Abstract
This chapter of the present book further elaborates the triadic axis model of causality in the study in psychology, as presented in Young (Development and causality: Neo-Piagetian perspectives. New York: Springer Science + Business Media, 2011). Although, it describes the scope of the study of causality across multiple disciplines, it still considers the primary axes in this regard as being free will, mechanism, and causal graph modeling. In this chapter, I elaborate further on these three axes in the study of causality in psychology.
This chapter is especially based on the details of my approach to causality as described in Young (Development and causality: Neo-Piagetian perspectives. New York: Springer Science + Business Media, 2011). I have taken the kernel arguments related to causality in that book and summarized them. Of note, I introduce the following concepts related to causality as central to psychology: the causal landscape and causal streams; hot vs. cold causality; and dimensions in causality study. Also in Young (Development and causality: Neo-Piagetian perspectives. New York: Springer Science + Business Media, 2011), as summarized in this third chapter of the present book, I was developing models to help in the study of behavioral causality, such as one integrating the concepts of reaction range with the model of differential susceptibility. The chapter also presents other critical models that help in understanding better the causality of behavior. These include NLDST, a stage or step approach to both evolution and development, and the concept of activation–inhibition coordination.
The next part of the chapter gives new material about the three major axes in the study of behavioral causality. (a) Specifically, for the topic of free will, it presents more material on free being, which concerns: having a belief in free will and also having a sense of free will. (b) As for mechanism, I especially present work on energy dynamics as sources of causality throughout the universe and its evolution over time. Inevitably, this concept applies to psychology, as well, for example, in NLDST. (c) Finally, I give new material on explaining causal graph/network modeling. This relates to the work of Sloman (Causal models: How people think about the world and its alternatives. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), which I use to help structure a better understanding of behavioral causality.
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Young, G. (2016). Introducing Causality in Psychology. In: Unifying Causality and Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24094-7_3
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