Psychological Theory Criticism
Psychological Theory Criticism - Related Videos
06:41
Prospect Theory
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Jonathan Flombaum—Johns Hopkins University What’s the value of a dollar? Currencies store value to facilitate trade. Implied in any economic transaction is the value of a unit of currency. But what is the subjective value of a dollar? For a long time, economists assumed the answer to this question to be, specifically, that a dollar has a value determined by the market and that the subjective value of a dollar is always that, more or less. Beginning in the early 1970s,...
07:19
Ethics in Psychology Research
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Gary Lewandowski, Dave Strohmetz, and Natalie Ciarocco—Monmouth University When a researcher finds an interesting topic to study such as aggression, the goal is often to study it in a way that is as true to life as possible. However, researchers must act in an ethical manner. To do this, they must balance their research goals with the best interests of the participants. Ethics often enter into the planning process when researchers identify all of the ways they can...
05:13
Perspectives on Experimental Psychology
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Gary Lewandowski, Dave Strohmetz, and Natalie Ciarocco—Monmouth University As the Department Chair of Psychology at Monmouth University, I teach primarily upper level undergraduate students who are interested in Experimental Methods. These classes don’t have the same inherent appeal to students. This JoVE Psychology collection will help students vicariously watch the experiments being performed from start to finish, allowing them to gain exposure to over a dozen topics...
04:57
Perspectives on Cognitive Psychology
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Jonathan Flombaum—Johns Hopkins University As an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins University, I teach Introduction to Cognitive Psychology. This large class primarily consists of freshman and sophomores majoring in related fields, like Psychology, Neuroscience, or Cognitive Science. One of the challenges I face in the classroom is teaching students to appreciate how data are obtained in the process of performing experiments.
09:39
The Trier Social Stress Test Protocol for Inducing Psychological Stress
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Cited by 251 •
2011
This article describes a protocol for inducing psychological stress in participants, which enables researchers to measure psychological, physiological and neuroendocrine responses to stress within single participants or between groups.
FAQs
It examines whether the theory generates predictions that can be evaluated through observation or experiment. A theory becomes scientifically useful when its proposed mechanisms lead to outcomes that evidence can support, challenge, or fail to confirm. This focus on testability helps distinguish explanations that guide research from ideas that cannot produce assessable predictions about behavior or mental processes.
Assumptions shape how a theory explains behavior and mental processes, so criticism examines whether they are reasonable, consistent, and compatible with available evidence. Researchers can identify assumptions that limit a theory’s explanatory reach or introduce bias. Making these foundations explicit also helps clarify what the theory can explain and which findings may challenge it.
Internal consistency concerns whether a theory’s assumptions, proposed mechanisms, and explanations fit together without contradiction. If different parts of the theory conflict, its conclusions become harder to interpret and test. Evaluating this feature helps researchers determine whether the theory offers a coherent account of behavior and whether its predictions follow logically from its underlying ideas.
Researchers compare competing theories by examining their evidence, assumptions, testability, internal consistency, and explanatory power. They may ask whether one account explains findings that another leaves unresolved or whether either theory produces clearer predictions. This comparison can reveal gaps, identify more useful mechanisms, and support further research rather than treating one explanation as adequate without scrutiny.
A practical evaluation begins by identifying the theory’s assumptions and proposed mechanisms. Researchers then examine supporting evidence, assess whether predictions can be tested through observation or experiment, and check internal consistency. They also consider explanatory power across findings, populations, and contexts. The resulting analysis can highlight limitations, unresolved gaps, or directions for refining the theory.
Critical evaluation helps researchers decide which theoretical ideas deserve further testing and which require revision. By identifying gaps, biases, and limits across populations or contexts, it encourages more rigorous studies and broader comparisons. In practice, this analysis helps professionals judge how confidently a theory should inform assessment, intervention, or interpretations of human behavior.