Material causation does not assume that the cause of an event stems from an outside force. In other words the hammer was An Overview of Systems Theory 3 not necessarily the cause of the nail penetration but rather the wood material. Psychobiologists suggest that this type of causality is the only relevant one. DNA, hormones, chemical pathways, etc. We are determined to be a certain way from what we are made of.
Final causality holds that the future is the cause.
In other words, if a person is going to school it is not because of past experience but rather a future goal of receiving a degree. If the person no longer goes to school but rather seeks employment, then they are changing future goals that have nothing to do with the past. Many theories that followed trait theory proposed that future goals are an important determining factor in career development. A foundation, floor, and roof do not combine into a house until it is assembled and constructed. The individual parts do not cause the whole, but rather contribute to its final form.