Different Perspectives9 Different Perspectives or viewpoints

characterize modern psychology. Each viewpoint sees psychology in a slightly different way.

Biological PerspectiveEmphasizes how our

physical makeup and the operation of our brains influence our personality, preferences, behaviors, and abilities

Study nervous system, glands and hormones, genetic factors, and heredity in attempt to understand the causes of behavior.

Variations of the Biological PerspectiveNeuroscience – The enterprise

of biological psychology, coupled with biology, neurology, and other disciplines interested in the brain processes.

Evolutionary Psychology – Suggests that Human traits arise from hereditary characteristics established in our remote ancestral past.Genetic makeup (both the

good and bad) shed by the conditions our ancestors faced thousands of years ago.

The Developmental PerspectiveChange is a constant part of

human life.Developmental Perspective –

States that psychological change results from an interactions between the heredity programmed in our genes and the experiences presented by our environment.Nature vs. NurtureStudies how we change

throughout the course of our lives.

Cognitive PerspectiveEmphasizes that our

actions are profoundly influenced by the way we process information from our environment.

Thoughts and actions arise from the way we interpret our experiences.

Study all sorts of mental processes.Thoughts, expectations,

perceptions, memories, and states of consciousness.

Psychodynamic PerspectiveStresses that we are

motivated primarily by the irrational desires generated in our unconscious minds.

Study unconscious processes, early childhood experiences and their impact on behavior.Psychoanalysis

Humanistic PerspectiveStresses that our

actions are hugely influenced by our self concept and by our need for personal growth and fulfillment.

Free will.Study subjective

experiences.

Behavioral / Learning PerspectiveEmphasizes that

rewards and punishments shape how we act.

Looks for causes of behavior in the environment rather than in the mind.

Study environmental influences, habitual behavior, observational learning.

Sociocultural PerspectiveEmphasizes the

effects of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socio-economic status on behavior.

Makes the idea of social influence the focus of psychology.

Study ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status.

The Evolutionary/Sociobiological PerspectiveLooks at behavior as

both adaptive and hereditary.

Applies the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin to individual behavior.

Looks at genetics not as the key to what makes people different, but as the means by which we have evolved.

The Trait ViewTraits – Long-lasting

personality characteristics.Example – Introversion

and ExtroversionTrait View –

Psychological perspective that views behavior and personality as the products of enduring psychological characteristics.