The emotional dimension of subjective theories

Abstract

Among the psychological paradigms and approaches to understanding human behavior from the perspective of cognition, the emotional world of subjects has been ignored or, in the best of cases, overshadowed by the rational dimension. Subjective theories are a type of subjective knowledge developed as part of everyday life. They have an argumentative structure similar to that of scientific theories, and allow us to understand, orient, justify, and guide people’s actions. These subjective theories include an emotional dimension whose incorporation into psychosocial research and intervention is essential to achieving a more precise, in-depth, and holistic understanding of the functionality of these explanations and to planning subjective change processes. The aim of this essay is to provide some considerations regarding how to integrate the emotional dimension of subjective theories into psychosocial research and intervention.