Psychology’s Big Issues & Approaches

1. Psychology’s Big Issues & Approaches

Psychology’s
Big Issues
&
Approaches

2. Philosophical Developments

• THE
Question: Nature vs. Nurture
• Inherited vs. Environment
• Are our physical and mental abilities
determined by our genes or our
experiences?
• What has the biggest effect on behavior?
• What are the interactions between genetics
and environment?
• NURTURE WORKS ON WHAT
NATURE ENDOWS

3. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

4. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

5. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

6. Bio-Psycho-Social Model Analysis

7. Psychological Approaches

8. Psychological Perspectives

• Each view behavior from a particular
perspective
• Method of classifying a collection of ideas
• Also called “schools of thought”
• Also called “psychological approaches”

9. Cognitive Perspective

• Focus: On how people think and process
information
• Behavior is explained by how a person interprets
the situation
• How is knowledge acquired, organized,
remembered, and used to guide behavior?
• Influences include
– Piaget – studied intellectual development
– Chomsky – studied language
– Cybernetics – science of information processing

10.

11. Biological Perspective

• Focus: How our biological structures and
substances underlie a given behavior,
thought, or emotion
• Behavior is explained by brain chemistry,
genetics, glands, etc.
• Focus may be at various levels
– individual neurons
– areas of the brain
– specific functions like eating, emotion, or learning
• Interest in behavior distinguishes biological
psychology from many other biological sciences

12.

13. Social-Cultural Perspective

• Focus: How thinking and behavior change
depending on the setting, situation or culture
• Behavior is explained by the influence of other
people present

14.

15. Behavioral Perspective

• Focus: How we learn through rewards,
punishments, and observation
• View of behavior based on experience or learning
– Classical conditioning - Pavlov
– Operant conditioning – Skinner
– Founded by James Watson

16.

17. Humanistic Perspective

• Focus: How healthy people strive to reach
their full potential
• Behavior is explained as being motivated
by satisfying needs (safety, hunger, thirst,
etc.), with the goal of reaching one’s full
potential once basic needs are met.
• Developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
– behavior reflects innate ‘actualization’
– focus on conscious forces and self perception
– more positive view of basic forces than Freud’s

18. Positive Psychology

• Modern “Humanistic Psychology”
• Focus: To study and promote optimal human
functioning
– Help people discover their human potential and
fullfillment
• Martin E.P. Seligman is a major advocate
• Should promote building positive qualities of
people rather than focus on what’s wrong
with people

19.

20. Psychodynamic Perspective

• Focus: How behavior is affected by unconscious
drives and conflicts
• Behavior is explained through unconscious
motivation and unresolved inner conflicts from
one’s childhood.
• Modern version of psychoanalytic perspective
(Sigmund Freud)

21.

22. Evolution

• Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution with the process
of Natural Selection
influenced Psychology.
• The most adaptive traits will
survive due to natural selection
• Focused on how one’s
environment might cause one to
adapt physically, behaviorally &
psychologically to insure the
success of future generations.

23. Evolutionary Psychology

• Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on
innate, adaptive behavior patterns
• Combines aspects of biological,
psychological, and social perspectives
• Behavior is explained by how the behavior
may have helped our ancestors survive
long enough to reproduce successfully.

24. Perspectives Timeline

25. Psychology’s Subfields

26. Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist

• Counseling Psychologist – help
people with crises & life
problems (academic, job related,
family)
• Clinical Psychologist – treats
disorders
• Psychiatrist – medical doctor that
can prescribe drugs to treat
physical causes of disorders

27. Basic vs. Applied Research

– Basic Research –
Discovering concepts and
processes
–
–
–
–
–
–
Biological psychologists
Developmental psychologists
Cognitive psychologists
Educational psychologists
Personality psychologists
Social psychologists
Applied Research – Providing
solutions to problems
– Industrial/organizational
psychologists
– Human factors psychologists
– Counseling psychologists
– Clinical psychologists
– Psychiatrists
– Positive psychology
– Community psychologists

28.

Definition
Slides

29. Biological Psychology

= the scientific study of the links between
biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and
psychological processes.
• Some biological psychologists call themselves
– behavioral neuroscientists,
– neuropsychologists,
– behavior geneticists,
– physiological psychologists, or
– biopsychologists.

30. Cognitive Psychology

= the scientific study of all the mental
activities associated with thinking,
knowing, remembering, and
communicating.

31. Evolutionary Psychology

= the study of the evolution of behavior
and mind, using principles of natural
selection.

32. Psychodynamic Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies how
unconscious drives and conflicts
influence behavior, and uses that
information to treat people with
psychological disorders.

33. Social-Cultural Psychology

= the study of how situations and cultures
affect our behavior and thinking.

34. Psychometrics

= the scientific study of the measurement
of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

35. Developmental Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies
physical, cognitive, and social change
throughout the life span.

36. Educational Psychology

= the study of how psychological
processes affect and can enhance
teaching and learning.

37. Personality Psychology

= the study of an individual’s
characteristic pattern of thinking,
feeling, and acting.

38. Social Psychology

= the scientific study of how we think
about, influence, and relate to one
another.

39. Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychologists

= the application of psychological
concepts and methods to optimizing
human behavior in workplaces.

40. Human Factors Psychologists

= an I/O subfield that explores how
people and machines interact and how
machines and physical environments
can be made safe and easy to use.

41. Counseling Psychology

= a branch of psychology that assists
people with problems in living (often
related to school, work, and marriage)
and in achieving greater well-being.

42. Clinical Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies,
assesses, and treat people with
psychological disorders.

43. Community Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies how
people interact with their social
environments and how social
institutions affect individuals and
groups.