What is a Theorist?
In order to answer the how and why of theorizing, one must first understand what a theorist in psychology is. Psychology has “a long past but only a short history” (Stagner, 1988, p. 1). The reason for this dichotomy is the relatively recent differentiation (compared with the other major sciences) of psychology from philosophy. Philosophers have many important theories about the human experience, but psychologists take those theories and examine them using the rigors of the scientific method. A theorist examines a systematic collection of evidence to create “intellectual structures” that make sense of diverse findings and, in turn, provide distinct predictions that can be examined empirically (e.g., the elaboration likelihood model; Cacioppo, 2004); therefore: Philosophy + Scientific Method = Theorizing in Psychology. How Does One Become a Theorist? One possible way to learn how to become a theorist may be through formal didactic education. After all, taking courses is the most common
