Approaches to Psychology

Biological/Neurobiological People are defined by their DNA Correlation between electrical impulses and chemicals in our brain and how we behave The problem lies in how this approach ignores the subjectivity of the human subject, and just generalized how, if a set of determined biological circumstances in one subject lead to this set of personality traits, other subjects with the same biological circumstances will show the same personality traits, ignoring the context of the subject's life from birth to the present day. Can you change DNA??? Solutions have to be changing chemicals (medication)

Psychodynamic Approach Our conscious mind is impacted, unknowingly by our subconscious mind and unconscious mind. Issues in childhood have a profound impact on behavior, but we are unaware of their impact Sigmund Freud, later Erik Erikson, Carl Yung, Adler Talk therapy – repression / ignore free will???

Behavioral Approach James Watson & B.F. Skinner People are defined by what they observe / our behavior is a product of our experiences Punishments and rewards determine our behavior B.F. Skinner / John Watson Recondition associations -

Cognitive Approach Connects peoples’ behaviors to how they process information Thinking, intelligence, problem solving, reasoning and creativity False perceptions of reality impact thinking (stage related) Jean Piaget & Aaron Beck The cognitive approach suggests that mental illness is a result of faulty or overly negative thinking, which then leads into abnormal behaviour patterns and unexplainable mood changes. It suggests that a person with depression is focused on processing information that is concerns with the 'negative triad' rather than positive information. In doing this, negative beliefs are reinforced, which then maintains the depression.  Benefits of positive thinking and a healthy personality – half glass full person Modern bc upset with behavioral and pyschoanallytic Perception is more significant than reality Scientific study irrelevant more focused on qualitative studies Thinking processes not actions matter…. Before Piaget’s work, the common assumption in psychology was that children are merely less competent thinkers than adults. Piaget showed that young children think in strikingly different ways compared to adults. According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge are based. Schemas mental models for the world Working with depressed patients, Beck found that they experienced streams of negative thoughts that seemed to pop up spontaneously. He termed these cognitions "automatic thoughts", and discovered that their content fell into three categories: negative ideas about themselves, the world, and the future. He stated that such cognitions were interrelated as the cognitive triad. Limited time spent reflecting on automatic thoughts would lead patients to treat them as valid.[20] Beck began helping patients identify and evaluate these thoughts and found that by doing so, patients were able to think more realistically, which led them to feel better emotionally and behave more functionally.[20] He developed key ideas in CBT, explaining that different disorders were associated with different types of distorted thinking.

the potential to become fulfilled & effective people Humanistic Approach Covers the holes in psychodynamic and behavioral People are in control of their own destiny Everyone seeks self-actualization (wants to enhance themselves/grow) both on basic need level and enriching need level Carl Rogers, Maslow (hierarchy of needs) how individuals perceive and interpret events – Rogers and Maslow he humanistic approach in psychology developed as a rebellion against what some psychologists saw as the limitations of the behaviorist and psychodynamic psychology. The humanistic approach is thus often called the “third force” in psychology after psychoanalysis and behaviorism  People have free will A further assumption is then added - people are basically good, and have an innate need to make themselves and the world better his means that each person, in different ways, seeks to grow psychologically and continuously enhance themselves. This has been captured by the term self-actualization, which is about psychological growth, fulfillment and satisfaction in lif Humanistic psychologists argue that objective reality is less important than a person's subjective perception and understanding of the world.  Because of this, Rogers and Maslow placed little value on scientific psychology, especially the use of the psychology laboratory to investigate both human and animal behavior. the potential to become fulfilled & effective people Innate resources Environment plays a role Consciousness, self-awareness and free will allow us to shape our lives The Humanistic approach believes that a person has reached ideal mental health when they have reached their full potential as shown by the hierarchy of needs. It suggests that mental disorder stems from external factors which block the person's potential and therefore leads to the showing abnormal behaviour. It suggests that people are inherently good, and that the focus should be on the positive aspects of human nature rather than on the negative ones. It believes that a person has reached ideal mental health when they have reached their full potential and can self actualise as shown by the hierarchy of needs. This is a holistic approach because of the belief that the whole person needs to be considered in order to understand a person's mental health. The humanistic approach is a future focussed approach, with treatment looking to enable a person to self actualise, it does however also recognise that past experiences can affect a persons ability to do this, and therefore does look at a persons past during treatment, but only in order that a person can recognise where their difficulties come from, and move beyond them *** focus on future – how to achieve happiness, once whole person is happy then problems will resolve themselves (sometimes need to go back)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Socio-Cultural Approach Actions are impacted by cultural factors language, art, social norms and social structures can play a significant role in the development of our cognitive abilities Lev Vygotsky  perspective on school Sociocultural psychologists study group behavior, crowd mentality, and other sociology-based ideas, as well as culturally-based phenomena, such as language and thought, and apply them to the exploration of human behavior through a psychological lens. Instead, most sociocultural psychologists conduct research and investigate the social bases of human behavior. They often suggest questions related to human behavior, such as what causes riots to occur, and seek to answer that question through a sociocultural lens. Sociocultural psychologists that do see clients use this same unique perspective of society, culture, and psychology to help their clients make positive changes in their lives. For example, in examining the prevalence of racial prejudice, a sociocultural psychologist might devise a questionnaire in which participants are asked to match specific personality traits with a specific race. Positive traits, such as being creative or industrious, and negative traits, such as being lazy or ignorant, would be included in the questionnaire, along with a list of various racial and ethnic groups. If the results of the questionnaire showed that there was agreement regarding which races were associated with positive traits and which races were associated with negative traits, the conclusion could be made that racial stereotypes and prejudices are indeed widespread. Individual behavior impacted by social groups Family, ethnic group, religion, culture, unique populations Expectations for success different in different settings wife swap… 4 Race and ethnicity, religion, gender, social class, family traditions, peer groups, and age are some of the subgroups that may influence someone's behavior. Do students from poverty-stricken areas learn differently than students in wealthy homes? Do religious beliefs play a role in a teen's decision to delay premarital sex? Do families that eat dinner together every night have more successful children than families who don't eat together? Problem how do you fix it????