Psychology Contemporary Perspective (1:4)
Six Perspectives ► Biological ► Cognitive ► Humanistic ► Psychoanalytic ► Learning ► Sociocultural
Biological Perspective ► The influence of biology on our behavior The Nervous System plays a gigantic role in behavior ► Connections of events in the brain Brain activity in various situations Hormones and genes ► Do these relate to personality traits?
Cognitive Perspective ► The role played by thoughts in determining behavior Study of the mind ► Problems, dreams, interpreting the world ► Jean Piaget – The concept of the world from child to adult
Cognitive Perspective ► Information Processing From the cognitive perspective our minds are similar to supercomputers ► Behavior is influence by values, interpretations, and choices Perceptions of statements
Humanistic Perspective ► Human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self- awareness, and choice making Personal experience is the most important part of psychology (Humanistic Psychology)
Humanistic Perspective ► People are basically good and helpful Critics say that this is unobservable, therefore it is unscientific ► Is the inner-experience as important as an outer experience?
Psychoanalytic Perspective ► The influence of unconscious forces on human behavior (Freud) ► Pent up aggression and its outlets
Learning Perspective ► The effects of experience on behavior In the view of many psychologists learning is an essential factor People do things because they are learned, not because of conscious choice ► Social-Learning Theory – learning by observation and storing outcomes for later use Can you choose to do what you learned to do?
Sociocultural Perspective ► Ethnicity, gender, culture, and socio- economic status have a great impact on behavior and mental process
Sociocultural Perspective ► Gender is NOT simply a matter of anatomy A complex web of expectation and social roles ► How has this changed over time?