What do psychologists actually base their explanations on?
The interpretations stem from a number of theories about how the mind works. The only problem is that no one knows which of the theories – if any – match reality.
Some researchers believe that psychology is in a theoretical crisis, and one that is much deeper than the replication crisis, which you can read more about here.
If you hear about theories in biology or physics, such as the theory of evolution or Einstein’s theory of relativity, you can count on several things.
Many, possibly thousands, of studies have been carried out to test whether the theory is really true. The studies build on each other and provide an overall explanatory model that becomes increasingly precise over time.
This model explains the underlying causes of phenomena, so you can use the theory to predict what will happen.
But in many parts of psychology this is not the case, Eronen and Bringmann write in the scientific journal Perspectives of Psychological Science.
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“There’s a paradox here,” says [researcher Andreas] Høstmælingen.
“As a psychologist, you have to learn theory to become good at relating to people and offer an explanation for their psychological problems. But at the same time, you have to be ready to abandon a method you know and like if it doesn’t make sense for the patient.”
