Evaluating a Theory (Strengths and Weaknesses)

For the Unit 2 exam you will not be required to evaluate any theories, however you will be expected to do so in the Unit 1 exam.

There are 4 stages to evaluating a theory which you should make at least one point on each to guarantee full marks on an evaluation question in the exam:

1. Apply to real life, say who the theory can help and how it can help
2. Does your theory have a supporting study? use the results of the study to say how it supports your theory
3. Find one criticism of you supporting study, this can include having a low ecological validity and generalisability etc
4. Is there an opposing theory? Having an opposing theory means that our theory is not 100% accurate.
5. Any final weaknesses? (If there are any)

Using these stages to evaluate your theories is a simple way of making sure you evaluate correctly, make sure your points show a good understanding of the theory and study used with good detail. Evaluation questions tend to be around 4 marks.

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