PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

The perspectives of psychology offer distinct outlooks and emphasize different factors. Today the field of psychology includes five major perspectives. These emphasize different aspects related to behavior and mental processes.

These include;

1.                       Neuroscience

     2.                       Psycho-dynamic

3.                                      Behavioral

4.                                      Cognitive

5.                      Humanistic

Neuroscience perspective

The approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system, and other biological functions.

This perspective considers how people and non-humans functions biologically: how individual nerve cells are joined together, how the inheritance of certain characteristics from parents and other ancestors influences behavior, how functioning of the body affects hopes and fears, which behaviors are instinctual and so forth.

Psycho-dynamic perspective

The approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control.

Proponents of the psycho-dynamics perspective argue that behavior is motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which we have little awareness or control. They view dreams and slips of the tongue as indications of what a person is truly feeling within a seething cauldron of unconscious psychic activity.

Behavioral perspective

The approach that suggests that observable, measurable behavior should be the focus of study.

J.B. Watson was the founder of this approach. He was of the view that one could gain a complete understanding of behavior by studying and modifying the environment in which people operate.

Cognitive perspective

The approach that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world.

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.

Humanistic approach

The approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior.

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow were the central figures in the development of this approach.

It maintains that each of us has the capacity to seek and reach fulfillment.

  (Note)

The material provided in the post is taken from the book “UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGY”   (10^th edition)

All credit goes to the author; Robert S. Feldman 

 (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

Why Psychology is a Science?

   Introduction to psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state and external environment.

In short psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior.

Psychology is a pseudoscience. Pseudo means false. This is so because we as a human posses different behaviors. Humans do not have set patterns of behavior. The patterns of behavior vary in them these are not definite.

Why Psychology is a Science?

Science is basically a process of inquiry, process of formulating specific question and then finding answers. So we ask questions of nature and get answers.

“We ask questions of nature and get answers”

                                                              (D.E Moss)

 Sub-fields of psychology

Psychology is an emerging field. A lot of its fields have been emerged which provide this discipline a diversity. Some of its fields are as follows

Behavioral genetics: it is the branch of psychology in which psychologists study the inheritance of traits related to behavior.

Behavioral neuroscience: In this branch psychologist examines the biological basis of behavior.

Clinical psychology: this branch there is a study, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

Clinical neuropsychology: psychologists unite the areas of biopsychology and clinical psychology, focusing on the relationship between the biological factors and psychological disorders.

Cognitive psychology: cognition is the study of higher mental processes. So this field study the processes related to human mind.

Counseling psychology: this branch focuses primarily on educational, social, and career adjustment problems.

Cross-cultural psychology: this subfield focuses on the similarities and differences in psychological functioning across cultures and ethnic groups.

Developmental psychology: developmental psychology examines how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death.   

Environmental psychology: psychologist examines the relationship between people and their physical environment.

Educational psychology: this field is concerned with teaching and learning processes, such as the relationship between motivation and school performance.

Experimental psychology: psychologists study the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world in experimental psychology.

Evolutionary psychology: it examines how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

Forensic psychology: this field focuses on the legal issues such as determining the accuracy of witness memories.

Health psychology: health psychology explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease.

Industrial/organizational psychology:  it is concerned with the psychology of the workplace.

Personality psychology: this field focuses on the consistency in people’s behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another.

Social psychology: social psychology is the study of how peoples thoughts, feelings and actions are affected by others.

Sport psychology: sport psychology applies psychology to athletic activity and exercise.

(Note)

The material provided in the post is taken from the book “UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGY”   (10^th edition)

All credit goes to the author; Robert S. Feldman 

 (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)