A law is a more solidified and formal statement, distilled from repeated experiment. A law is the conclusion from experiments. Theorem: Theorems are theoretically proven fact which gives reliably exact answers in experiments.

A scientific theory is a broad explanation that is widely accepted because it is supported by a great deal of evidence. Examples of theories in physical science include Dalton’s atomic theory, Einstein’s theory of gravity, and the kinetic theory of matter.

Like theories, scientific laws describe phenomena that the scientific community has found to be provably true. Generally, laws describe what will happen in a given situation as demonstrable by a mathematical equation, whereas theories describe how the phenomenon happens.

The words hypothesis and law are common synonyms of theory. While all three words mean “a formula derived by inference from scientific data that explains a principle operating in nature,” theory implies a greater range of evidence and greater likelihood of truth.

SYNONYMS FOR theory 1 principle, law, doctrine. 2 idea, notion, concept, postulate, thesis. 6 thought, opinion, judgment, conclusion, deduction, view. 7 hypothesis, surmise, supposition, presumption.

A theory is a proposed explanation of something. But when people say that something is “just a theory,” they mean that it hasn’t been proven. This is because one sense of “theory” is “speculation.” However, in scientific writing, it means the complete opposite of this.

Scientific theories are testable and make falsifiable predictions. They describe the causes of a particular natural phenomenon and are used to explain and predict aspects of the physical universe or specific areas of inquiry (for example, electricity, chemistry, and astronomy).

There are countless theories but they can be clearly classified into two groups: Scientific Theories which are considered “true” or “facts” because they have been found experimentally to work and we know why they work, and Un-scientific Theories which have been found wanting when similarly experimentally tested.

Different Types of Psychological Theories

• Grand Theories. Grand theories are those comprehensive ideas often proposed by major thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson,4 and Jean Piaget.
• Emergent Theories.
• Behavioral Theories.
• Humanistic Theories.
• Personality Theories.
• Social Psychology Theories.

The five major perspectives in psychology are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic. You may wonder why there are so many different psychology approaches and whether one approach is correct and others wrong.

There are several major contemporary approaches to psychology (behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, evolutionary, biological, humanistic, sociocultural/contextual).

Based on a literature review, this chapter aims at structuring the overall discourse by proposing five Open Science schools of thought: The infrastructure school (which is concerned with the technological architecture), the public school (which is concerned with the accessibility of knowledge creation), the measurement …

Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a psychological school of thought that was a direct outgrowth of Darwinian thinking which focuses attention on the utility and purpose of behavior that has been modified over years of human existence. Edward L.

Functionalism, in social sciences, theory based on the premise that all aspects of a society—institutions, roles, norms, etc. —serve a purpose and that all are indispensable for the long-term survival of the society.

Functionalists sought to explain the mental processes in a more systematic and accurate manner. Rather than focusing on the elements of consciousness, functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior. Functionalism also emphasized individual differences, which had a profound impact on education.

Functionalism is a theory about the nature of mental states. According to functionalism, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. Contrasted with behaviorism, functionalism retains the traditional idea that mental states are internal states of thinking creatures.