Psychological Theory
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The interpersonal theory of suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a decade of cross-national research. Open
Over the past decade, the interpersonal theory of suicide has contributed to substantial advances in the scientific and clinical understanding of suicide and related conditions. The interpersonal theory of suicide posits that suicidal desi…
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Toward a psychology of <i>Homo sapiens</i> : Making psychological science more representative of the human population Open
Two primary goals of psychological science should be to understand what aspects of human psychology are universal and the way that context and culture produce variability. This requires that we take into account the importance of culture a…
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From Theory-Inspired to Theory-Based Interventions: A Protocol for Developing and Testing a Methodology for Linking Behaviour Change Techniques to Theoretical Mechanisms of Action Open
BACKGROUND: Understanding links between behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and mechanisms of action (the processes through which they affect behaviour) helps inform the systematic development of behaviour change interventions. PURPOSE: Thi…
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Why do people believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories? Open
As conspiracy theories about COVID-19 take root in the United States, understanding the psychological foundations of conspiracy beliefs is increasingly critical. Our research shows that beliefs in two popular variants of COVID-19 conspirac…
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Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain Open
In this introduction to the EJSP Special Issue on conspiracy theories as a social psychological phenomenon, we describe how this emerging research domain has developed over the past decade and distill four basic principles that characteriz…
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The Theory Crisis in Psychology: How to Move Forward Open
Meehl argued in 1978 that theories in psychology come and go, with little cumulative progress. We believe that this assessment still holds, as also evidenced by increasingly common claims that psychology is facing a “theory crisis” and tha…
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Theory Before the Test: How to Build High-Verisimilitude Explanatory Theories in Psychological Science Open
Drawing on the philosophy of psychological explanation, we suggest that psychological science, by focusing on effects, may lose sight of its primary explananda: psychological capacities. We revisit Marr’s levels-of-analysis framework, whic…
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Lack of Theory Building and Testing Impedes Progress in The Factor and Network Literature Open
The applied social science literature using factor and network models continues to grow rapidly. Most work reads like an exercise in model fitting, and falls short of theory building and testing in three ways. First, statistical and theore…
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The Power of Predictions: An Emerging Paradigm for Psychological Research Open
In the last two decades, neuroscience studies have suggested that various psychological phenomena are produced by predictive processes in the brain. When considered together, these studies form a coherent, neurobiologically inspired progra…
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Invisible Hands and Fine Calipers: A Call to Use Formal Theory as a Toolkit for Theory Construction Open
In recent years, a growing chorus of researchers has argued that psychological theory is in a state of crisis: Theories are rarely developed in a way that indicates an accumulation of knowledge. Paul Meehl raised this very concern more tha…
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An extended theory of planned behavior for parent-for-child health behaviors: A meta-analysis. Open
Findings identified the social cognition determinants of parent-for-child health behaviors, and highlight the potential processes by which they relate to behavior. The current model signposts potentially modifiable targets for behavioral i…
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The Development of Cognitive Load Theory: Replication Crises and Incorporation of Other Theories Can Lead to Theory Expansion Open
Cognitive load theory has been in development since the 1980s. Much of the impetus for that development has come from firstly, replication failures using randomised controlled trials and secondly, from the incorporation of other theories i…
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Control-Value Theory: From Achievement Emotion to a General Theory of Human Emotions Open
In its original version, control-value theory describes and explains achievement emotions. More recently, the theory has been expanded to also explain epistemic, social, and existential emotions. In this article, I outline the development …
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How to Map Theory: Reliable Methods Are Fruitless Without Rigorous Theory Open
Good science requires both reliable methods and rigorous theory. Theory allows us to build a unified structure of knowledge, to connect the dots of individual studies and reveal the bigger picture. Some have criticized the proliferation of…
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Curiosity on Cutting-Edge Technology via Theory of Planned Behavior and Diffusion of Innovation Theory Open
