Psychology Today Psychology today arises from 9 main perspectives: Biological Developmental Cognitive Psychodynamic Behavioral Socio-cultural Evolutionary Trait views

Psychology and Perspectives The historical perspectives were much easier to identify and explain, as they were cut and dry. The modern perspectives are more convoluted and confusing and all have merit.

Biological View: Looks at how our physical make up and the operation of our brains influence our personality, preferences, behavior patterns, and abilities. Our behavior is a result of heredity, the nervous system and the endocrine system and environmental impacts (insults) such as disease.

Biological View Continued Within the biological view is the theory of evolutionary psychology. This theory arises from the ideas of Charles Darwin. Evolutionary psychology sees behavior and mental processes in terms of their genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction…survival of the fittest. Natural selection is the idea that characteristics of a species evolve in the direction of characteristics that give the fittest organisms a competitive advantage.

Developmental View The developmental view emphasizes changes that occur across our lifespan. This is the question of nature vs. nurture. What has a bigger impact on us, heredity or environment?

Cognitive View Our actions are a direct result of the way we process information from our environment. Cognitions are thoughts, expectations, perceptions, memories and states of consciousness.

Cognitive View Cognitive psychologists are a combination of the best of structuralists, functionalists and gestalt traditions and ideas. Modern cognitive psychologists have also borrowed theories from linguists and believe that our most basic language skills are prewired into our brains from birth.

Psychodynamic View The term psychodynamic comes from the thought that the mind (psyche) is a reservoir of energy (dynamics). Psychodynamic psychology suggests we are motivated by the energy of irrational desires generated in our unconscious minds.

Sigmund Freud The best known psychodynamic psychologist is Sigmund Freud who said the mind is like a mental boiler which holds the rising pressure of unconscious sexual and destructive desires, along with memories of traumatic events.

Humanistic Psychology A viewpoint which emphasizes human ability, growth, potential and free will. Much like the psychoanalytic perspective, it emphasizes our mental thoughts and process as the root of our behavior. It, however, emphasizes the positive side of human nature. It has received a lot of criticism because it is not the most “scientific.”

Behavioral View A viewpoint which finds the source of our actions in the environmental stimuli, rather than in inner mental processes. B.F. Skinner….rats. Can you prove that you have a mind? “The crucial age-old mistake is the belief that…what we feel as we behave is the cause of our behaving.” ~B.F. Skinner

Sociocultural View This view emphasizes the importance of social interaction, social learning and a cultural perspective. Culture: a complex blend of beliefs, customs, values and traditions developed by a group of people and shared with others in the same environment.

Evolutionary/ Socio-biological This view of psychology looks at individuals’ behaviors through the lens of natural selection. Behavior is adaptive and hereditary and cultural! Genetics are not used as a way to show how people are different, but rather the ways in which we have evolved.

Trait View Views behavior and personality as the products of enduring psychological characteristics. Accordingly, the view says that behavior results from each person’s unique combination of traits. Ex. Introversion or extroversion vs. mood swings

Psychology’s Current Perspectives Focus Sample Questions Biological How much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes/environment? Developmental How do we progress and develop over our lifetime Do humans develop in a set pattern? Is it a continuous patter, or does it have periods of development and rest? Cognitive How de we encode, process, store and retrieve information How de we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving? Psychodynamic How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts How can someone’s personality traits/disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or be the result of childhood traumas? Behavioral How we learn observable responses How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter behavior? Socio-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures How are we-as Africans, Asians, Americans-alike as members of one human family? How are we different? Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Task: Do This Create a Venn diagram illustrated a comparison of 2 different perspectives.