1. Objective 2: Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior.
Modern schools of psychology
Behavioral
Biological
Cognitive
Evolutionary
Humanism
Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic
Socio-cultural

2. Psychology’s Perspectives
The Big Seven
You were assigned these perspectives as homework but this will help you in your note-taking.

3. Biological Perspective aka. Neuroscience Perspective
Focus on how the physical body and brain 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?

4. Evolutionary Perspective
Focuses on Darwinism.
We behave the way we do because we inherited those behaviors.
Thus, those behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors survival.
Mother nature practicing selective breeding
How could this behavior ensured Homer’s ancestors survival?

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

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

7. Behavioral Perspective
Research focuses on how people learn
Rewards and punishment
John B. Watson

8. Cognitive Perspective
Focuses on how we think (or encode information)
How do we see the world?
How did we learn to act sad or happy?
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

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

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

11. Humanistic Perspective
people try to achieve their maximum potential (self actualization)
Promote health and self-growth

13. What Approach is Best?
What perspectives should we consider throughout this class?
ECLECTIC
Combination of approaches
Some topics/issues have become dominated by a certain approach, so this will lead our thinking, but all should be in our considerations.

14. Objective 3: Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
An approach is a perspective (i.e. view) that involves certain assumptions (i.e. beliefs) about human behavior: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions.
 You may wonder why there are so many different psychology perspectives and whether one approach is correct and others wrong.  Most psychologists would agree that no one perspective is correct.
Each perspective has its strengths and weaknesses, and brings something different to our understanding of human behavior.  For this reasons, it is important that psychology does have different perspectives to the understanding and study of human and animal behavior.

15. Today we can study an integrated biopsychosocial approach which incorporates multiple approaches or levels of analysis and offers a more clear picture of any given behavior or mental process.
Behavior or Mental Process
Biological Influences
Natural selection of adaptive traits
Genetic predispositions responding to environment
Brain mechanisms
Hormonal influences
Psychological Influences
Learned fears and other learned expectations
Emotional responses
Cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations
Social-Cultural Influences
Presence of others
Cultural, societal, and family expectations
Peer and other group influences
Compelling models (such as media)