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Psychology’s �Big Issues �&�Approaches

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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

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Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

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Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

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Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

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Bio-Psycho-Social Model�Analysis

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Psychological�Approaches

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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”

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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?
  • Topics they study includes
    • Intellectual development & Problem Solving
    • Language development
    • Perception and Memory

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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 on how the following impact our behavior/thinking…
    • individual neurons
    • areas of the brain
    • chemicals or hormones
  • Interest in behavior distinguishes biological psychology from many other biological sciences

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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

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Behavioral�Perspective

  • Focus: How we learn through rewards, punishments, and observation
  • Interested in how the environment influences our behaviors.

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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

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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)

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Evolution

  • Behavior is explained by how the behavior may have helped our ancestors survive long enough to reproduce successfully.
  • Influenced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with the process of Natural Selection
  • The most adaptive traits will survive due to natural selection

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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