UNIT 0 LESSON 0

THIS IS ONLY 0.0, THE FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE - APPLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

what is psychology?

the scientific study of mental behavior and processes

what are the 7 psychological perspectives?

biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, sociocultural, evolutionary

which perspective is this?

focus: unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, interpersonal relationships

key concepts: id/ego/superego, psychosexual stages, defense mechanisms

example: helping one figure out where their childhood trauma came from and how it effects them today

PSYCHODYNAMIC perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: learned behaviors, conditioning, reinforcement

key concepts: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement

example: everytime you get an answer right, Mr. Stabinski gives you a jolly rancher. now, everytime he asks you a question, you expect to get a jolly rancher since you were rewarded everytime a behavior occurred

BEHAVIORAL perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: mental processes, memory thinking, problem-solving

key concepts: attention, perception, language, decision-making

example: your therapist helping you identify and change negative thought patterns

COGNITIVE perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: physical and biological bases of behavior

key concepts: brain structure, neurotransmitters, genetics

example: a researcher studying the effect of drugs on the brain

BIOLOGICAL perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: how culture influences human behavior

key concepts: cultural norms, values, and beliefs

example: a researcher comparing the parenting styles of different cultures

SOCIOCULTURAL perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: how the theory of evolution can explain psychological processes

key concepts: natural selection, adaptation, survival of the fittest

example: a researcher studying the evolution of mating preferences

EVOLUTIONARY perspective

which perspective is this?

focus: motivation, self-actualization, personal growth

key concepts: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, unconditional positive regard

example: a therapist helping one develop a stronger sense of self worth

HUMANISTIC perspective