Theory: Its Development, Definition, and Functions

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Theory Its Development, Definition, and Functions

• Emily K. Schulz, PhD, OTR/L
• OT 606 - Frameworks
• Lecture 1, Part 1

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A Quote From Ann Mosey

• Many students and practitioners in the health
  professions are uncomfortable with theoretical
  information.
• They are not sure what it is, where it comes
  from, or how to go about reading it.
• Lack of such knowledge may lead to a sense that
  theoretical information is too complicated for
  comprehension and to avoidance (1996, p.145).

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A Quote From Ann Mosey

• most professional education programs focus on
  the content of theory only, not on what theory
  is
• Human anatomy, for example, may be considered in
  great detail, but few students are told or
  realize that they are studying a theory (1996,
  p.145).

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Traditional Human Anatomy

• Anatomy is The science of the shape and
  structure of organisms and their parts.
• Science is The observation, identification,
  description, experimental investigation, and
  theoretical explanation of phenomena.

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Other Perspectives on Human Anatomy
Chinese Medicine Acupuncture
Acupressure Meridians
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Other Perspectives on Human Anatomy
Polarity Therapy Alex Gray
Chakra System Energy Anatomy
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Why Do We Need To Know About Theory?

• Hmm...

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Theories Are Everywhere...

• and are used in everyday life.

Theories can be used to guide our thinking and
point the way to the next best course of action.
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Helpful Terminology

• Reification
• Regarding something abstract as a material thing
• www.dictionary.com

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A Theory is not Reality...
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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• Once upon a time
• There lived a tribe of aborigines who hunted the
  game in the land in which they lived and cooked
  their food over the open fire in a clay pot.The
  food was always delicious, tender and juicy.
• Over many generations, the climate of the land in
  which they lived changed.

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• The game that they hunted, searched for food in
  this new climate and found it part way up a
  mountain.
• The aborigines followed the game part way up the
  mountain, hunted it and cooked the food over the
  open fire in the clay pot, in the same way they
  had always done for generations and generations.

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• However, the aborigines became dismayed when they
  noticed that the food that they ate was no longer
  tender, but raw, tough and hard to chew.
• They went to the Shaman, the Wise Woman of the
  tribe and asked her for advice about what to do
  to make their food taste the way it used to.
• The Shaman thought and thought. She then said...

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• There are spirits living on this mountain. They
  are getting into the clay pot and interfering
  with the cooking of the food. What you must do is
  fashion a lid for the pot to prevent the spirits
  from getting into it while you cook the food.
• So, the tribe went and did as she suggested and
  fashioned a lid for the clay pot. ...

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• The tribe found that the lid for the clay pot
  worked well and that the food was as delicious,
  tender and juicy as it had been before the trip
  part way up the mountain.
• However, the climate was still changing, and once
  again, the game they hunted moved further up the
  mountain

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• The tribe followed the game, and cooked the food
  with the lid on the clay pot, as they had done
  previously...
• And then, to their dismay, the tribe found that
  the food they cooked was once again raw, tough
  and hard to chew...

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• They went back to the Shaman, the Wise Woman of
  the tribe, to ask for guidance.
• The Shaman thought and thought for a while. She
  then said...

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A Theory is Only Useful if it Works

• The spirits here are stronger than the ones
  lower down on the mountain. You must find a way
  to seal the lid tight on the clay pot, so that
  none of them can get in.
• The tribe did as she suggested, and found that
  the food once again tasted as delicious, tender
  and juicy as before they had climbed the
  mountain...
• The End

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A Schematic of the Hierarchy of the Building
Blocks of Theory
Theory Principles Concepts Phenomena
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Definitions of Theory

• Theories are abstract and general ideas that
  are subject to rules of organization. Theories
  are not the facts or data of experiences, but
  they are connected to those facts or data (Klein
  White, 1996, p.1).

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Definitions of Theory, Continued

• Theorizing is the process of systematically
  formulating and organizing ideas to understand a
  particular phenomenon. A theory is the set of
  interconnected ideas that emerge from this
  process
• Phenomenon means events, activities,
  situations, structures, and experiences that are
  subject to study in terms of their
  characteristics and their relationships with
  observers
• (Boss, Doherty, LaRossa, Schumm, Steinmetz,
  1993, p.20).

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Definitions of Theory, Continued

• Theory (Scientific)
• An integrated assemblage of theoretical
  postulates that describes a set of physical
  phenomena by delineating the characteristics of
  the phenomena contained within the set and the
  relationship of the phenomena to each other.
  (Mosey, 1996, p. 372).

• Postulate
• A statement of the relationship between two or
  more concepts. (Mosey, 1996, p.369).
• Concept
• A category of phenomena delineated by two or more
  common characteristics. (Mosey, 1996, P. 364).
• Phenomenon
• A single, observable entity that either cannot be
  subdivided or is treated as if it cannot be
  subdivided. (Mosey, 1996, p. 368).

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Definitions of Theory, Continued

• Theory explains how some aspect of human
  behavior or performance is organized, and thus it
  enables us to make predictions about that
  behavior. the major structural components of a
  theory are concepts, which are ideally well
  defined, and principles, or postulates, which
  explain how the concepts are related to one
  another (Miller Walker, 1993, p.1).

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The Scope of Theory

• 1. Grand Theories or Comprehensive Theories -
  describe sets of phenomena with wide boundaries
  encompassing a broad range of phenomena (Mosey,
  1996, p.167).
• 2. Middle Range Theories - describe sets of
  phenomena that are more limited in scope
  including only a small portion of the physical
  universe. They are the most frequently used as
  the foundation for sets of guidelines for
  practice (Mosey, 1996, p. 167).
• 3. Abstract Empiricism - describe sets of
  phenomena that are narrow in scope and include a
  very limited number and range of phenomena
  they often describe phenomena in the here and
  now (Mosey, 1996, p.168).

