Behavioral and Social Science Theory

A theory is a set of interrelated concepts, constructs, and propositions that present a systematic view of a domain of study for the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena.A model, on the other hand, is a heuristic device for organizing components of a domain of phenomena to show relationships between the parts and the outcome of interest. Scholars from different disciplines distinguish between theories and conceptual models in contrasting ways; however, common distinctions emphasize the degree of generality, formalization, coherence, and causality involved. Theories tend to encompass broad classes of phenomena,whilemodels are applied to more narrowly defined domains,have less formalization, and make more tentative claims about causality. For example, the social ecology of health model draws on general systems and social science theories, but it is a model and not a theory. It organizes component factors according to levels of influence on health and uses the heuristic device of the iceberg-type figure to depict the relationship between deep structural factors, intermediate factors, and individual factors. Different theories can be used to explain phenomena at different ecological levels, a topic to which we will return later in this chapter. Public health professionals who work in areas unrelated to the social and behavioral sciences often become overwhelmed by the multiplicity of theoretical and conceptual “models” that are found in the behavioral science literature.Many of the frameworks and the constructs they contain appear very similar but go by different names,and the component concepts seem