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general psychology
Approaches and Schools
of Psychology
Firouz meroei milan
www.soran.edu.iq
1
Approaches and Schools of
Psychology:
• Not all psychologists look at
psychology the same way.
• Some believe that you are
who you are purely because
of your genetics.
• Some believe that
experiences play a much
bigger factor.
• Psychology is a broad field
that aims to answer questions
from many different
perspectives.
• We are going to look at the
different schools and
approaches to psychology.
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Lesson 2: Approaches and Schools of
Psychology:
• By the late 1800’s,
psychology was beginning
to emerge as a separate
scientific discipline.
• Biologist Charles Darwin
came up with the theory of
natural selection.
• Psychology branched into
two schools of psychology
(structuralism and
functionalism) and from
there several approaches to
psychology.
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Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt
• Wilhelm Wundt – Credited as the
founder of scientific psychology
because in 1879 he set up a
research laboratory in Germany.
• The lab was dedicated to the
scientific study of conscious
experiences and sensations.
• Introspection – the process of
looking inward to identify how one
feels, thinks, or acts.
• he replicated his studies in
different conditions with similar
results.
• Wundt helped found the School of
Structuralism which aimed to
focus on the structure of the mind
and indentify the basic elements of
consciousness.
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Functionalism: William James:
• William James was a
psychologist that felt that
Wundt was asking the wrong
questions.
• James was more interested
in the function or purpose of
behavioral acts.
• School of Functionalism –
Researchers that focused on
how we adapt to our
environments. (stream of
consciousness)
• Main Goal: Explain human
behavior
• Also wrote first psychology
textbook
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Gestalt Psychology:
• Max Wertheimer – founded Gestalt Psychology
• The whole is more than the sum of it’s parts
• Example: A beautiful painting
• A painting is more than just colors and line – its an
experience
• So, each person has a completely different
experience when viewing the world – must be
sensitive to this during therapy.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Behavioral
• Behavioral Approach –
Focuses on measuring and
recording observable
behavior. (behavior results
from learning)
• Pavlov and his dogs, Watson
and Baby Albert, Skinner and
his rats. (rewards,
punishments, and
associations)
• All these men believed that
psychology should be the
science of behavior.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology: Psychoanalytic /
Psychodynamic
• Psychoanalytic Approach –
Focuses on unconscious
internal conflicts to explain
mental disorders,
personality, and motivation.
• Sigmund Freud developed
this approach and focused
on unconscious desires
(Freudian slips, life and
death instincts, libido, early
life experiences.
• Psychodynamic Approach –
Those that varied Freud’s
ideas but kept with the roots
of psychoanalysis.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Humanistic
• Humanistic Approach –
Emphases the
importance of people’s
feelings and view
human nature as
naturally positive and
growth seeking.
• Abraham Maslow
(Hierarchy of Needs)
and Carl Rogers
(Unconditional Positive
Regard) led the charge.
• This approach came out
the 60’s and 70’s.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Biological
• Biological Approach –
Examines how complex
chemical and biological
processes within the
nervous and endocrine
systems are related to
the behavior of
organisms.
• Much research is being
done today using this
approach – Brain based
research.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Cognitive
• Cognitive Approach –
Emphasizes the
importance of receiving,
storing, and processing
information.
• It also focuses on
thinking, reasoning, and
using language to
understand human
behavior.
• Cognition – thinking
and memory.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Evolutionary
• Evolutionary Approach
–Attempts to explain
behavior patterns as
adaptations naturally
selected to increase
reproductive success.
• This approach uses
Darwin’s theory of
natural selection as a
basis.
• Darwin wrote Origin of
Species.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Socio-cultural
• As time progressed more
people were traveling and
visiting other cultures.
• Psychologists soon
recognized the difference in
cultural gestures, body
language, and spoken
language.
• Socio-cultural Approach –
Examines the cultural
differences in an attempt to
understand, predict, and
control behavior.
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Eight Approaches to Psychology:
Eclectic
The most widely used psychological approach
today is eclectic
Eclectic – No one perspective can best explain
all human behavior
So…Eclectic psychologists use a combination of
all the approaches
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