Theory definition psychology

When asked the question, "What is a theory?" most of my students (regardless of age or educational level) respond with an explanation that is akin to "a reasonable, educated/informed guess."

Indeed, consistent with this perspective, the phrase "it’s just a theory" (be it in reference to one’s humility regarding their own standpoint or trying to denigrate another) is one I’m sure many of you have heard thrown around from time to time.

The problem is that these common perspectives are not correct—which makes me wonder, is the majority of the population misinformed as to what theory refers to?

While many conceptualise a theory as a reasonable, educated guess, what they’re really describing is a hypothesis (i.e.

Theory definition psychology

a proposed outcome, explained on the basis of limited evidence or a thread of logic as a starting point for further investigation). A theory is more concrete than an educated guess. In order to appropriately explain the concept of theory, it’s important to first set the scene: