Contemporary Perspectives PDF

Contemporary Perspectives Again, most psychologists today have an eclectic approach to psychology. These perspectives do not contradict each other, they are simply various ways of looking at psychology. Cognitive Behavioral Humanist Psychoanalytic Biopsychology (Neur...

Contemporary Perspectives Again, most psychologists today have an eclectic approach to psychology. These perspectives do not contradict each other, they are simply various ways of looking at psychology. Cognitive Behavioral Humanist Psychoanalytic Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Evolutionary (Darwinian) Social-Cultural Psychoanalytic Perspective Recap from earlier... Developed by Sigmund Freud Human behavior is primarily determined by unconscious processes that develop during one’s lifetime Theories are not based on experimental evidence. Many aspects of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory are untestable. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, and Alfred Adler What might a psychoanalyst say is the reason someone always had to have something in their mouth? Behavioral Perspective Recap from earlier... Behaviorists focus on our OBSERVABLE behaviors Claims heredity and genetics are not important Punishments and rewards Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, BF Skinner, and Albert Bandura If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails. Humanist Perspective In reaction to the reductionism of behaviorism, humanist psychologists in the 1950s wanted to focus on the mysterious aspects of consciousness again. They are the feel good hippie psychologists Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) Carl Rogers (1902-1987) Cognitive Perspective Cognitive psychologists focus on how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events. The rules in our mind that we use to view the world are important to understanding why we think and behave as we do. Prominent figures: Jean Piaget Noam Chomsky Biopsychology Perspective Biopsychologists explain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes. Human cognition and reactions might be caused by effects of our genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain or a combo of all three. If you could not remember the names of your parents and went to a psychologist who adheres to the biological perspective, what might they say? Social-Cultural Perspective Social-Cultural psychologists look at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures. Our culture plays a huge role in shaping our thought and behavior. For example, the behavioral norms in one’s culture can be totally different from the norms in another’s culture Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, and Philip Zimbardo Evolutionary Perspective Psychologists from this school think all behavior is simply a process of natural selection. Some psychological traits are beneficial to survival and are passed on from one generation to the next. Charles Darwin and Sir Francis Galton Contemporary Perspectives Let’s look at current major perspectives that psychologists use to examine human thought and behavior (some old perspectives are still prevalent today). Behavioral Psychoanalytic Cognitive Humanist Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Social-Cultural (Sociocultural) Evolutionary (Darwinian) How would each of these perspectives look at Stewie’s unquenchable desire to kill his mother?