoretical Psychology*
ttp://homepage.uibk.ac.at/~c720126/humanethologie/ws/medicus/block1/inhalt.html Theory of Psychology and other Human Sciences (Documents No. 9 and 10 in English) Gerhard Medicus (2017). Being Human – Bridging the Gap between the Sciences of Body and Mind, Berlin VWB.
Gerhard Medicus (2017). Being Human – Bridging the Gap between the Sciences of Body and Mind, Berlin VWB*
The Ondwelle Home-page:- seeking micro-physiological explanations for Piagetian psychology. (Depends significantly on Physics and Info-tech at the cell and sub-cell level). *Theoretical Psychology Annual Review of psychology
{{Psychology
Interdisciplinary branches of psychology
Philosophy of psychology