1. Sociocultural
Behavioral
Psychoanalytic
APPROACHES
TO PSYCHOLOGY
Humanistic
Biological
Cognitive

2. Psychology Psyche: mind Logos: Knowledge or study of
Definition: The scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes

3. Behaviors Observable actions and responses
Overt – can be directly observed
Covert – cannot be directly observed

4. Goals of Psychology Describe behavior Explain/Understand behavior
Predict behavior
Influence/Control behavior
During the process of trying to explain human behavior, psychologists create hypothesis and test them. A hypothesis is an educated guess. They use the knowledge gained to create theories that will help them predict and influence human behavior.
Just like scientists, Psychologists use the scientific method of research
Can you think of an example that illustrates each of the goals of psychology?

5. PSYCHOANALYTIC Key ideas childhood experiences unconscious forces
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
Unconscious motivations are responsible for human behavior

6. Sigmund Freud Thanatos vs. Eros
Conscious, Subconscious (preconscious), unconscious
Iceberg analogy
Ego, Superego, ID

7. BEHAVIORAL John Watson (1878 – 1958) B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)
Key ideas
Observable Behavior
Conditioning/Learning
Prior experience (reward and punishment)
John Watson (1878 – 1958)
Behavior the result of conditioning – “We are what we learn to be”
Little Albert experiments with Rosalie Raynor
B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)
Psychology must be tangible and scientific
Operant Conditioning - Reinforcement

8. Behaviorism Continued
Pavlov
Classical Conditioning
Bandura
Social Learning Theory
Modeling

9. HUMANISTIC Key ideas Self-directed (Client-Centered) Uniqueness
Potential to develop
Emphasis on “self-concept”
Carl Rogers – Unconditional positive regard
Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of needs

10. Humanism continued…
Abraham Maslow
Hierarchy of needs

11. COGNITIVE Key ideas How we ….. Process, Store, Retrieve information
Thought patterns
Problem solving
Behavior results from memories, expectations
Modern approach is to join this with Behaviorism

12. BIOLOGICAL A.k.a. Behavioral neuroscience Key ideas
How the brain, nervous system, hormones, genetics influence behavior

13. SOCIOCULTURAL Key ideas Cultural influence on behavior Gender
Socioeconomic status
Traditions

14. Evolutionary Psychology
Stemmed from Darwin
Survival of the fittest
How does our behavior adapt to our environment and help ensure our survival?

15. Eclecticism
By combining information from all of the approaches, psychologists stand a better chance of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling behavior.

16. Psychology as a Profession
Psychologist
Observe, analyze, evaluate behavior
Doctorate degree
Psychiatrist
Medical degree + training in psychiatric medicine
Phrenology encouraged psychologists to study the role of the brain, rather than the heart, in human behavior.

17. Clinical Psychologist
diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances
Counseling Psychologist
help people deal with problems of everyday life
Developmental Psychologist
Study changes that occur throughout life

18. Educational Psychologist
helps students learn
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
employed by businesses to boost production, improve working conditions, make the workplace a more satisfying environment

19. Research v. Applied Psychology
Research Psychologists – study origins, causes, results of behavior
Applied Psychologists – make direct use of the findings of research psychologist; deal directly with clients