the 7 perspectives of psychology
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The7 PERSPECTIVES
of Psychology
The Birth of Psychology
• Wilhelm Wundt - 1879 University of Leipzig– Psychology’s first experiment,
birth of a science– Established first psychology
lab– Introspection (looking inward)
• Edward Titchener– Brought psych to U.S.– Margaret Floy Washburn-first
woman to earn Psych PhD (barred from experimental psych)
Structuralism– Wundt, Titchener, Hall (founder & first president of
APA)• Uses introspection to explore the structural elements
of the mind– Break down mental processes into most basic parts– Strengths• first major school of thought in psych• Influenced experimental psych
– Weaknesses • Experiments too subjective (unreliable results)• Too concerned with internal behavior which is not
observable or measured accurately
Functionalism• A reaction to structuralism• Sought to explain how our mental
& behavioral processes function – How do they enable us to adapt,
survive, and flourish?– Focused on purpose of behavior
• William James influenced by Darwin– First professor of psych at
Harvard– What’s the purpose of behavior?– Educated Mary Calkins – first
woman president of APA• Today 2/3 of psych PhDs are
women
The 7 Perspectives• Biological• Behavioral• Cognitive• Evolutionary• Humanistic• Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic• Sociocultural
Why do we behave, think, feel, and experience
sensations like we do?• 7 different perspectives (aka
approaches & schools of thought) to explain this
Perspective 1: BIOLOGICAL• Seeks to understand:– The interaction between anatomy (brain/ nervous system) AND behavior– How the body & brain enable emotions,
memories, & sensory experiences– What parts of the brain are involved in certain
behaviors• Main idea: What affects your body affects your
behavior– Ex: you drank an energy drink before you
entered class & are bouncing off the walls– Ex: neurotransmitters=depression, insomnia…– Ex: tumor on Amygdala=punch
Perspective 2: EVOLUTIONARY• Behavior can be best explained in terms of how
adaptive that behavior is to our survival– We behave the way we do because we
inherited those traits & behaviors– Thus, those behaviors must have helped
ensure our ancestors survival– This process selects physical and behavioral
characteristics to promote survival• Natural Selection: we have evolved into our
present states over long periods of time• Ex: you are afraid of spiders because your
ancestors were & helped them survive• Key Person: Charles Darwin!!!
Classical & Operant Conditioning
Perspective 3: COGNITIVE• In order to understand someone’s
behavior, we must understand how they think– Importance of how our mind
sees, processes, stores, and remembers information
– How does our interpretation of a situation affect our thinking, reactions, behavior?
– EX: trying to change friend’s mind about abusive boyfriend
– Key person: Jean Piaget
Perspective 4: BEHAVIORAL• Argue psychology is the study of observable
behavior– Behavior is determined by your environment &
experience not genetics– The mind & mental events are not important b/c
they can’t be observed (feelings don’t matter)• Main idea: Everything is trained & learned,
nothing is born– EX: you are afraid of spiders– To change behavior you must be
reconditioned• Key people: Watson, Skinner, Pavlov
Perspective 5: HUMANISTIC• Argue that humans have unique qualities of
behavior different from other animals– Free will & potential for personal growth
guide behavior & mental processes– Emphasize the importance of feelings, love, &
acceptance– view human nature as positive – Focus on how our environment influences our
growth potential & need for love and acceptance
– Self-actualization-process of fulfilling your potential
• Key People: Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers
Perspective 6: SOCIOCULTURAL• Says that much of your behavior and your
feelings are dictated by the culture you live in– must be taken into account when trying to
understand, predict, or control behavior– EX: Some cultures kiss each other when
greeting, some bow, some shake hands• What does our society/culture value?
Perspective 7: Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic
• The interaction between the conscious and unconscious (mental process that we do not normally have access to but are influenced by) shape behavior
– Stresses the importance of childhood experiences to the development of personality
– Focus is to resolve unconscious conflicts through uncovering info that has been repressed (buried in unconscious)
– Defense Mechanisms: distorting reality to reduce anxiety (displacement, repression, displacement…)
– Id, ego, superego• EX: A man cannot form relationships with others
b/c he was beaten as a child, causing a fear of getting close to others
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