Abstract

The question "What constitutes a good explanation of psychological phenomena?" is the most important if not the most commonly asked question facing students of psychology. Often this question is answered, or maybe is cast aside, by adopting the position that any theory that can predict behavior therefore explains the behavior. However, the notion of prediction is not one without controversy. In this article the author has attempted to demonstrate that neither the identity thesis nor functionalism is well suited to providing a framework for psychological explanations. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)