PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Different Approaches In Psychology
There are several different approaches to Psychology.
Throughout history, these approaches have been compared, contrasted and
criticized - but each has had someone very influential behind them. The most
common seven are:
The
Behavioral Approach: Behaviorists believe that human behavior
comes strictly from what we learn. Legendary philosophers such as John Locke
and Aristotle paved the way to this approach, and many were quick to follow and
add to their writings. A researcher named B.F Skinner put together an
experiment involving pigeons and rewards. He found that the pigeons would alter
their behavior in any way in pursuit of reward; this prompted Skinner to claim
that free-will was only an illusion. According to behaviorists, the only things
that can truly be called psychological facts are those that we take from behavior
- because anything else is so intimate (thoughts, ideas, dreams, etc) that it
can’t factually be taken down.
The
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychodynamic Approach
is the counter to the Behavioral Approach. It’s main contenders included the
likes of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Psychoanalysts focus on unconscious
internal conflicts to explain mental disorders. Freud himself believed that the
unconscious mind was the biggest pool of information to draw from; and that
events in childhood were a big factor in determining later behavior and
personality.
The
Humanistic Approach: Humanists disagree with both Behaviorists
and Psychoanalysts. According to this approach - led by Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers - humans are different and more complex than animals, therefore,
experiments done on pigeons can’t possibly apply 100% to a human. Humanists
believe that people are naturally good, and that through free-will, we have the
ability to solve our own problems.
The
Biological Approach: The Biological approach really began to
flourish after technological advances. Now being able to measure chemicals in
the human body, supporters of the biological approach claim that the mind isn’t
actually, well, a thing, but an action. According to this approach, the mind is
only what the brain does (ex: releasing dopamine to make you a bubbly person).
The
Evolutionary Approach: Kind of the cousin of the Biological
Approach, the Evolutionary Approach takes a lot of its inspiration from Charles
Darwin. The Theory of Natural Selection is used to explain patterns of
behaviors as adaptions for survival.
The
Cognitive Approach: Cognitive psychologists place the most
importance on human consciousness (memory and thinking). They believe that
language is a huge part of psychology, and that the cognitive development of
children plays a big role in who they will be growing up.
The
Sociocultural Approach: This is probably the youngest of all
seven approaches. The internet and advancement of travel methods have made
possible to interact with people from all kinds of different cultures and
upbringings. The Sociocultural Approach focuses on social and environmental
factors that make up cultural differences.
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