Perspectives of Psychology

Ways of Explaining Different approaches exist because there are different ways of explaining behavior For example, emotions can be explained in terms of the thoughts associated with them or the physiological changes that produce them IE: Learned emotions or changes in chemistry within the brain Psychologists try to explain psychological phenomena from a range of different perspectives, and so use different approaches Think about depression; How would you explain the cause of depression? Is there only one possible cause?

In Such a Diverse Science, What Holds It All Together? The desire to: Describe Explain Predict Change/Control Behavior

Before Psychology Psychology goes back to the Ancient Greeks Certainly it was shaped by Enlightenment philosophy (e.g. Descartes, Locke, Hobbes) Psychology emerged as a new kind of approach to understanding human behavior, using science to find the answers

APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY

The Early Schools/Perspectives of Psychology Psychology quickly diversified from the late 19th century, leading to a number of distinct schools: – Structuralism, which investigated the structure of the mind – Functionalism, which investigated the adaptive functions of the mind – Behaviorism, which emphasized the role of the environment in guiding behavior – Gestalt, which emphasized holistic aspects of mental processing – Psychoanalysis, which emphasized the role of unconscious forces in shaping behavior

The Later Schools/Perspectives of Psychology Since the 1950s, psychologists have adopted a number of diverse approaches to understanding human nature and behavior These different approaches include: – Behaviorist – Psychodynamic – Humanistic – Cognitive – Biological/Physiological – Social constructionist

1. Structualism Wilhelm Wundt ( ) – Worked to have Psychology become an independent science – Founded the 1 st psychology laboratory in Germany (1879)

devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up the mind and thought-looking for the elements of conscious experience. Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection Structuralism

Structuralism-Wundt and Titchner -Introspection, or the process of reporting one’s own conscious mental experiences. -Introspection- Self reflection and looking inward -Patients reflected on their sensation and perception, feelings, thought, emotions What would be the strengths/weaknesses of introspection?

Edward B. Titchener Titchener believed that the goal of psychology was to study mind and consciousness. He defined consciousness as the sum total of mental experience at any given moment, and the mind as the accumulated experience of a lifetime. He believed that if the basic components of the mind could be defined and categorized, then the structure of mental processes and higher thinking could be determined. What each element of the mind is, how those elements interact with each other and why they interact in the ways that they do was the basis of reasoning

2. Functionalism – William James and G. Stanley Hall were the primary proponents – William James (the first U.S. psychologist) believed that psychology should look at function and not just structure – James wanted to see how people functioned in everyday life, not just in laboratory experiments. William James

Functionalism William James and Charles Darwin -Looked at behaviors that occurred in the patient’s environment -Why does the body do those things in response to events? -What function does consciousness (or thoughts, feelings, and emotions) serve?

Functionalism- A theory that emphasized the functions of consciousness and the ways consciousness helps people adapt to their environment. James thought that psychology should explain how people adapted-or failed to adapt-to everyday life outside the laboratory. The parts of the functionalist view of psychology

3. Behavioral Perspective Focuses on observable behaviors while putting feelings to the side. We behave in ways because we have been conditioned to do so. To change behaviors, we have to recondition the client. Learning! Pretend that you fail psychology class. You become depressed. In turn, you begin to binge and gain weight. What do you think a behaviorist may do? They would probably ignore the fact that you are depressed and just focus on your overeating. Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.

Behavioral Perspective Focuses on our OBSERVABLE behaviors. Only cares about the behaviors that impair our living, and attempts to change them. If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails.

Behavioral View A viewpoint which finds the source of our actions in the environmental stimuli, rather than in inner mental processes. B.F. Skinner….rats. – Can you prove that you have a mind? – “The crucial age-old mistake is the belief that…what we feel as behavior is the cause of our behaving.” ~B.F. Skinner

Behaviorism John B. Watson argued that a true and objective science of psychology should only deal with observable events: stimuli from the environment and the organism’s response to that stimuli. These psychologists thought of the mind as a black box which could not be opened or understood. Since we could not understand it, we should not try to guess what role it has in our actions.

Early Behaviorists Pavlov (1913)- Dog Salvation Watson (1925)- Little Albert B. F. Skinner (1930s)- Skinner Box, rewards & punishments

The Behaviorist Approach It’s criticized for being mechanistic (ignoring mental processes) and overly environmentally determinist (it ignores biology)

4. Psychoanalytic Perspective Focuses on the unconscious mind. We repress many of our true feelings and are not aware of them. In order to get better, we must bring forward the true feelings we have in our unconscious. If a man has intimacy issues and cannot form relationships with others. What do you think someone from this school may think? Perhaps they may delve into the man’s unconscious and discover that he was bullied when he were younger. The bullying may have caused fear in getting close to others.

Psychodynamic Perspective Fathered by Sigmund Freud. Our behavior comes from unconscious drives. Usually stemming from our childhood. What might a psychoanalyst say is the reason someone always needs to be chewing gum?

The Psychodynamic Approach Freud’s ‘mental iceberg’ view of the mind

The Psychodynamic Approach Evaluation: Significant impact: theories of personality, motivation, development therapeutic techniques in clinical and counselling psychology captured the popular imagination, providing an accessible framework for everyday understanding Unscientific? – methodologically poor – untestable (e.g. concept of denial) Limited impact on scientific psychology

Sigmund Freud The best known psychodynamic psychologist is Sigmund Freud who said the mind is like a mental boiler which holds the rising pressure of unconscious sexual and destructive desires, along with memories of traumatic events.

Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is the brainchild of Sigmund Freud and his followers. Psychoanalysis said that mental disorders resulted from conflicts of the unconscious mind. Freud thought that behavior came from unconscious drives, conflicts and experience that we may not even have a memory of. Sigmund Freud

5. Humanist Perspective Peaked in the late 190’s and 70’s….so it focused on spirituality and free will. We have to strive to be the best we can be “self-actualization”. Human needs, drives, abilities, wants, and motivations cause human behaviors. (both fulfilled and unfulfilled)

5.The Humanistic Approach Key features: People strive for ‘actualization’ – Rogers: the self-concept consists of a perceived self and an ideal self. Psychological health is achieved when the two match – Maslow: people have a hierarchy of needs. The goal of psychological growth is to meet the need to achieve self-actualization

Humanistic Rogers believed for a person to grow they need an environment that provides ‘genuineness’ (openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to & understood). Without these, relationships and healthy personalities will not develop as they should – much like a tree will not grow without sunlight and water.

5. The Humanistic Approach Evaluation: – development of client-centered therapy – helped establish counseling as an independent profession Unscientific Limited impact on mainstream psychology Limited evidence for theories

6. Cognitive Perspective Focuses on how we think (or encode information) How do we see the world? How did we learn to act to sad or happy events? Cognitive Therapist attempt to change the way you think. You meet a girl… Hopes are high!!! She rejects you…don’t even get digits. How do you react to the rejection? Some learned get back on the horse And try again. Some learned to give up and live a lonely life of solitude.

6. Cognitive View According to the cognitive view, our actions are a direct result of the way we process information from our environment. Cognitions are thoughts, expectations, perceptions, memories and states of consciousness.

6. The Cognitive Approach Evaluation: Lacks ‘ecological validity’ – based on artificial laboratory research – but do the results apply to the ‘real world’? Has no overall framework – there are separate theories in different areas, but there is no one framework for explaining cognition Doubts about the underlying metaphor – is the mind really like a computer?

7. Developmental View The developmental view emphasizes changes that occur across our lifespan. This is the question of nature vs. nurture. What has a bigger impact on us, heredity or environment? And does development occur at predetermined times or does it occur spontaneously?

8. Biological (Neuroscience) Perspective All of your feelings and behaviors have an organic root. In other words, they come from your brain, body chemistry, neurotransmitters, etc… Let us imagine for a second that your dog died (sad but it will happen). You become depressed. You stop eating and sleeping. What would a psychologist from this school say is going on and how might they help you?

Neuroscience Perspective Focus on how the physical body and brain creates our emotions, memories and sensory experiences. If you could not remember the names of your parents and went to a psychologist who adheres to the neuroscience perspective, what might they say?

Biological View: The biological view looks at how our physical make up and the operation of our brains influence our personality, preferences, behavior patterns, and abilities. According to biological view, our behavior is a result of heredity, the nervous system and the endocrine system and the impacts of diseases.

The Biological Approach Key features: Investigates: – brain function in healthy and impaired individuals – brain chemistry and psychology, e.g. serotonin & mood – genes and psychology, e.g. twin studies & intelligence The common assumption is that biology underlies behavior

The Biological Approach Evaluation: Productive – has provided explanations in a range of areas of psychology, e.g. mental health, individual differences, social behavior – has provided therapeutic interventions, e.g. drug treatments for depression Popular – has caught the public imagination – genetic theories provide an accessible framework for understanding ourselves

The Biological Approach Evaluation: – they ignore or underplay the effects of the environment – they may ‘naturalize’ behaviors that should be discouraged, e.g. sexual violence – there is often limited evidence for evolutionary theories

Biological

9. Social-Cultural Perspective Says that much of your behavior and your feelings are dictated by the culture you live in. Some cultures kiss each other when greeting, some just bow. Does your culture place value on individual or the group? This is my culture!!! (this is the point when my wife rolls here eyes).

Social-Cultural Perspective Focus on how your culture effects your behavior. Even in the same high school, behaviors can change in accordance to the various subcultures.

Sociocultural View This view emphasizes the importance of social interaction, social learning and a cultural perspective. – Culture: a complex blend of beliefs, customs, values and traditions developed by a group of people and shared with others in the same environment.

Social Cultural Approach Key features: Challenges mainstream psychology – methodologically, in that it is anti-scientific Believes we construct our view of the world through social interaction Believes our constructions affect our actions – e.g. construction of ‘female’ affects view of female behavior

Social Constructionist Approach Evaluation: It emphasizes the complexity of human behavior It has close links with other disciplines, e.g. sociology Its challenge to the status quo has led to change, e.g. in views of homosexuality It is anti-scientific and overly subjective

10. Gestalt Psychology Gestalt psychology was the opposite of structuralism. Instead of looking at the individual parts, it wanted to examine the whole. Gestalt psychology looked at how the brain works by studying perception and perceptual thinking. Ex. Recognizing a person’s face.

11. Evolutionary Perspective Focuses on Darwinism. We behave the way we do because we inherited those behaviors. Thus, those behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors survival. How could this behavior ensured Homer’s ancestors survival?

11. Evolutionary This view of psychology looks at individuals’ behaviors through the lens of natural selection. Behavior is adaptive and hereditary. In this theory, genetics are not used as a way to show how people are different, but rather the ways in which we have evolved.

Evolutionary Psychology Evolutionary psychology is based on the arguments of Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution. Natural selection is the idea that characteristics of a species evolve in the direction of characteristics that give the fittest organisms a competitive advantage. Controversial, but valid: While evolutionary psychology is valid, strict evolutionists are controversial saying that even the most destructive behaviors grow out of genetic tendencies.