1. Contemporary Psychological Perspectives

2. Elephant Tale

3. Perspectives BiologicalEvolutionary Cognitiv e Humani stic PsychoanalyticLearningSociocultural

4. Biological Perspective Subject Matter  Nervous System  Genes/Hormones  Genetic Factors  Brain connections with cell & chemical activity Key Assumptions  Biological Processes influence behavior and mental process  Genes influence personality, health & behavior

5. Case Study: Michael Phelps

6. Biological Perspective Methodology  CAT, PET scan

7. Evolutionary Perspective Subject Matter  Development of physical traits & social behavior Key Assumptions  Adaptive organisms survive & transmit their genes to future generations  Behavioral patterns (aggression) have a hereditary basis & influence people

8. Cognitive Perspective Subject Matter  Interpretation of mental images, thinking, language  Study of mind Key Assumptions Key Assumptions  Perception & thought, influence behavior

9. Humanistic Perspective Subject Matter  Study importance of self-fulfillment & self- awareness  Exploration of feelings, negative impulse management, realizing potential

10. Humanistic Perspective Key Assumptions  People make free and conscious choices based on their unique experiences  Conscious choices shape personality & behavior  People are good & desire to help others

11. Psychoanalytic Perspective Subject Matter  Unconscious process, early childhood  Roles of unconscious in sexual and aggressive impulses Key Assumptions  Unconscious motives drive behavior

12. Learning Perspective Subject Matter  Experience on behavior Key Assumptions  Personal experience and reinforcement guide individual development  “Social-Learning Theory”: people can change their environment or create new ones

13. Sociocultural Perspective Subject Matter Subject Matter  Ethnicity, gender, socio- economic status, culture Key Assumptions  Sociocultural, biological & psychological factors create individual differences

14. Putting it all together Case and Point: Depression Depression BiologicalEvolutionary Cognitive Humanistic PsychoanalyticLearningSociocultural

15. Depression can be understood from many different theoretical perspectives (not just one). A few possible examples regarding depression:  Biological perspectives (ex: hormones, hereditary factors)  Cognitive perspectives (ex: distortions of various thought processes)  Social perspectives: (ex: it can be a cause and a consequence of poor social skills)  Personality perspectives (ex: some traits may predispose a person to becoming depressed more than other people)

16.  Learning perspectives (ex: depression might be observed in the home and imitated because it leads to positive consequences, e.g., attention from others)  Psychodynamic perspectives (ex: depression may be a result of repressed unconscious conflicts about our true feelings of hostility toward a parent)  Cultural perspectives (ex: depression may be the only way that a particular society or subculture "allows" someone to express their dissatisfaction)

17.  We like to think that only one perspective is the "true" one. But, in reality, most psychological phenomena are complex. Ex: Most instances of depression probably really do reflect the interplay of many of the above factors.