Theories serve two purposes:
(1) To organize and explain observable events and
(2) To generate new knowledge by guiding our way of looking at these events.
Identify a consistent behavior pattern in yourself or somebody close to you (e.g., you consistently get into an argument with your sister on Friday nights). Generate two possible theories (explanations) for this occurrence (e.g., because you work long hours on Friday, you’re usually stressed and exhausted when you get home; because your sister has a chemistry quiz every Friday afternoon and she’s not doing well in the course, she is very irritable on Fridays). How would you gather evidence to determine which explanation might be correct? How might each explanation lead to different approaches to changing the behavior pattern, either to decrease or increase its occurrence?
