Psychology is the study of human behavior. It is the scientific study of one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) There are seven perspectives that psychology is fit into known as The Theoretical Perspectives. These perspectives include the psychoanalytical approach, the behavioral approach, the humanistic approach, the cognitive approach, the sociocultural approach, the psychological or neuropsychological approach, and finally the evolutionary approach.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Our focus for this paper is going to be on three of these perspectives. The first one will be the sociocultural approach, the second will be the humanistic approach, and the last will be the behavioral approach.(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) …show more content…
(Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Not only do environment and what is important differ but so do the treatment and status of its people. Everything a person does is influenced in one way or another by their surroundings and what they know to be normal. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) The raising of a child for example in some cultures is placed on the whole family or tribe instead of just the immediate family. The birth of a child or the caring of an elder is a social situation that is handled a variety of different ways depending on what is perceived as normal. Crime is another social situation that is handled independently within the respective culture. Another example of a social situation that is particular to what each culture believes is the handling of the dead. Some cultures believe in reincarnation, some believe in evil spirits, and others believe that once the body dies the spirit stays watching over those they are leaving behind. (Ciccarelli & White, 2015) Each culture 's response to these situations are unique to them. Most cultures do not understand how others work. They do not understand the ceremonies, the religion, the social order, and the running of the tribe or government people. As a generalized people we are quick to judge but do not exude the patience needed to understand. This cross-cultural research in delving into what makes cultures separate especially in social settings is important work that may lead to educating the general
Psychology is one of the newest sciences. Because it is the science of the mind and behavior, it is also less concrete than some of the other sciences. Over the years, social scientists have developed theories or perspectives based off of their observations, research, and the perspectives of other scientists. Although there is some overlap, each of the major perspectives of psychology is unique. As a result, they each have strengths and weaknesses and explain psychology in a different way. One theory, the sociocultural perspective, is exactly what its name suggests. It’s the idea that the society and groups that an individual belongs to are what influences development, thoughts, and behavior. The sociocultural perspective was
One of the most common ways of studying culture is to focus on the differences within and among cultures. Although their specifics may vary form one culture to another, sociologists refer to those elements or characteristics that can be found in every know society as cultural universals. For example, in all societies, funeral rites include expression of grief, disposing of the dead, and rituals that define the relations of the dead with the living. And on the most
There are eight theoretical perspectives in contemporary psychology. Any topic in psychology has many approaches that have a variety of perspectives for each that is given. Starting with the biological perspective, it is noted that physiology has played a major role in psychology. The organ systems such as the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and genetics are greatly emphasized in studying physical bases of human and animal behavior. Neuroscience more specifically studies the nervous system, particularly the brain. The next theoretical perspective is the cognitive perspective, which is a relatively modern approach. It focuses on the important role of mental processes in how people process and remember information, develop language,
Within psychology, there are several perspectives used to describe, predict, and explain human behavior. The seven major perspectives in modern psychology are psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanist, cognitive, neuroscientific/biopsychological, evolutionary, and sociocultural. Describe the perspectives, using two to three sentences each. Select one major figure associated with one of the perspectives and describe his or her work in two to three sentences. Type your response in the space below.
Different societies exist throughout the world and within these societies each society develops culture that works best for them. Within these cultures they pass all their acquired knowledge and traditions down from generation to generation. Nevertheless, each culture has their own way of life, own marriage beliefs, their own values and feelings on life and religious beliefs. Cultures tend to have their own way to run their government, and ways to keep their economy up to their standards. Most importantly in cultural anthropology it is imperative to value culture relativism. This is the view in which no culture is superior to other
Psychodynamic Perspective- There is four major perspectives in psychology: Psychodynamic, Behaviorism, Humanistic, and Cognitive. Each theory represents a psychology approach to unlock the human mind. A psychology approach is known as a perspective; today there are many different approaches in psychology that contain specified beliefs about the mind and Human Behavior. Individually each perspective is different they have their strong points and weak points, however each perspective does represent important assumptions that were fundamentally researched with methods and questions that are used to answer inquiries in psychology regarding human behavior and the mental process.
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, due to its complexity can be approached in a variety of ways. To help us understand the human mind, behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches have helped us understand the alternative outlooks in the science of mind and behaviour. Both approaches can be examined by the means of theoretical assumptions and methodology.
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.
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.
Within the field of psychology, there are several approaches to explaining human development and behaviour. Based on the theories and supporting studies within a particular approach, psychologists may feel that it provides a better explanation of human psychology compared to others, however there is no one approach that is currently accepted as offering an answer to all of the questions posed by researchers. At different periods in history, different approaches may have been particularly popular, and even though there can be common themes and theories, they are not all equally valid. Coolican et al (2007) stated: “Many uncomplimentary words have been uttered, and even careers lost, in the frequently bitter battles between the different “schools” of psychology.” This report will evaluate two of these approaches, examining the prominent theories and studies in order to explain their various strengths and weaknesses. The two approaches to be evaluated are the behaviourist approach and the humanistic approach.
Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.
The author details the personality structure of humanity that is described by identifying the functioning parts. These five parts include the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, the heart, the will and the emotions. The conscious mind controls the perception and evaluation of the events in the mind. The unconscious mind houses the basic assumptions. The heart represents direction. The will identifies a person’s behavior. Finally, the emotions of an individual detail the capacity for feelings.
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.
Psychology is the scientific study of human and animal behaviour. There are many approaches to psychology, which give an insight and they all support one way or another their theories. They explain the human behaviour based on different circumstances which is not sufficient for someone to explain all aspects of human behaviour. In this essay I shall discuss what behavioural approach is, what it’s strengths and weaknesses are, than compare it to the biological approach to look at how they examine depression. The behaviourists believe that behaviour changes is due to the persons respond to an event in the environment they are in. In contrast psychoanalysts like Sigmund Freud believe that the human behaviour is totally based on the internal conflict of the unconscious mind.