The History and Perspectives of Psychology

Prescientific Psychology What is the relation of mind to the body? Mind and body are connected Mind and body are distinct Socrates Augustine

Prescientific Psychology How are ideas formed? Some ideas are inborn The mind is a blank slate

Nature v. Nurture Biology versus Experience Am I the way I am because I was born that way or because of my surroundings? Can I ever be like these people, or does nature give me limitations?

Psychology’s Perspectives The Big Eight

Neuroscience/Biological Perspective Focus on how the physical body and creates our emotions, memories and sensory experiences. If you could not remember the names of your parents and went to a psychologist who adheres to the neuroscience perspective, what might they say?

Evolutionary Perspective Focuses on . We behave the way we do because we__________those behaviors. Thus, those behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors ___________. How could this behavior ensured Homer’s ancestors survival?

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Perspective Fathered by Sigmund Freud. Our behavior comes from drives. Usually stemming from our . What might a psychoanalyst say is the reason someone always needs to be chewing gum?

Behavioral Perspective Focuses on our behaviors. Only cares about the behaviors that impair our living, and attempts to change them. If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails.

Cognitive Perspective Focuses on how we think (or information) How do we see the world? How did we learn to act to sad or happy events? Cognitive Therapist attempt to change the way you think. Meet girl Get Rejected by girl Or get back on the horse Did you learn to be depressed

Social-Cultural Perspective Focus on how your effects your behavior. Even in the same high school, behaviors can change in accordance to the various subcultures.

Humanistic Perspective Focuses on growth Attempt to seek self-actualization Therapists use active listening and . Mr. Rogers would have made a great Humanistic Therapist!!!

Positive Psychology Perspective Focus on and psychological states Focus on what goes right, instead of what goes wrong Create personal rather than treat symptoms Founded by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Martin Seligman

Psychology’s Current Perspectives Focus Sample Questions How the body and brain enables emotions? How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes? How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences? To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment? Although debates arise among the psychologists working from differing perspectives, each point of view addresses important questions.

Psychology’s Current Perspectives Focus Sample Questions How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts? How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas? How we learn observable responses? How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives Focus Sample Questions How we encode, process, store and retrieve information? How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving? How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures? How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ? What are “successful” individuals doing to be “successful”? What is happiness? How do we foster creativity? What makes optimism possible?

Psychology’s Subfields: Research Psychologist What he/she does Biological Explore the links between brain and mind. Developmental Study changing abilities from womb to tomb. Cognitive Study how we perceive, think, and solve problems. Personality Investigate our persistent traits. Social Explore how we view and affect one another. OBJECTIVE 7| Identify some of the psychology’s subfields, and explain the difference between clinical psychology and psychiatry.

Psychology’s Subfields: Research Data: APA 1997

Psychology’s Subfields: Applied Psychologist What she does Clinical Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders Counseling Helps people cope with academic, vocational, and marital challenges. Educational Studies and helps individuals in school and educational settings Industrial/ Organizational Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace.

Psychology’s Subfields: Applied Data: APA 1997

Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry A (Ph.D.) studies, assesses, and treats troubled people with psychotherapy. on the other hand are medical professionals (M.D.) who use treatments like drugs and psychotherapy to treat psychologically diseased patients.

Table 1 Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers