About Theories
A reference for asking what a psychological explanation claims, what it predicts and where its evidence stops.
How to use the directory
Start with a topic or search for an account. Each profile separates its proposed mechanism from the evidence described in inspected sources. Predictions and everyday scenarios are original teaching formulations, not reports of new experiments.
A theory proposes explanatory relationships. A model represents selected processes or structures. A framework organizes concepts and questions. These uses overlap in the literature; labels here help the reader understand what kind of claim is being made.
Scope and evidence
The directory contains 28 selected accounts spanning learning, cognition, development, emotion, motivation, personality and social psychology, with biological and perceptual foundations. It is an introductory selection, not a ranking or a complete history.
The course connection is OpenStax Psychology 2e. Textbook descriptions of experiments are distinguished from inspected primary articles. A historical theory can matter intellectually while having limited support for its strongest claims. A descriptive model can be useful without supplying a causal mechanism.
Clinical decisions require context beyond this teaching reference. No profile diagnoses a person from an everyday example.
Continue through Psy101
Concepts explains core terms. Methods examines how evidence is produced. People provides biographical context.