Despite the growing importance of cutting-edge technologies, little is still known about the effects of psychological and technical factors on these technologies as associated with consumers’ behavioral intentions. Drawing on diffusion of …
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Attachment theory and religion Open
Attachment theory deals with the development and dynamics of interpersonal affectional bonds. It also provides a framework for understanding individuals' relationship with God, which is central to religion. We review basic concepts of atta…
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So Useful as a Good Theory? The Practicality Crisis in (Social) Psychological Theory Open
Practicality was a valued attribute of academic psychological theory during its initial decades, but usefulness has since faded in importance to the field. Theories are now evaluated mainly on their ability to account for decontextualized …
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The emperor’s new clothes? A critical look at the interpersonal theory of suicide Open
The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide currently seems to be the most popular theory in suicidology. It posits that suicide can be explained by the simultaneous presence of three risk factors only, namely acquired capability for suicide, thwa…
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A revitalized biopsychosocial model: core theory, research paradigms, and clinical implications Open
The biopsychosocial model (BPSM) was proposed by George Engel in 1977 as an improvement to the biomedical model (BMM), to take account of psychological and social as well as biological factors relevant to health and disease. Since then the…
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Integrating whole trait theory and self‐determination theory Open
We explore and explicate some promising points of integration between self‐determination theory (SDT) and whole trait theory (WTT). Integrating SDT and WTT can offer an example for navigating challenges that have long confronted integratin…
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Invisible Hands and Fine Calipers: A Call to Use Formal Theory as a Toolkit for Theory Construction Open
In recent years, a growing chorus of researchers have argued that psychological theory is in a state of crisis: theories are rarely developed in a way that indicates an accumulation of knowledge and they are often absent from our research …
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Beyond Statistical Ritual: Theory in Psychological Science Open
More than 40 years ago, Paul Meehl (1978) published a seminal critique of the state of theorizing in psychological science. According to Meehl, the quality of theories had diminished in the preceding decades, resulting in statistical metho…
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Autism: A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate Open
Based on Francesca Happe’s best-selling textbook, Autism: An Introduction to Psychological Theory, this completely new edition provides a concise overview of contemporary psychological theories about autism. Fletcher-Watson and Happe explo…
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A decade of theory as reflected in Psychological Science (2009–2019) Open
The dominant belief is that science progresses by testing theories and moving towards theoretical consensus. While it’s implicitly assumed that psychology operates in this manner, critical discussions claim that the field suffers from a la…
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Intrinsic Motivation and Psychological Connectedness to Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation: The Perspective of Self-Determination Open
This study adopts the perspective of the Self-Determination Theory to look at the psychological experience of drug users and their decisions to take drugs or not, with particular emphasis on the concept of relatedness. To achieve this obje…
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Toward a cohesive psychological science of effective feedback Open
Empirical research on effective assessment feedback often falls short in demonstrating not just what works, but how and why. In this introduction to the special issue, 'Psychological Perspectives on the Effects and Effectiveness of Assessm…
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What Can Educational Psychology Learn From, and Contribute to, Theory Development Scholarship? Open
One of the field of psychology’s stated goals is to produce scholarship with findings that benefit the world. Over the last 10 years, psychology scholarship and its presumed societal benefits have been called into question due to the field…
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What am I thinking? Perspective-taking from the perspective of adolescents with autism Open
Autistic people are often described as being impaired with regard to theory of mind, though more recent literature finds flaws in the theory of mind deficit paradigm. In addition, the predominant methods for examining theory of mind often …
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Psychology's Theory Crisis, and Why Formal Modelling Cannot Solve It Open
In light of psychology’s ‘theory crisis’, multiple authors have argued that adopting formalization and/or formal modelling would constitute a useful or even necessary step towards stronger psychological theory. In this article, I instead a…
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Theory before the test: How to build high-verisimilitude explanatory theories in psychological science Open
Drawing on the philosophy of psychological explanation (Cummins, 1983; 2000), we suggest that psychological science, by focusing on effects, may lose sight of its primary explananda: psychological capacities. We revisit Marr’s (1982) level…