Psychology: Issues and Approaches Types of Psychologists, too.

Psychology’s Biggest Issue As we saw as far back as the Greeks, Psychology’s biggest issue is thus: is human knowledge innate, or learned? More modernized (and more catchy) the question can be summed up as nature vs. nurture.

History of the debate We saw how Socrates and Plato believed in innate ideas, while Aristotle was all about humans as blank slates. Later, in the 1600s, Descartes brought back up innate ideas, and John Locke rejected that. Descartes ideas of innate ideas, or the “nature” of our thoughts, gained more support around 200 years after his death, due to a famous sea voyage.

Charles Darwin

Theory of Evolution After Charles Darwin’s famous Voyage on the HMS Beagle, he returned to civilization with a theory that animals change based on their surroundings. The process of natural selection, or where chance traits that prove beneficial are passed onto offspring, has carried on in the 150+ years since Darwin’s discovery, and has influenced the field of psychology, including famous psychologists like William James.

Nature vs Nurture Today Over the years, psychologists have argued one way or the other, looking at how twins grow up and other factors. Ultimately, studies show that both are true: Nurture works on what nature endows.

Psychology’s Approaches

Contemporary (Modern) Approaches to Psychology Behavioral Biological Cognitive Humanistic Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Evolutionary Sociocultural

Behavioral Approach Started by John B. Watson in 1913, it focuses on how we learn observable responses, or why we respond to things the way we do. Emphasized environmental causes for behavior while minimizing heredity. Deals with directly observable behavior (or responses) to triggers from the environment (also called stimuli). B.F. Skinner is the most well-known behavioral psychologist. Sample Questions a behavioral psychologist might ask: How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to modify our behavior (such as losing weight)?

Biological Approach Sought to use biology and anatomy to understand psychological activity. Biological psychologists believe that behavior can be explained by physiological reasons. This means explaining things like how the body and brain enable emotions and memories by describing underlying biochemical and neurological causes. Roger Sperry is a noted biological psychologist for his split-brain studies. Sample questions a biological psychologist might ask: How do pain messages travel through the body? How is blood chemistry related to things like mood? To what extent are different traits like intelligence and sexual orientation related to our genes or environment?

Cognitive Approach The cognitive approach to psychology is the study of thought and mental processes. Another way to say this is that they study cognition, defined as “the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired”. It views people in a similar way to computers, in that we take in information (input), process it, and then respond in a certain way (output). Very scientific approach, and has led to contributions to language and memory. Notable cognitive psychologists include Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky. Sample questions a cognitive psychologist might ask: How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving Problems?

Humanistic Approach Created in the 1950s as a negative response to behaviorism, humanistic psychologists believe that behavior is a product of free will, not automatic responses to the environment. Believes that each human is unique and ultimately “good”. They seek to help people understand themselves and achieve their personal goals, and consider strictly scientific approaches as inappropriate for studying human psychology. Notable psychologists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Sample questions a humanistic psychologist might ask: How can we work towards fulfilling our potential? How can we overcome barriers to personal growth?

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Approach Developed by Sigmund Freud, this approach looks at the unconscious motives for actions and behaviors by trying to uncover repressed memories and feelings. It placed a strong emphasis on sexual interactions and behaviors. Modern day psychodynamic theory reduces the sexual and childhood factors of Freud’s original research, but still seeks to understand the unconscious. Other notable psychologists in this field include Carl Jung and Erik Erikson. A sample question a psychodynamic psychologist might ask is: How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Evolutionary Approach Inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, the evolutionary approach to psychology look at how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes, specifically concerning functions of the mind and brain. It is essentially a combination of the biological approach and the behavioral approach. Sample questions an evolutionary psychologist might ask include: How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? How did anger facilitate the survival of our ancestors’ genes?

Sociocultural Approach The sociocultural approach to psychology looks at how the culture and situations we grew up in influences the way we think and act. Sociocultural psychology was created in response to the overwhelmingly white nature of psychology, where the majority of doctors and subjects were white men. A good book on this subject is Even the Rat was White: A Historical View of Psychology by Robert Guthrie. Sample questions a sociocultural psychologist might ask include: How are we alike as members of one family? How do we differ as products of our environment.

Three Classifications of Psychologists Practitioners: Psychologists who provide counseling, therapy and consulting Academic: Psychologists employed in college and university settings, are primarily responsible for teaching and advising, but may also conduct research or provide consultations Researchers: Employed in industry, business, and by the government. Examine and research diverse phenomena, such as the effectiveness of breaks in the work day and ways to change behavior to prevent the spread of disease.

Subfields of Psychology Psychology is broken down into a series of subfields. These include: Clinical Psychologists Counseling Psychologists School Psychologists Educational Psychologists Industrial/Organizational Psychologists Experimental Psychologists Social Psychologists Developmental Psychologists Psychometric Psychologists

Subfields of Psychology Clinical Psychologists compose of the largest group of working psychologists. They are primarily found in hospital settings. They are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. Duties include testing and therapy. Counseling Psychologists work with clients who have moderate levels of psychological need. They often work in the fields of marriage and family counseling. School Psychologists work in primary and secondary school settings. They are concerned with the intellectual and social development of children. They may also refer children to special programs.

Subfields of Psychology Educational Psychologists: Psychologists involved with teacher training and curriculum design, as well as other educational programs. Industrial/Organizational Psychologists: Work in business and industry. Primarily concerned with increasing productivity. May also develop employee selection programs or work with advertisers, as well as study customer behavior. Experimental Psychologists: Broad category of psychologists who generally work in a lab, often focusing on one specific area (memory, language, etc.)

Subfields of Psychology Social Psychologists: Experimental psychologists who study social situations. They also study various social phenomena, like conformity (the bystander effect), obedience and leadership. Developmental Psychologists: Psychologists who study behavior changes occurring during the human lifetime, including development, maturation, and geriatrics. Psychometric Psychologists: Psychologists who specialize in the measurement of behavior, and are particularly skilled at using statistical measures to create valid tests.