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jedpsych-theory-and-hypotheses

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Use when stating the learning/motivation theory and hypotheses for a Journal of Educational Psychology manuscript. JEP expects a clear psychological mechanism, directional hypotheses tied to that theory, and an honest separation of confirmatory (ideally preregistered) from exploratory analyses. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.

When to use

• Writing the theoretical framing and hypotheses
• Preparing a preregistration / pre-analysis plan
• Reconciling what theory predicted with what you found
• Addressing reviewer flags for atheoretical or HARKed work
• Deriving directional hypotheses from theory
• Marking hypothesis status as confirmatory or exploratory
• Specifying what would disconfirm the mechanism
• Tying theory to nesting levels

When not to use

• Running analyses
• Presenting exploratory findings as predicted
• Letting 'the program raised scores' stand in for theory
• Implying universal scope across grades, subjects, and contexts

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