Perspectives in Psychology

1. The Psychodynamic Perspective: Understanding the Inner Person It was developed by Sigmund Freud, probably the most controversial and well-known personality in the history of psychology. This perspective believes behavior is motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which we have little awareness or control. Much of our behavior stems from unconscious processes, conflict between biological instincts and society’s demands, and early family experiences. This perspective considers slips of the tongue and dreams as ways to reveal the unconscious thoughts.

2. The Behavioral Perspective: Observing the Outer PersonBehaviors are activities of people or other organisms that can be observed by others. John B. Watson (father of behaviorism) reiterates that only by studying what people do could psychology be considered a science. Watson was adamant in his view that one could gain a complete understanding of behavior by studying and modifying the environment in which people operate.

3. The Cognitive Perspective: Identifying the Roots of UnderstandingThis perspective was a reaction to the narrowness of the behaviorism. The emphasis is on learning how people comprehend and represent the outside world within themselves and how our ways of thinking about the world influence our behavior. Cognitive perspective is concerned with mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and problem solving.

4. The Biological or Behavioral Neuroscience Perspective:  This perspective considers how people and nonhumans function biologically. It includes the study of heredity and evolution, considering how heredity may influence behavior, and behavioral neuroscience, which examines how the brain and nervous system affect behavior.Psychopathology (disorders of the mind) can be best explained by the use of this perspective. The nervous system (including the brain) and the endocrine systems are studied to determine the biological causes of behavior. What explains our behaviors are attributable to the neurotransmitters or the chemical substances in our brain. This approach attempts to relate behavior to the chemical events taking place inside the body specifically our brain. It also includes the function and structure of the brain and its relationship to behavior.

5. The Phenomenological or Humanistic PerspectiveThis suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop and be in control of their lives and behavior. Humanistic psychologists maintain that each of us has the capacity to seek and reach fulfillment. It focuses on the subjective and personal experience of events, known as the individual’s phenomenology and on the need for personal growth. Freewill, self-actualization and positive qualities are the concepts in this perspective. The belief is that an individual’s motivational force is a tendency toward growth and self-actualization or the full

realization of his or her potentials (to become what one is capable of becoming). This approach is associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. 

6. The Socio-cultural ApproachThis perspective studies the ways by which social and cultural environments influence behavior. A person’s cultural context should be considered in order to understand behavior .

7. The Evolutionary Psychology ApproachThis is the youngest perspective, having only emerged in the 1980s. It emphasizes the importance of adaptation, reproduction, and survival of the fittest in explaining behavior, a framework borrowed from Charles Darwin.

In Capsule:

1. Psychodynamic: believes that behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces over which the person has little control.2. Behavioral: Focuses on observable behavior.3. Cognitive: Examines how people understand and think about the world.4. Neuroscience: Views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning.5. Humanistic: Contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential.

Fields/Specializations in Psychology

There are seven (7) major fields/specializations in psychology:

1. Clinical Psychology - deals with the study, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. 

2. Counseling Psychology - focuses primarily on issues such as academic, social or vocational. Counseling psychologists deal with less serious problems compared to clinical psychologists.

3. Industrial-Organizational Psychology- concerned with the psychology of the workplace.

4. Developmental Psychology - examines how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death.

5. Social Psychology - focuses on how people think, influence, and relate with one another. 6. Experimental Psychology - studies the processes of sensing, perceiving,

learning and thinking about the world.

7. Educational Psychology - concerned with teaching and learning processes, such as the relationship between intelligence and school performance and the development of better teaching techniques.

Other fields include:

8. Cognitive Psychology - focuses on the study of higher mental processes.

9. Neuropsychology - deals with the diagnosis and rehabilitation of brain disorders.

10. 10. Consumer Psychology - deals with the activities directly involved in selecting, obtaining and using products and services.

11. Cross Cultural Psychology - investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups.

12. Environmental Psychology - deals with the relationship between humans and the environment. 13. Evolutionary Psychology - considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

14. Forensic Psychology - applies psychology to the law and legal proceedings. Focuses on legal issues, such as deciding on criteria for determining whether a defendant was legally sane at the time the crime was committed.

15. Health Psychology - explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease.

16. Personality Psychology - study of individual differences and the development of personality theories and tests for assessing personality traits.

17. Psychology of Women - focuses on issues such as discrimination against women, violence against women, and promoting research on women.

18. Sports Psychology - applies psychology to athletic activity and exercise.

19. Peace Psychology - deals with the study of the psychological aspects of violence, social inequities, peacemaking, and the pursuit of social justice.

20. School Psychology - devoted to counseling children in elementary and secondary schools who have academic or emotional problems.

Reference:

Feldman, Robert S.(2008). Understanding Psychology (8th Ind. Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Co. Inc.