Several commentators have stated that the distinguishing characteristic of theories is that they are explanatory as well as descriptive, while models are only descriptive (although still predictive in a more limited sense).
一些评论者指出，理论的特征是，它们是解释性的也是描述性的，而模型只是描述性的（尽管在更有限的意义上仍具有预测性）。