Theoretical psychology is concerned with theoretical and philosophical aspects of psychology. It is an interdisciplinary field with a wide scope of study.

It focuses on combining and incorporating existing and developing theories of psychology non-experimentally. Theoretical psychology originated from the philosophy of science, with logic and rationality at the base of each new idea. It existed before empirical or experimental psychology. Theoretical psychology is an interdisciplinary field involving psychologists specializing in a wide variety of psychological branches. There have been a few prominent pioneers of theoretical psychology such as Wilhelm Wundt, William James, Sigmund Freud, and John B. Watson. There have also been a number of notable contributors, which include Jerome Kagan, Alan E. Kazdin, Robert Sternberg, Kenneth J. Gergen, and Ulric Neisser. These contributors may publish in a variety of journals, including journals for general psychology, like American Psychologist. There are several journals dedicated specifically to theoretical psychology, like Theory & Psychology and Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. Many other organizations are beginning to recognize theoretical psychology as a formal subdivision of psychology.

Origin

Theoretical psychology emerged from philosophy, more specifically from the philosophy of science. Philosophy strives to understand nature and structure of concepts, the laws in which these concepts occur, and the theories that combine the laws together. One of these specific branches of philosophy of science is theoretical psychology. Philosophy of science does not use the scientific method to empirically derive ideas about the physical world through conducting experiments and interpreting results. However, it is still about science, with an emphasis on the logic and rationality behind science itself, bringing to light what cannot be explained by empirical measures. It is also metaphysically and epistemologically focused on all humans while incorporating the nature and essence of human knowledge. Just as the philosophy of science is to science, theoretical psychology is to psychology in that it is the logic and rationality applied to concepts, laws, and theories. Theoretical psychology is not in place to discern which theories are more truthful or more correct. Many consider theoretical psychology as the support or rationalization of an "idea" within psychological theory that is more "truthful". However, this is not the case. Theoretical psychology is scientifically grounded in ideas of what is known through epistemology.

Theoretical psychology existed long before any branches of traditional empirical and experimental psychology. As a result, there is much more depth and breadth of knowledge from which to draw, making it less common for new developments to come about in the present day because many "new" approaches are drawing from and revitalizing past theories. In doing so, new knowledge, frames of reference, and mindsets are brought to these foundational theories. This may be due to ideas taking longer to develop and gain momentum than related fields in empirical based psychology.

Of the philosophical perspectives, rationalism is the most pertinent to this discipline of psychology. Theoretical psychology is not experimental or clinically based and instead focuses on non-experimental ways to acquire knowledge about psychological topics.

Theoretical psychology covers a vast scope. Professionals have the opportunity to use this method of seeking out theoretical knowledge to begin research in a variety of subjects. This allows for knowledge to be explored by means of inference rather than seeking out tangible data to draw ideas. Theoretical psychology is an interdisciplinary field involving psychologists specializing in cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, clinical psychology, perceptual psychology, neuropsychology, biological psychology, evolutionary psychology, historical psychology, economic psychology, political psychology, and critical psychology. It is important to acknowledge that these fields do not discount empiricism, but rather explore new ideas with a theoretical approach first. Next, William James (1890) worked as a psychologist and a philosopher. His career focused around the idea of free will, which is theoretical in nature. He also assisted in forming the James-Lange theory of emotion, which is based upon many theoretical factors. Sigmund Freud (1905) was also an important pioneer for theoretical psychology. Freud founded the psychoanalytic theory of psychology. He did not rely on empirical data when making his theories, but instead looked for philosophical explanations. Freud often shared his view that he did not need empirical evidence for his theory, because he simply knew it is true. Another pioneer was John B. Watson (1913). Watson founded the theory of behaviorism in psychology through the article "Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It". Although Behaviorism has a strong emphasis on empirical psychology, forming the methods cannot be empirically tested, and is therefore considered theoretical psychology.

Notable contributors

There are some notable individuals that have, and continue to make a large impact on theoretical psychology. Jerome Kagan's (1971) work on personality traits and aging, emotion, and temperament could be considered theoretical psychology due to Kagen dedicating much of his work to psychology constructs, specifically to the developmental psychology. As a science gains new empirical procedures it also generates new information. Donald Meichenbaum (1977) had work that focused on cognitive behavioral therapy. Meichenbaum did the majority of his work in the field of cognitive psychology. He compared his theory to Pandora's box. Its main focus is connecting cognitive processes and relations to things such as clients' feelings, behavior, and consequences of these. It also factors in physiologic and social cultural processes. Alan E. Kazdin (1980) had theories that focuses on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a style in children and adolescence. He focuses on child and adolescent psychopathologies such as depression and conduct problems. His writings on research strategies and methods have set a high standard for rigor in the field. Robert Sternberg's (1990) main focus revolves around some theoretical idea that include; creativity, wisdom, thinking styles, love, and hate. Sternberg often includes politically charged articles that focus on admissions testing and general intelligence. He performed both empirically driven and theoretical work. Kenneth J. Gergen's (1991) work on social psychology as history was used towards generative theories, realities and relationships, the saturated self, positive aging, and relational being. He included many theoretical ideas such as culture and science, assumptions, views on mental illness, and relations. Many of his idea's were theoretical in nature. Ulric Neisser (1995) has work that's related to cognitive psychology, specifically the idea of flashbulb memories. Although he used empirical data to test this idea, he originally took the concept from theoretical work. These individual's and many others continue to impact psychology with theoretical ideas that may or may not be yet supported by empirical data.

Modern organizational support

The American Psychological Association has the division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology as Division 24. Theoretical Ideas are also associated to the division of humanistic psychology (32). According to the American Psychological Association, "Division 24: Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology encourages and facilitates informed exploration and discussion of psychological theories and issues in both their scientific and philosophical dimensions and interrelationships." The International Society for Theoretical Psychology, the Section of History and Philosophy of Psychology (25) of the Canadian Psychological Society, the Section of History and Philosophy of psychology of the British Psychological Society, the International Human Science Conference, and the Society for Philosophy and Psychology also offer organizational support. Universities that currently have Theoretical Psychology/Human Science programs include Duquesne University, the University of Dallas, Seattle University, West Georgia College, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, York University, Brigham Young University, University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University. Theorists must be strategic and knowledgeable when shifting through experimental psychology as the field grows. This can be beneficial in the sense that individuals know theorists have made a deliberated effort when analyzing the research surrounding a theory. However, for those who are not familiar with the theoretical psychology surrounding a theory, the abundant amount of information contributing to a theory can be overwhelming.