1. Perspectives Of Psychology

2. Biological Perspective Emphasizes physical causes of behavior Look for connections between events in the brain and behavior/mental processes Study influences of genes on personality traits, psychological health, and various behavior patterns

3. Evolutionary Perspective Focus on evolution of behavior and mental processes Believe that inherited tendencies influence people to act in certain ways

4. Cognitive Perspective Emphasize role that thoughts play in determining behavior Study mental processes to understand human nature Study what we call “the mind” Involves information processing Believe people’s behavior is influenced by their values, their perceptions, and their choices

5. Humanistic Perspective Stresses human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self- awareness, and capacity to make choices Considers personal experiences to be most important aspect of psychology Believe we are free to choose our own behavior People are basically good and desiring to be helpful to others

6. Psychoanalytic Perspective Stresses influence of unconscious forces on human behavior Modern focus more on conscious choice and self-direction not roles of unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses

7. Learning Perspective Emphasizes effects of experience on behavior Learning is essential factor in observing, describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling behavior

8. Behaviorists (part of learning) Emphasizes the importance of environmental influences and focus on learning of habits through repetition and reinforcement What one knows isn’t as important as what one does No role for conscious

9. Social-Learning Theory (learning still) People can change their environments or create new ones People can learn intentionally by observing others People’s expectations and values influence whether they will choose to do what they learned how to do Behavior is learned from direct experience or by observing other people

10. Sociocultural Perspective Studies influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes Psychology is enriched by awareness of these factors and by taking them into account when conducting research Diversity that’s happening in our society is being reflected in the psychological perspectives