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