The Sage Handbook of Theoretical Psychology is a comprehensive resource that explores the foundational and evolving theories within the field of psychology. This handbook emerged from a conversation between the editors, recognizing the absence of a dedicated handbook on psychological theory that covered the wide range of theories. It addresses the implicit role of theory in all aspects of psychology, often overshadowed by the dominant emphasis on empiricism.
The handbook begins with foundational questions central to contemporary psychology, including chapters on cognitive representations, evolutionary theory, the extended mind thesis, mental causation, feminist psychology and cultural psychology. Each chapter provides an in-depth exploration of these topics, updated to reflect the latest developments and debates in the field.
Contributors to this volume come from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and nationalities, ensuring a rich and multifaceted perspective on psychological theory. They tackle complex issues such as the definition and role of mental representations, the adaptation of evolutionary psychology to criticism, the integration of machine learning into cognitive repertoires, the implications of mental causation for moral responsibility and free will, and the necessity of a truly cultural psychology.
The Sage Handbook of Theoretical Psychology is an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and students seeking to deepen their understanding of psychological theory. It provides a comprehensive and nuanced exploration of the field, equipping readers to engage with the theoretical underpinnings of psychology and contribute to its ongoing development.
Henderikus Stam is Professor of Psychology at the University of Calgary. He is the founding and current editor of the journal Theory and Psychology and is a former President of Division 24 (Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology) of the American Psychological Association as well as a former President of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology. He has published widely and his research focuses mainly on the history of psychology and the theoretical foundations of psychology.
Introduction to Part 1 FOUNDATIONAL POSITIONS Neuroscience and psychology Cognitive Psychology: Information, representation and intentionality Evolutionary psychology Cognitive psychology: Extended Mind Mental causation, related to agency, responsibility Cultural Psychology Embodied, embedded cognition THEORETICAL TOOLS AND APPROACHES Levels of explanation Theories of explanation and models The problem of measurement in psychology Realism in psychology Causality in psychology: The hidden-variable model and alternatives? Embodiment, Culture and the Humanities Historical foundations of theory in psychology Mechanistic explanation in psychology Disorders of decision making SOCIO-CULTURAL & CRITICAL ORIENTATIONS TO PSYCHOLOGY Narrative Psychology Activity theory Culture, self & globalization Psychology of Morality Dialogism and Bakhtin Wittgenstein and psychology Critical Psychology Feminist Psychology Lacan and Psychology Gibsonian or ecological psychology German Kritische Psychologie RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THEORY Technology and psychology Reflexivity Heuristics - the theory Theories of psychopathology Psychoanalysis and Psychology Theory of relational psychology The future of the theory of mind Embodiment Affect
