Major Theoretical Perspectives in Psychology Essay

The basic assumption of the behaviourist approach is that all behaviour is learned through experiences a person has in their environment. From this we know that behaviourists are on the side of nature in the “nature vs. nurture” debate. In comparison bio psychologists will be firmly on the side of nurture.

The approaches of humanistic and biological are just two of the many different approaches in the world of psychology. A few of the others are trait, cognitive, and psychoanalytic approaches, each offers a

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behavior, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective (view) about human behavior, there may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions and principles. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behavior. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to do through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis for each perspective which consist of the psychodynamic, humanist, cognitive and behavioral approaches where I will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each approach separately.

From the

In this assignment, the four major paradigms of psychology are discussed. The reasoning behind the placement of the theories will be discussed thoroughly and efficiently. Each of the theories was placed on a spectrum that measured whether they were more influenced by heredity or environment. Some, as many can see, can fit into both sides of the spectrum. There are many factors that are involved in the process, and each are important variables in personality and the evolution of humanity.

The four major perspectives of Psychology are: Biological, Learning, Cognitive, and Sociocultural. First, is the biological perspective which relates to bodily events that affect the behavior, feelings, and thoughts. During the biological perspective electrical impulses shoot along the nervous system and hormones flow through the blood stream alerting the internal organs to slow down or speed up. The biological perspective affects the nervous system, hormones, brain chemistry, heredity, and evolutionary influences. A child who has been exposed to abuse may also grow up to abusive which is an example of the biological perspective. Second, is the learning perspective which the environment and experience affect the behavior of humans or animals. The environment either rewards or punish that maintains or discourage behaviors. Behaviors are based on acts and events taking place within the environment. Environmental influences, observations and imitation, beliefs, and values affect the learning perspective. A violent role model can influence a child to behave aggressively is an example of the learning perspective. Third, is the cognitive perspective which is the psychological approach that emphasizes mental process in perception, memory, language, and problem solving. The cognitive perspective shows how thoughts and explanations affect their actions, feelings, and choices. The cognitive approach is one of the strongest forces in psychology. A violent person may be quick to

Psychology can be defined as the systematic study of mental processes, couple with behaviors, and experiences (Kalat, 2011). There are many ways in examining, mental processes and behaviors among people, and therefore psychologist uses different perspectives to understand how human beings, think, act, and behave. Some psychologist uses one perspective to analyze behaviors, and other uses a multidimensional approach. Carter & Seifert (2013) identified 7 major perspectives that are used to study people’s behavior, and mental processes. These perspectives are the biological, evolutionary, psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and the sociocultural perspective.

This essay will outline and compare both biological and behavioural perspectives on human behaviour. The history, major discoveries and theories will be discussed along with some of the most influential theorists in each of these two areas of psychology. This essay will also compare the two areas strengths and weaknesses in the field of psychology.

This essay aims to compare and contrast Behaviourist and Humanistic psychology by considering the differing theories these perspectives use about human thought, experiencing and behaviour.

Throughout time the development of psychology has had many different theorists but I would like to explore these three particular theories.

a result of what has been learnt, which is to say that it is the

Psychology is made up of many perspectives, such as, behavioural, biological, cognitive, social, humanistic and finally, psychodynamic. This essay will focus on the behavioural perspective and the biological perspective. According to J Walker (2012) the behavioural perspective is based on behaviourism and is the study of observing behaviour when in certain contexts and events. The biological perspective however, explains behaviour by focusing on the function of the nervous system, genes and the brain.

I chose Gestalt Psychology for my first perspective, it is how people experience objects and perceive things as a whole. Gestalt allows us to look at everyday objects and distinguish them from their surroundings. Without the Gestalt Theory people would see every atom that made up a whole object. As I look at my computer screen, I do not see every little atom, I see the screen as a whole. From this perspective, learning objects as a whole instead of each individual part is beneficial because it allows us to open our minds for new learning experiences. However, there may be things in life that do not provide enough visual clues to determine what it is supposed to be.

This research article was taken from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Journal. This specific issue had a total of ten articles, and while they are covering different topics and studies, some of them do focus on similar ideas. Psychology is all about the study of the mind, and how it has different parts intended for unique functions. It seems like a good portion of the articles for this specific journal deal with emotions and how the body interprets them. One article deals with the stress of different generations, while another deals with an individual’s willpower against sugar. There is an article about self-esteem and how that varies during a lifetime, as well as an article on cooperation. The article that will be specifically discussed in this research paper also has to deal with how the body interprets things when it comes to a stressful situation, such as a crime. It looks at how reliable eyewitness testimony is after traumatic events, specifically in regards to lineups.