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Connecting Theory to Research -Three Types of
Scientific Inquiry

• Basic
• Applied Type I
• Applied Type II

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Basic Scientific Inquiry

• Basic - a form of investigation involving use of
  the methods of science and, when appropriate,
  research designs, for the purpose of developing
  valid theories about the physical universe
  (Mosey,1996, p.364).

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Applied Type I Scientific Inquiry

• Applied Type I - a form of investigation that
  uses the methods of science and theoretical
  information to formulate theoretically based sets
  of guidelines for action (Mosey, 1996, p.363).

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Applied Type II Scientific Inquiry

• Applied Type II - a form of investigation that
  uses the methods of science and research designs
  to address specific practical questions
  typically concerned with quantitative and/or
  qualitative information related to questions
  regarding such factors as safety, effectiveness,
  efficiency, demographics, worth, opinion two
  major foci are sets of guidelines for action and
  topical issues (Mosey, 1996, p. 363 - 364).

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Types of Scientific Inquiry and Their Outcomes
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Development, Use and Benefits of Theory
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Disciplines and Professions

• Definition of Discipline
• An occupational group recognized by society as
  having expertise in and responsibility for
  developing valid theories regarding the physical
  phenomena within its sphere of study (Mosey,
  1996, p.365).

• Definition of Profession
• An occupational group recognized by society as
  having expertise in and responsibility for (a)
  developing and maintaining an applied body of
  knowledge, based on the most valid theoretical
  information available, regarding the areas of
  human experience within its domain of concern,
  and (b) using that knowledge in such a way as to
  directly benefit society (Mosey, 1996, p.370).

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Frame of Reference

• Frame of Reference The kind of set of guidelines
  for practice used in occupational therapy (Mosey,
  1996, p.366).

• Set of Guidelines For Practice
• A set of guidelines for action that provides
  directions for doing - for assisting individuals
  in problem identification and problem remediation
  in relationship to a specified element of a
  professions concern (Mosey, 1996, p. 371).

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A Set of Guidelines for Action - Definition

• A Set of Guidelines for Action
• An internally consistent assemblage of
  information that provides direction for making
  for making or doing typically theoretically
  based but may be atheoretical (Mosey, 1996,
  p.370).

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The Four Parts of a Frame of Reference

• 1. Theoretical Base
• 2. Function-Dysfunction Continuum/Continuua
• 3. Indicators of Function/Dysfunction
• 4. Postulates Regarding Change

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The Four Parts of a Frame of Reference, Continued

• 1. Theoretical Base - an integrated system of
  theoretical postulates that describes the element
  of the professions domain of concern, components
  of that element (if any), and environmental
  factors that positively influence it (Mosey,
  1996, p. 88-89).

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The Four Parts of a Frame of Reference, Continued

• 2. Function-Dysfunction Continuum/Continuua - a
  statement of the element of the domain of concern
  addressed (continuum) or a listing of the
  components element of the domain of concern
  addressed (continuua) (Mosey, 1996, p.89).
• Example Continuum memory continuua - short
  term memory, long term memory, etc.

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The Four Parts of a Frame of Reference, continued

• 3. Indicators of Function/Dysfunction - those
  behaviors and physical signs specific to each
  continuum that are used as the basis for problem
  identification with an individual. They are
  primarily derived from the theoretical base, but
  they may also include clinical observations
  (Mosey, 1996, p.90).

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The Four Parts of a Frame of Reference, continued

• 4. Postulates Regarding Change - statements that
  describe the sequence of problem remediation, and
  the characteristics of, and interactions between,
  the human and nonhuman environment that,
  according to the theoretical base, will lead to
  problem remediation in the area addressed
  (Mosey, 1996, p.91).

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Have you noticed...

• That the three terms -
• Postulate
• Principle
• Proposition
• all mean the same thing?
• It is very important to be consistent with
  terminology when writing about or discussing
  things of theoretical nature.
• Choose your terms, define them, and be
  consistent.
• For this class, we will use the word principle.

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Functions of Theory

• 1. Accumulation - of research findings.
• 2. Precision - of communication.
• 3. Guidance - for the testing of hypotheses
• 4. Connectedness - of ideas and between theories.
• 5. Interpretation - of phenomena, both
  descriptive and explanatory.
• 6. Prediction - of what could happen in the
  future.
• 7. Explanation - of how things work. (Klein
  White, 1996).

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References

• Boss, P.G., Doherty, W.J., LaRossa, R. Schumm,
  W.R. Steinmetz, S.K. (eds.) (1993). Sourcebook
  of family theories and methods A contextual
  approach. New York Plenum Press.
• Klein, D.M., White, J.M. (1996). Family
  theories An introduction. Thousand Oaks Sage
  Publications.
• Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific
  revolutions. Chicago University of Chicago
  Press.
• McColl, M.A., et al., (2002). Theoretical basis
  of occupational therapy, 2nd ed. Thorofare
  SLACK.
• Miller, R. J., Walker, K. F. (2nd ed.).
  (1995). Perspectives on theory for the practice
  of occupational therapy. Austin Pro-ed.
• Mosey, A.C. (1996). Applied scientific inquiry in
  the health professions An epistemological
  orientation, 2nd ed. Bethesda American
  Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
• Reed, K.L., Sanderson, S.N. (1999). Concepts of
  occupational therapy. (4th edition).Philadelphia
  Lippincott Williams Wilkins.
• Stevenson, L. Haberman, D.L. (1998). Ten
  theories of human nature. New York Oxford
  University Press.