What is the following statement an example of: “When faced with criticism, like people, may employ any one of a number of psychological defences in an attempt to regain self-esteem.”

Question

a.
A law

b.
An hypothesis

c.
A theory

Answer 1

The statement “When faced with criticism, like people, may employ any one of a number of psychological defences in an attempt to regain self-esteem” is an example of:

c. A theory

This is because it provides an explanation of a phenomenon (the use of psychological defenses in response to criticism) and suggests a way in which individuals might behave based on psychological principles, rather than stating a universally accepted fact (as a law would) or proposing a specific prediction (as an hypothesis would).