Psychological perspectives are numerous theoretical positions that have been created in the discipline of psychology to explain various facets of human behavior. Each viewpoint has its own distinct ideas, concepts, and procedures and is similar to a different lens used to observe and understand the psychological world. They all seek to provide answers to fundamental issues about human nature, including the reasons behind our actions, how we process information, and the factors that shape our attitudes and thought patterns.
Purpose of Psychological Perspectives
Like many other academic disciplines, psychology has numerous facets and is quite complex. Psychologists have evolved a number of unique views to make sense of the broad array of events relating to human behavior, thinking processes, and emotions. Each provides a unique perspective from which we can analyze and comprehend thought and action.
Major Psychology Perspectives
We shall examine seven key psychological views in this section. Each viewpoint will be explained, and its applications and illustrations will be covered.
The Psychodynamic Perspective
The psychodynamic perspective, pioneered by Sigmund Freud, stresses the impact of the unconscious mind on behavior. This point of view contends that internal factors, many of which have roots in our early experiences, interact to determine our feelings, ideas, and behaviors.
- Unconscious mind: The part of the mind that contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories of which individuals are not aware.
- Id, ego, and superego: The three components of the psychic apparatus defined in Freud's structural model of the psyche.
- Repression: The psychological attempt made by an individual to direct one's own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding them from one's consciousness and holding or subduing them in the unconscious.
Importance: The psychodynamic perspective is essential because it places a strong emphasis on the unconscious mind and how it affects behavior, thoughts, and feelings.
Uses & Examples: Free association and dream analysis are two methods used by psychodynamic therapists to unearth suppressed memories or thoughts. An individual with a phobia, for instance, would be urged to investigate unresolved problems from their past that may be the cause of the phobia.
The Behavioral Perspective
Psychologists like B.F. Skinner have defended the behavioral perspective. Focus is placed on discernible behaviors by Skinner and John Watson. It makes the case that interactions with the environment play a role in both teaching and reinforcing behavior.
- Reinforcement: The process of increasing the likelihood of a specific behavior by administering a reward.
- Punishment: An adverse event or outcome that decreases the behavior it follows.
- Classical Conditioning: A type of learning where a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.
Importance: The behavioral approach is significant because it places a strong emphasis on visible behavior. According to this viewpoint, every behavior is acquired through interactions with the environment.
Uses & Examples: Environmental influences on the reinforcement of behavioral patterns may be studied by behavioral psychologists. This viewpoint can be used in classroom token economies and other behavior modification strategies like systematic desensitization for phobias.
The Cognitive Perspective
Memory, perception, attention, and problem-solving are just examples of the mental processes that are addressed by the cognitive perspective. According to cognitive psychologists, our thought processes affect how we behave.
- Schema: A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.
- Cognitive Dissonance: The mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.
- Perception: The organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information to represent and understand the environment.
Importance: Understanding mental functions like memory, thought, problem-solving, and language requires an understanding of cognition.
Uses & Examples: By assisting patients in identifying and altering unhelpful thought patterns, cognitive therapy is frequently used to treat illnesses including depression and anxiety. For instance, a person with anxiety may learn to resist unreasonable anxieties or thoughts about the future.
Humanistic Perspective
The humanistic perspective places a strong emphasis on self-actualization, personal development, and the search for identity. It makes the supposition that people have free will, are morally upright by nature, and want to realize their full potential.
- Self-Actualization: The realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities.
- Congruence: When a person's ideal self (who they want to be) is congruent with their actual behavior.
- Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Importance: The humanistic perspective is significant because it emphasizes the idea of free will while focusing on the individual's subjective experiences and personal development. It is predicated on the idea that everyone has inherent goodness and the capacity for personal development.
Uses & Examples: Client-centered therapy is one tool that humanistic psychologists may employ to assist people in discovering their true identities and potential. This viewpoint has shaped therapies that concentrate on a person's particular needs, including gestalt therapy or person-centered therapy.
The Biological Perspective
The biological perspective explores the role that biological processes play in human behavior. It examines how genetics, brain structures, hormones, and neurotransmitters influence behavior and thought processes.
- Neurotransmitters: Chemicals in the brain that transmit signals between nerve cells.
- Hormones: Chemical substances that control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs.
- Genetics: The study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics.
Importance: The biological perspective is vital for its focus on the biological substrates of behavior. It explores how brain function, neurotransmitters, hormones, and genetics influence our actions, thoughts, and feelings. Its purpose is to highlight the physical and biological bases for behavior.
Uses & Examples: This perspective is applied in fields like neuropsychology and behavioral genetics. For instance, researchers might investigate how brain damage might affect personality or how certain genetic factors might increase the risk for mental illness.
The Socio-Cultural Perspective
The socio-cultural perspective considers how society and culture influence our behavior and thinking. It suggests that our thoughts and behaviors must be understood in the context of our social and cultural environment.
- Cultural Norms: Rules that a specific group uses for stating what is seen as appropriate and inappropriate behavior, values, beliefs, and attitudes.
- Social Roles: Expectations for how individuals should behave in a particular social status.
- Social Identity: The portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.
Importance: The socio-cultural perspective is important because it emphasizes the impact of social and cultural factors on human behavior.
Uses & Examples: Socio-cultural psychologists might examine how cultural norms influence behavior or how social pressures impact mental health. For example, they might study how body image perceptions differ across cultures.
The Evolutionary Perspective
The evolutionary perspective applies principles of evolution, like natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena. It suggests that many mental processes and behaviors have developed because they were helpful for survival and reproduction.
- Natural Selection: The process in nature by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics to succeeding generations.
- Evolutionary Psychology: The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.
- Adaptation: A change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.
Importance: The evolutionary perspective is important for its emphasis on how evolution shapes behaviors and mental processes.
Uses & Examples: Evolutionary psychologists might examine behaviors from an adaptive perspective—such as why fear responses evolved or how mating preferences have changed over time.
FAQs
What is the most popular psychology perspective?
It might vary depending on the particular topic of psychology being discussed, making it difficult to identify the "most popular" perspective in psychology. But in recent years, the cognitive approach has become increasingly significant, especially in fields like cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) and the comprehension of mental diseases.
What is a perspective in psychology by Sigmund Freud?
The majority of individuals link Sigmund Freud with the psychodynamic school of thought in psychology. This viewpoint places special emphasis on how early experiences, the unconscious mind, and the interaction of the id, ego, and superego all have an impact on behavior and thought processes.
References
Carlson, N. R. (2010). Psychology: the science of behaviour. Pearson Education Canada.
Fancher, R. E., & Rutherford, A. (2016). Pioneers of psychology. WW Norton & Company.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64.
Gould, J. D., & Lewis, C. (1985). Designing for usability: key principles and what designers think. Communications of the ACM, 28(3), 300-311.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370.
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