Six Main Theories to Psychology

Approaches to explaining behavior and mental processes

Biological• Major Contributors : None• Belief: Behavior viewed in terms of biological

responses• Positives: Behaviors can be measured• Negatives: Unable to study the process only the

reactions• Example: Alcohol Abuse

– Questions that would be asked?• Is alcoholism a disease?

• What role does heredity play?

• How does alcohol affect the brain?

Behaviorism

• Major Contributors: Pavlov, Skinner, Watson• Belief: Behavior viewed as a product of learned

responses.• Positives: Evidence that we do many things

because we learn them• Negatives: Takes away a person’s free will• Example: Alcohol Abuse

– Questions that would be asked?• Is alcoholism learned?

• Can it be unlearned?

• Can new habits replace drinking habits?

Humanism

• Major Contributors: James Rogers• Belief: Behavior is viewed as a reflection of

internal growth.• Positives: See people as worthwhile who have a

free will and a choice• Negatives: Is it to good to be true? Don’t we all

have thoughts that are not beautiful?• Example: Alcohol Abuse

– Questions that would be asked?• Do people drink because they feel a sense of worth?

• Does alcohol give people a false sense of worth

Psychoanalysis

• Major Contributors: Jung, Freud, Erickson• Belief: Behavior viewed as a reflection of

unconscious aggressive and sexual impulses.• Positives: Explains why people do things they

wouldn’t normally do.• Negatives: Is seen by many to be to negative?

Today it is usually combined with other theories• Example: Alcohol Abuse

– Questions that would be asked? • Is heavy drinking an indication of some deeper problem or

conflict?

• Does drinking make people less inhibited, allowing unconscious desires to surface?

Cognitive

• Major Contributors: Wundt• Belief: Behavior viewed as a product of various

internal sentences or thoughts. • Positives: Is seen as being very rational• Negatives: Downplays the impact of emotions• Example: Alcohol Abuse

– Questions that would be asked• What thoughts lead up to episodes of heavy drinking?

• If these thoughts are analyzed and changed, will drinking be curbed?

Sociocultural• Major Contributors: None Yet• Belief: Behavior viewed as strongly influenced by

the rules and expectations of specific social groups or cultures.

• Positives: Looks at a big picture and the influences of the environment on people

• Negatives: Tends to deal with subjects on a social scale instead of an individual level

• Example: Alcohol Abuse– Questions that would be asked?

• How does alcoholism differ from one culture to another?

• What are the unique pressures within a certain culture that might contribute to alcohol abuse?