Recommended
Classes: PSY 201, PSY 300
5 Different Perspectives of Psychology
Psychology is the study of the human mind and
behavior. This is a very broad area of study and, as such, five main
perspectives or approaches to psychology have evolved over time. Each approach shares a set of assumptions
that differ from the other approaches, such as the way we function, what to
study, and how to study it. The five major approaches in psychology are
behaviorist, psychodynamic, humanism, cognitive, and biological. Each field of thought concentrates its
study with a different theoretical basis.
Behaviorist psychology uses the scientific method to determine how
environmental factors, or stimuli, affects observable behavior in response.
Behaviorists reject the idea that people possess free will, assuming that the
environment determines all behavior and subsequent learning. Behaviorists
believe their approach to psychology is the most scientific because studies
focus on observable and measurable data to draw conclusions about human
behavior. The events that occur in our environment, the proximity in time with
which events repeat (contiguity), and reinforcement determine how we learn and
the behaviors that reveal themselves. Classical conditioning (Pavlov’s Dogs)
and operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner) are two behaviorist theories of
learning.
The psychodynamic psychology perspective, made famous by Sigmund Freud,
studies human behavior with the belief that inner forces or subconscious
thoughts are the driving force behind behavior. Rather than the environment
affecting our behavior, our internal forces affect how we behave in a
particular environment. An important aspect of Freud’s psychoanalysis is that
our childhood experiences have a significant impact on our behaviors as adults,
even if those childhood experiences are repressed into unconscious thought.
Freud accessed the unconscious mind in three main ways; free association, slips
of the tongue (known now as Freudian slips), and dream analysis. Freud also
described the unconscious mind as being composed of three components; the id,
ego and superego. The id and superego are at conflict with each other while the
ego attempts to resolve the conflict. Psychotherapy sessions are used to
resolve this inner conflict of patients so defense mechanisms such as unhealthy
behaviors are no longer necessary to relieve anxiety. Psychodynamic psychology
is not scientific and has been criticized over the years, but the basic
premises of inner forces affecting behavior and childhood experiences
determining adult behavior have been retooled in other theories.
Humanism’s approach to psychology is to study the whole of the human
experience, including observable behavior as well as inner-feelings and past
experience. Unlike behaviorists and psychodynamic psychologists, humanists
believe that we all have free will and the capacity to change at any point in
our lives. This perspective assumes that we are all each responsible for our
own happiness and well-being because we have the innate capacity for
self-actualization, or the desire to reach our highest potential. Due to the nature of humanism's approach to
psychology, focusing on an individual’s personal experiences and subjective
perceptions of the world, unlike behaviorists, humanists believe the scientific
method is an inappropriate approach to the study of human behavior. Carl Rogers
and Abraham Maslow are two of the most influential humanist psychologists to
emerge in the mid-20th century.
Psychologists adhering to the cognitive approach explore the
physiological processes of the brain, determining why people behave the way
they do by studying the processes that are actually occurring in their mind.
These processes include sensory perception of the environment around us,
memory, attention, and more, viewing an individual’s mind as an organizing
processor of information that is stored as knowledge and influence behaviors.
Cognitive psychologists use the scientific method to study these mental
processes and the behavioral outputs.
Last, but not least, the biological perspective examines how biological
functions affect behavior. Since Darwin first proposed the influence of
genetics and evolution on human behavior through the process of natural
selection, biological psychologists have mapped genomes, studied hormones,
chromosomes, inherited traits, and more in relation to how they influence human
behavior. For example, gender is a
biological influence on human behavior determined by a specific set of
chromosomes inherited at conception. Many biological psychologists focus on
abnormal psychology in an effort to explain why these individuals differ from
their normally functioning counterparts. Biological psychology, by
understanding chemical imbalances as an influence on human behavior, utilize
pharmaceutical solutions to bring individuals to normal levels and allow them
to successfully function in society.
These five major perspectives of psychology overlap at times and no
single approach is the correct approach. Understanding the assumptions and
findings of one approach can aid with the understanding of theories in another
approach. Human beings are very complex creatures with no simple answer or
single approach to answer our most basic questions about ourselves.
Reference:
Feldman, R. S. (2010) Psychology
and your life. New York: McGraw Hill.
