Thories

 The term theory is used with surprising

frequency in everyday language.
 It is often used to mean a guess, hunch, or
supposition.
 In science, a theory is not merely a guess. A
theory is based on a hypothesis that is backed
by evidence.
 A theory is a fact-based framework for
describing a phenomenon.
Types

 Behavioral psychology, also known as

behaviorism, is a theory of learning based on
the idea that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning.
 Advocated by famous psychologists such
as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner,
behavioral theories dominated psychology
during the early half of the twentieth century.
 Today, behavioral techniques are still widely
used by therapists to help clients learn new
skills and behaviors.
Purpose of a Psychology Theory

 In psychology, theories are used to provide a

model for understanding human
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Throughout psychology's history, a number of
theories have been proposed to explain and
predict various aspects of human behavior.
 A psychological theory has two key components:
 It must describe a behavior.
 It must make predictions about future behaviors.
 Conti…
 Humanistic psychology theories began to
grow in popularity during the 1950s.
 While earlier theories often focused on
abnormal behavior and psychological
problems, humanist theories instead
emphasized the basic goodness of human
beings.
 Some of the major humanist theorists
included Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
 Personality Theories
 Personality psychology looks at the patterns of
thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make a
person unique.
 Some of the best-known theories in psychology
are devoted to the subject of personality,
including the trait theory of personality, the "big
5" theory of personality, and Erikson's theory of
psychosocial development
Social Psychology Theories

 Social psychology is focused on helping us

understand and explain social behavior.
 Social theories are generally centered on
specific social phenomena, including group
behavior, prosocial behavior, social influence,
love and much more.
Thinking
 “Thinking is a mental activity in its cognitive
aspect or mental activity with regard to
psychological aspects”
 Thinking process
 Understanding the formation
o Analysis, Comparison and abstraction
 Opinion formation
Opinion formation is a favorite theme in the
quantitative study of social phenomena, first,
because of the interest in predicting collective
behavior on the basis of personal stances and their
mutual influence
 Conclusion withdrawal or establishment
decision
What are the 3 types of
thinking?
There are three types of thought that our
brains produce:
 Interpretation problems; Knowing also by
defining the problem by way of creative
thinking
 Problem Solving Strategy; Make selection
of the best problem. Solving Strategy are
often used
 incessant (chatter, UN PLEASANT ).
 Problem solving strategy
Method Description Example
Trial and error Continue trying different Restarting phone, turning
solutions until problem is off Wi-Fi, turning off
solved Bluetooth in order to
determine why your phone
is malfunctioning

Algorithm Step-by-step problem- Instruction manual for

solving formula installing new software on
your computer

Heuristic General problem-solving Working backwards;

framework breaking a task into steps
Additional Problem Solving
Strategies:
 Abstraction – refers to solving the problem within a model of the situation before
applying it to reality.
 Analogy – is using a solution that solves a similar problem.
 Brainstorming – refers to collecting an analyzing a large amount of solutions,
especially within a group of people, to combine the solutions and developing them
until an optimal solution is reached.

 Divide and conquer – breaking down large complex problems into smaller more
manageable problems.

 Hypothesis testing – method used in experimentation where an assumption about

what would happen in response to manipulating an independent variable is made,
and analysis of the affects of the manipulation are made and compared to the
original hypothesis.

 Lateral thinking – approaching problems indirectly and creatively by viewing the

problem in a new and unusual light.
 Conti…
 Proof – trying to prove that a problem cannot
be solved. Where the proof fails becomes the
starting point or solving the problem.
 Reduction – adapting the problem to be as
similar problems where a solution exists.
 Research – using existing knowledge or
solutions to similar problems to solve the
problem.
 Root cause analysis – trying to identify the
cause of the problem.
Errors in Thinking