{ bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195453', size: [320, 50] }}, googletag.pubads().set("page_url", "https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/theory"); { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_MidArticle' }}, googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); userIds: [{ dfpSlots['houseslot_a'] = googletag.defineSlot('/2863368/houseslot', [300, 250], 'ad_houseslot_a').defineSizeMapping(mapping_houseslot_a).setTargeting('sri', '0').setTargeting('vp', 'mid').setTargeting('hp', 'right').setCategoryExclusion('house').addService(googletag.pubads()); ga('set', 'dimension2', "entryex"); { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_MidArticle' }}, { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654189' }}, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '555365', size: [300, 250] }}, { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654156' }}, A mini-theory might explain relatively narrow behaviors, such as how self-esteem is formed or early childhood socialization. { bidder: 'openx', params: { unit: '539971080', delDomain: 'idm-d.openx.net' }}, A theory is a fact-based framework for describing a phenomenon. {code: 'ad_topslot_b', pubstack: { adUnitName: 'cdo_topslot', adUnitPath: '/2863368/topslot' }, mediaTypes: { banner: { sizes: [[728, 90]] } }, { bidder: 'sovrn', params: { tagid: '705055' }}, pbjs.que.push(function() { McComas WF. { bidder: 'sovrn', params: { tagid: '446382' }}, {code: 'ad_leftslot', pubstack: { adUnitName: 'cdo_leftslot', adUnitPath: '/2863368/leftslot' }, mediaTypes: { banner: { sizes: [[120, 600], [160, 600]] } }, Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth, development, and learning. }; The overall strength of a scientific theory hinges on its ability to explain diverse phenomena. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. }, var pbDesktopSlots = [ Theories will pull together experimental results to provide full explanations such as 'The Big Bang Theory.' { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195467', size: [320, 100] }}, var pbTabletSlots = [ { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195453', size: [300, 250] }}, { bidder: 'onemobile', params: { dcn: '8a969411017171829a5c82bb4deb000b', pos: 'cdo_leftslot_160x600' }}, googletag.pubads().setTargeting("cdo_tc", "resp"); window.__tcfapi('addEventListener', 2, function(tcData, success) { Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. 'cap': true "sign-out": "https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/auth/signout?rid=READER_ID" bids: [{ bidder: 'rubicon', params: { accountId: '17282', siteId: '162036', zoneId: '776142', position: 'btf' }}, bids: [{ bidder: 'rubicon', params: { accountId: '17282', siteId: '162050', zoneId: '776338', position: 'btf' }}, {code: 'ad_contentslot_1', pubstack: { adUnitName: 'cdo_mpuslot', adUnitPath: '/2863368/mpuslot' }, mediaTypes: { banner: { sizes: [[300, 250], [320, 100], [320, 50], [300, 50]] } }, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195467', size: [300, 50] }}, Updated April 2, 2013. bids: [{ bidder: 'rubicon', params: { accountId: '17282', siteId: '162050', zoneId: '776358', position: 'atf' }}, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195453', size: [300, 50] }}, { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_MidArticle' }}, bids: [{ bidder: 'rubicon', params: { accountId: '17282', siteId: '162036', zoneId: '776156', position: 'atf' }}, iasLog("criterion : cdo_ptl = entry-lcp"); { bidder: 'sovrn', params: { tagid: '446385' }}, A theory is a group of ideas that explains, describes or supports a hypothesis until it is accepted by gurus. Teach Public Adm. 2013;31(2):218-225. doi:10.1177/0144739413490303. bids: [{ bidder: 'rubicon', params: { accountId: '17282', siteId: '162036', zoneId: '776160', position: 'atf' }}, { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_SR' }}, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195452', size: [300, 250] }}, if(!isPlusPopupShown()) { bidder: 'openx', params: { unit: '539971066', delDomain: 'idm-d.openx.net' }}, { bidder: 'openx', params: { unit: '539971068', delDomain: 'idm-d.openx.net' }}, { bidder: 'pubmatic', params: { publisherId: '158679', adSlot: 'cdo_leftslot' }}]}, var googletag = googletag || {}; syncDelay: 3000 Learn more. {code: 'ad_btmslot_a', pubstack: { adUnitName: 'cdo_btmslot', adUnitPath: '/2863368/btmslot' }, mediaTypes: { banner: { sizes: [[300, 250]] } }, "noPingback": true, How Does Drive Reduction Theory Explain Human Motivation? 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'cap': true Some theories, such as classical conditioning, are still well accepted today. Others, like Freud's theories, have not held up so well and have been mostly been replaced by new theories that better explain human development. (ethics) the theory that the pursuit of your own welfare is the basis of morality, a theory or argument made up of miscellaneous or incongruous ideas, a theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components, theory that inherited characteristics are transmitted by germ plasm, a theory (popular in the 18th century and now discredited) that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a tiny fully formed organism (a homunculus) that exists in the germ cell, a theory that explains scientific observations, (physics) a theory that explains a physical phenomenon in terms of a field and the manner in which it interacts with matter or with other fields, (economics) a theory of commercial activities (such as the production and consumption of goods), (chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles, the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole, a sociological theory based on the premise that society comes before individuals, an anthropological theory that there are unobservable social structures that generate observable social phenomena, (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature, (cosmology) the theory that the solar system evolved from a hot gaseous nebula, (cosmology) the theory that the solar system was formed by the gravitational accumulation of planetesimals, (cosmology) the theory that the universe maintains a constant average density with matter created to fill the void left by galaxies that are receding from each other, (physics) the theory that any two particles of matter attract one another with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, theory that the total organization of an organism rather than the functioning of individual organs is the determinant of life processes, the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial, the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes who advocated government monetary and fiscal programs intended to stimulate business activity and increase employment, an economic theory advocating free competition and a self-regulating market, Malthus' theory that population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence, an economic theory holding that variations in unemployment and the rate of inflation are usually caused by changes in the supply of money, (biology) the theory that cells form the fundamental structural and functional units of all living organisms; proposed in 1838 by Matthias Schleiden and by Theodor Schwann, (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as waves, (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as a stream of particles, (physics) a theory that gases consist of small particles in random motion, (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts, (physics) a theory that tries to link the four fundamental forces, (physics) a physical theory that certain properties occur only in discrete amounts (quanta), (quantum theory) the theory that it is impossible to measure both energy and time (or position and momentum) completely accurately at the same time, (medicine) the theory that all contagious diseases are caused by microorganisms, (computer science) a statistical theory dealing with the limits and efficiency of information processing, (chemistry) theory that describes aqueous solutions in terms of acids (which dissociate to give hydrogen ions) and bases (which dissociate to give hydroxyl ions); the product of an acid and a base is a salt and water, (biology) a scientific theory of the origin of species of plants and animals, (chemistry) the theory that all indicators are either weak acids or weak bases in which the color of the ionized form is different from the color before dissociation, (biology) a theory of how characteristics of one generation are derived from earlier generations, (psychology) a theory that association is the basic principle of mental activity, (psychology) a theory that reduces all mental phenomena to simple elements (sensations and feelings) that form complex ideas by association, a psychology based on the assumption that all mental process are useful to an organism in adapting to the environment, (psychology) a theory of psychology that emphasizes the importance of configurational properties, (economics) a theory of competition stated in terms of gains and losses among opposing players, thought that makes something comprehensible.