ap psych perspectives

humanistic

UNIQUE ASPECTS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE

behaviors are chosen

choices are guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs

humans are free, rational beings, with the potential for personal growth (motivational)

humans are fundamentally different from animals

psychoanalytic/psychodynamic

freud/neo-freudian

UNCONSCIOUS DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR

the unconscious mind controls human thought and action

experiences in early childhood govern personality and mental disorders

biological/biopsychology/neuroscience

PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS

an organism’s functioning can be explained in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes (hormones)

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

evolutionary/darwinian

EVOLUTIONARY BASES OF BEHAVIOR IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS

in terms of natural selection

behaviors have evolved to solve adaptive problems

natural selection favors behaviors that enhance reproductive success

behavioral

EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT ON THE OVERT BEHAVIOR OF HUMAN AND ANIMALS

looks strictly at observable behaviors and what reaction organisms get in response to specific behaviors

only observable events can be studied scientifically

cognitive

THOUGHTS; MENTAL PROCESS

how people interpret, process, and remember environmental events

how people view the world affects thoughts and and behaviors

how people acquire, store, and process information

sociocultural

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES ON BEHAVIOR

how thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures

how learned norms affect thoughts

biopsychosocial

aka eclectic

combination of all the approaches