1.2 A Brief History of Psychology 6 Contemporary Approaches

Phrenology: The practice examining bumps on a person’s skull to determine that person’s intellect and character traits was an Important practice in the mid 1800’s

6 Contemporary Approaches Each approach has a different focus or perspective and may use different research methods

1. Biological Approach Focus: how genes, hormones and the NS interacts with the environment to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, and coping

2. Cognitive Approach Focus: how we process, store, and use info and how that info influences what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember, believe, feel.

3. Behavioral Approach How organisms learn new behaviors or modify existing ones depending on whether events in the environment reward or punish these behaviors

4. Psychoanalytic Approach Focus: Unconscious motivations influence our behavior. Think Freud…

5. Humanistic Approach Focus: Each person has great freedom in directing his or her future, a great capacity for personal growth, a great amount of intrinsic worth, and great potential for self-fulfillment

6. Sociocultural Approach Focus: Ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status influence our behavior.