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50 PART I: General IssuesKey ConceptTheories are “ideas” about how nature works. Psychologists propose theoriesabout the nature of behavior and mental processes, as well as about thereasons people and animals behave and think the way they do. A psychologicaltheory can be developed using different levels of explanation; for example, thetheory can be developed on either a physiological or a conceptual level (seeAnderson, 1990; Simon, 1992). A physiologically based theory of schizophreniawould propose biological causes such as specific genetic carriers. A theory developedon a conceptual level would more likely propose psychological causessuch as patterns of emotional conflict or stress. It would also be possible for atheory of schizophrenia to include both biological and psychological causes.Theories often differ in their scope—the range of phenomena they seek toexplain. Some theories attempt to explain specific phenomena. For example,Brown and Kulik’s (1977) theory attempted to explain the phenomenon of“flashbulb memory,” in which people remember very specific personal circumstancessurrounding particularly surprising and emotional events, such asthe horrific events of September 11, 2001. Other theories have much broaderscope as they try to describe and explain more complex phenomena such aslove (Sternberg, 1986) or human cognition (Anderson, 1990, 1993; Anderson &Milson, 1989). In general, the greater the scope of a theory, the more complex itis likely to be. Most theories in contemporary psychology tend to be relativelymodest in scope, attempting to account only for a limited range of phenomena.Scientists develop theories from a mixture of intuition, personal observation,and known facts and ideas. The famous philosopher of science Karl Popper(1976) suggested that truly creative theories spring from a combination of intenseinterest in a problem and critical imagination—the ability to think criticallyand “outside the box.” Researchers begin constructing a theory by consideringwhat is known about a problem or research question and also looking for errorsor what is missing. The approach is similar to the one we described in Chapter 1for getting started in research and forming hypotheses.Although theories differ in their level of explanation and scope, amid thesedifferences there are commonalities that define all theories (see Table 2.3). Wecan offer the following formal definition of a scientific theory: a logically organizedTABLE 2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THEORIESDefinitionScopeFunctionsImportantFeaturesA theory is a logically organized set of propositions that serves to define events,describe relationships among these events, and explain the occurrence of theseevents.Theories differ in the breadth of events they seek to explain, from very specificphenomena (e.g., flashbulb memory) to complex phenomena (e.g., love).A theory organizes empirical knowledge from previous studies and guides futureresearch by suggesting testable hypotheses.Intervening variables provide an explanatory link between variables.Good theories are:• Logical. They make sense and predictions can be logically deduced.• Precise. Predictions about behavior are specific rather than general.• Parsimonious. The simplest explanation for a phenomenon is best.Based on Table 2.3, Zechmeister, Zechmeister, & Shaughnessy, 2001, p. 29.