In addition to varying in formality and scope, theories in psychology vary widely in the kinds of theoretical ideas they are constructed from. We will refer to this as the theoretical approach.
Functional theories explain psychological phenomena in terms of their function or purpose. For example, one prominent theory of repeated self-injury (e.g., cutting) is that people do it because it produces a short-term reduction in the intensity of negative emotions that they are feeling (Tantam & Huband, 2009). 1 Note that this theory does not focus on how this happens, but on the function of self- injury for the people who engage in it. Theories from the perspective of evolutionary psychology also tend to be functional—assuming that human behavior has evolved to solve specific adaptive problems faced by our distant ancestors. Consider the phenomenon of sex differences in human mating strategies (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). 2 Men are somewhat more likely than women to seek short-term partners and to value physical attractiveness over material resources in a mate. Women are somewhat more likely than men to seek long-term partners and to value material resources over physical attractiveness in a mate. But why? The standard evolutionary theory holds that because the male investment in becoming a parent is relatively small, men reproduce more successfully by seeking several short-term partners who are young and healthy (which is signaled by physical attractiveness). But because the female investment in becoming a parent is quite large, women reproduce more successfully by seeking a long-term partner who has resources to contribute to raising the child.
Mechanistic theories, on the other hand, focus on specific variables, structures, and processes, and how they interact to produce the phenomena. The drive theory of social facilitation and inhibition and the multistore model of human memory are mechanistic theories in this sense. Figure 4.3 represents another example—a contemporary cognitive theory of hypochondriasis—an extreme form of health anxiety in which people misinterpret ordinary bodily symptoms (e.g., headaches) as signs of a serious illness (e.g., a brain tumor; Williams, 2004). 3 This theory specifies several key variables and the relationships among them.
Specifically, people who are high in the personality trait of neuroticism (also called negative emotionality) start to pay excessive attention to negative health information—especially if they have had a significant illness experience as a child (e.g., a seriously ill parent). This attention to negative health information then leads to health anxiety and hypochondriasis, especially among people who are low in effortful control, which is the ability to shift attention away from negative thoughts and feelings.
Mechanistic theories can also be expressed in terms of biological structures and processes. With advances in genetics and neuroscience, such theories are becoming increasingly common in psychology. For example, researchers are currently constructing and testing theories that specify the brain structures associated with the storage and rehearsal of information in the short-term store, the transfer of information to the long-term store, and so on. Theories of psychological disorders are also increasingly likely to focus on biological mechanisms. Schizophrenia, for example, has been explained in terms of several biological theories, including theories that focus on genetics, neurotransmitters, brain structures, and even prenatal exposure to infections.
Finally, there are also theoretical approaches that provide organization without necessarily providing a functional or mechanistic explanation. These include stage theories, which specify a series of stages that people pass through as they develop or adapt to their environment. Famous stage theories include Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Typologies provide organization by categorizing people or behavior into distinct types. These include theories that identify several basic emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust), several distinct types of intelligence (e.g., spatial, linguistic, mathematical, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal), and distinct types of personalities (e.g., Type A vs. Type B).
Researchers in psychology have found that there is a place for all these theoretical approaches. In fact, multiple approaches are probably necessary to provide a complete understanding of any set of phenomena. A complete understanding of emotions, for example, is likely to require identifying the basic emotions that people experience, explaining why we have those emotions, and describing how those emotions work in terms of underlying psychological and biological variables, structures, and processes.
KEY TAKEAWAY
- Theories in psychology vary widely in terms of their formality, scope, and theoretical approach. The different types of theories all play important roles in psychological research.
EXERCISE
- Practice: Find an empirical research report in a professional journal, identify a theory that the researchers present, and then describe the theory in terms of its formality (informal vs. formal), scope (broad vs. narrow), and theoretical approach (functional, mechanistic, etc.).
- Discussion: Do you think there will ever be a single theory that explains all psychological disorders? Why or why not?
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