There have been countless hypothesis expressed to explain or justify why people conduct themselves in the way they do. The enduring hypothesis on behavior originates from physiological and sociological accounts; nevertheless the two descriptions have not continuously been well matched with one another. The renowned debate regarding nature vs. nurture over human behavior has resulted from contradictory opinions between advocates of the physiological (nature) and sociological (nurture) accounts that has been deliberated and examined by many like philosopher Plato who claimed that, “all knowledge was inherited through your parent and when you were told something you didn't learn it you were just reminded of it,” and then there is Aristotle who claimed that, “all humans were born with a blank slate and built on it with influence from there environment.” During the course of time, research has wavered acceptance to and fro between the theories, however philosophers have torn those boundaries that have divided nature and nurture. These days’ theorists utilize nature and nurture study human
There are many theories on Human Development which include Psychoanalytic theory- this help us to understand human behaviour, it tells us that to understand adults we have to look back at what happened to them as children for instance an adult who can not cope in a social setting may have been bullied as a child and is now afraid to speak to new people or Every time the vehicle she is riding in stops suddenly, Mrs. Smith panics. She thinks this is because she was in a car accident when she was a child, and in each new situation the fear of another accident crashes over her like a wave or another example is Jack’s mother left his family when he was a child. Ever since then, he has had a very difficult time trusting people because he is afraid they will abandon him. Sigmund Freud is said to be the founder of this theory “Freud believed that the
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.
Each person is a social being and is aware of the environment that they live in. People learn from their experiences as well as from observing others. When children learn about their environment first hand or by observing another, negative and positive behaviors are reinforcement. If a child does a behavior and receives a reward for that behavior, the rewarded behavior is reinforced. Similarly, when someone witnesses negative consequences based on their behavior, they tend to modify that behavior (Schmied & Tully, 2009, p. 9).
They are many theories in psychology that can be used to “understand” behaviour, two theories I am going to look at are; Psychodynamic approach and the humanistic approach. I will discuss these 2 psychological theories of development and explain how it accounts for the psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual.
“The studies discussed so far have shown that existential beliefs require a certain level of cognitive development to be fully expressed”. (Berring, 2006) This came from the article and is a very good statement on what the article stood for.
My father always told them that you could begin to act like those you hang around with, whether good or bad. In other words, our peers easily influence us. I can remember this from a very early age, even growing up in the same household, attending the same school and church, etc. our values and standards are quite different from one another. Even in the animal kingdom, genetics is evident. I was watching a nature video by David Attenborough about birds. The video showed how different species laid their eggs. The cuckoo bird would lay her eggs in the nests of unlike species. As the baby cuckoo bird cracked its shell, even before it was able to see, it would immediately begin pushing all the other eggs out of the nest in order to be the only bird fed by its adoptive mother. This is not a case of something learned, as much as it is instinctive. Having said that, I believe who we are as human beings is the combination of both nature and nurture that our genes and environment work together. I believe certain traits and abilities are inherited, however I also believe social structure plays a most active role in who we become and what
The field of psychology is steadily expanding due to the progression in technology, which is being driven by the advancement of civilization. More and more time is spent on the internet, which has gradually altered the method in which primary communication takes place. Previously face-to-face interaction was touted as the primary method of interfacing with one another, now communication via the internet is almost mandatory to establish and maintain healthy relationships (Greenfield and Yan, 2006). This is especially true amongst children, adolescents and teenagers. The need for psychologists have never been greater in order to assess how individuals are able to acclimate to this societal change. Traditionally, there are two methods in which children, adolescents and teenagers communicate via the internet, through social media and video games. Each primary method presents their own unique social challenge. In response to the issues in of teenagers over use of the internet, psychologists are providing assistance for internet addictions at a greater rate. The first method utilized by mental health professionals is traditionally counseling and if those efforts fail, then the potential exists for adolescents to be placed on medications.
There are many different types of psychological theories and perspectives. Theories are important to help understand the basis of treatment procedures. However the theories tend to be less valued than the techniques mainly because the theories are harder to understand. (Abramowitz, 2013) One theory or perspective that relates in particular to the field of clinical psychology is the behavioral perspective. Behavioral perspective is “the approach that suggests that observable, measurable behavior should be the focus of study.” (Feldman, 2010, pg. 13) This relates back to clinical psychology because clinical psychologists deal a lot with different behavior disorders.
a. Psychodynamic: A person committed to psychodynamics would see that human functions are based on the interaction of drives and forces within the unconscious mind of a person. This influences different structures of the personality of the person as well. In addition, a person that is committed to psychodynamics would believe that the fundamental behaviors and feelings are powerfully affected by motives that are not controllable, but rather are unconscious motives. Previous childhood experiences also have a substantial influence on the character of one that is in adulthood, and where one’s personality is comprised of three major parts: ID, ego, and super-ego. In addition, most of the aspects of one’s personality and actions are driven by parts of the unconscious mind and at times contradict with the conscious mind, where this creates anxiety. Therefore, in the perspective of someone who is an advocate of psychodynamic psychology, human aggression would be based on motives that are unconscious, where perhaps hatred or jealousy may play an aspect in human aggression. The best and most effective method to control such aggression would be to have ego control and prevent the expression of aggression. With exclusive regards to aggression, the psychodynamic approach would thereby theorize that there is some conflict in the
From my perspective, the way a person behaves can be influenced by the combination of both elements, Nature and Nurture. Although people inherit genetic traits from their parents, his or her behaviors can also be affected through his or her parents’ upbringings and through the environment in which he or she grows up in. In addition, a person’s personality from childhood may not necessarily last into adulthood, which could also have an important effect on a person’s behavior. Ultimately, inheriting traits from our family member can be one of the reasons why we behave and act like them, but because everyone is different and unique, it makes the research more difficult.
Cognitive Theory is the focus on how human development changes throughout time according to their experiences. Jean Piaget the pioneer for this theory; believed that we must understand how humans think in order to understand their behavior. Knowing this is important to apply to my worldview, because it will give me a better understanding of those I come in contact with. It is important to nurture and show compassion to those who come from different
The guiding principle surrounding psychodynamic theory is that it perceives development as a continuous process with tenets in both the subconscious and conscious and a focus on inherent biological motivations and social safeguards (Hoffnung et al 2013:36). As a result of these concepts, several theorists have hypothesised psychodynamic theory in healthy development.
The different perspectives of psychology that allow us to create a complete picture have different approaches toward explaining behaviors. A Biological psychologist may attempt to explain aggressive behavior by explaining the neural pathways involved in transferring neurotransmitters that cause anger. According to Biological Psychology the brain is full of neurons that transfer the information around our brains; this allows humans to influence those by tampering with the genes that effect neuron transmission, or heredity temperament.
The ability of an individual to learn from other people’s experience is a unique character associated with conditioning controlled behavior. Children are more likely and willing to repeat certain behaviors in cases where they have been rewarded, as they have developed the feeling that what they did is acceptable.