Psychology 2310A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Parasympathetic Nervous System, Sympathetic Nervous System, Somatic Nervous System
17 Mar 2014
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Single-factor explanation: attempts to trace the origins of a particular disorder to one factor. Most of these explanations reflect the primary focus of the researcher/theorist rather than the belief that there really is a single cause. Unlikely to explain human behavior and its complexity. Interactionist explanation: behavior as the product of interaction of a variety of factors, generally making more satisfactory theories in describing mental disorders. Take into account the biology and behavior of the individual, as well as the cognitive, social, and cultural environment, given that any one component inevitably affects the other components. (1) they integrate most of what is currently known about the phenomena in the simplest way possible (parsimony) (2) they make testable predictions about aspects of the phenomena that were not previously thought of. (3) they make it possible to specify what evidence would deny the theory. Scientific theories are judged to be valuable because:
