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Perspectives in Psychology
Psychology
• Psychology: The scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
– Behavior: are actions that can be directly
observed.
– Mental Processes: are experiences that cannot be
observed directly, such as thoughts and feelings.
Nature vs. Nurture
• Nature-nurture issue: the controversy over the
relative contributions of biology and
experience.
– Examples:
• How are humans alike (because of our common biology
and evolutionary history) and different (because of our
differing environments)?
• Are gender differences biologically predisposed or
socially constructed?
In the beginning…
• Historically significant psychological
perspectives include behaviorism and
humanistic psychology.
– Behaviorism: psychology should be an objective
science and studies behavior without reference to
mental processes.
– Humanistic: emphasized the growth potential of
healthy people by focusing on current
environmental influences and our needs for love
and acceptance.
Biopsychology
• Biopsychology incorporates various levels of
analysis and offers a more complete picture of
behavior or mental process by studying
biological, psychological and socio-cultural
influences.
Current Psychological Perspectives
Perspective
Neuroscience
Focus
Physiological bases of behavior in
humans and animals
Basic Premise
How the body and brain enable
emotions, memories and sensory
experience.
Evolutionary
The natural selection of traits
promotes perpetuation of one’s
genes.
Behavior patterns have evolved to
solve adaptive problems; natural
selection favors behaviors that
enhance reproductive success.
Behavior
Effects of environment on the
overt behavior of human and
animals.
Belief that only observable events
(stimulus response relationships)
can be studied scientifically.
Psychodynamic
Unconscious mind drives behavior.
Belief that the unconscious mind--a part of our mind that we do not
have conscious control over or
access to---controls much of our
thought and action. Unconscious
motives and experiences in early
childhood govern personality and
mental disorders.
Current Psychological Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Basic Premise
Cognitive
Thoughts; Mental process
How we use information in
remembering, reasoning, and
solving problems. human
behavior cannot be fully
understood without examining
how people acquire, store, and
process information.
Socio-cultural
Effects of social and cultural
issues on behavior
Looks at how our thoughts and
behaviors vary from people
living in other cultures.
Emphasizes the influence
culture has on the way we
think and act.
Psychologists
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Descartes
Charles Darwin
Sigmund Freud
William James
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
Carl Rogers
Types of Psychology Practices
• Psychologists undertake research.
• Psychologists work with individuals to
improve their mental and physical health.
• Psychologists contribute to the community
to improve the world of work and to help
people learn.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves helping people
who have mental health concerns
or problems. The aim is to help
people cope more successfully
with their lives.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves improving
people’s performance in the
work place, by reducing stress
factors, for example, or by
making sure that the best
candidate is chosen for a specific
job.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves working with
criminals in an effort to understand
and/or change their behaviour. It
usually involves working closely
with the police and prison staff. It
can cover the rehabilitation of
criminals as well as finding the
perpetrators of an individual crime.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves undertaking
research both academically and
in other areas such as in industry,
for example.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves working with
school aged children and young
adults. Educational support is
offered to pupils, parents and
teachers.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves improving mental
health, particularly when people
are adjusting to or recovering
from physical illness that has
drastically changed their
lifestyle.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves dealing with
people who have personal
problems or problems in
relationships. The aim is to help
people deal with the stresses of
their everyday life.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves enhancing and
improving personal sports
performance. The psychologist
works with sportsmen and women,
teams, coaches and sports clubs. He
/she devises better training
programmes to improve
competitive performance.
Specialist areas of psychology
This involves working with
businesses and within industry to
promote an understanding of
how and why consumers behave
and choose products. Marketing
and advertising are areas that use
this type of psychology.