Theories range from metaphors to models, from general ideas to describing how things work. Most importantly, theories make predictions about the outcomes of experiments, the hypotheses. Explain the theory so as to make the hypotheses seem inevitable.
Present the broad, over-arching question the studies ask. “How would you explain it to your Grandma?”
Hypotheses: What specific predictions did they make about the measurements in the different conditions? What would the different outcomes imply about the theory?
Methods: Describe the experiments, what was important about how they manipulated the conditions of the independent variable and how they measured the dependent variable? Focus on the causal link between the manipulation of the IV and the change in the DV.
Results: When you discuss of the study do not present statistics just whether they supported the hypothesis. What were the outcomes, which hypothesis was supported.
Interpretation: What did the results mean? Do not use the word “prove.” What are the limitations, what should future research focus on And Why? Consider whether there were any research design or methodological flaws in the study that might threaten its internal validity?
