History of Psychology

  • Learning Objectives: Understand psychological perspectives, psychological perspectives, humanist perspective, psychodynamic perspectives, biopsychology, evolutionary, behavioral, cognitive, social-cultural, and biopsychosocial perspective.
  • Different contemporary psychologists view human thought and behavior from different perspectives.
  • Eight broad categories encompass contemporary perspectives.
Humanist Perspective
  • Humanists emphasize individual choice and free will, contrasting with deterministic behaviorists.
  • Theorists: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers.
  • Belief: Behaviors are chosen and guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.
  • Example: An introverted person limits social contact to satisfy needs with close friends.
  • Humanistic theories lack easy testing via the scientific method; viewed by some as historical perspectives.
  • Some therapists find humanistic ideas helpful.
Psychodynamic Perspective
  • The psychodynamic perspective remains a part of modern psychology.
  • Belief that unconscious controls thought and actions.
  • Psychoanalysts seek repressed impulses/memories.
  • Access the unconscious mind through dream analysis, word association, and psychoanalytic therapy techniques.
  • Example: An introverted person avoids social situations due to a repressed memory of trauma in childhood.
Biopsychology (or Neuroscience) Perspective
  • Explains human thought and behavior in terms of biological processes (genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters).
  • Example: Extroversion is caused by genes affecting neurotransmitter abundance in the brain.
  • Rapidly growing field; some suggest psychology's future lies within biology.
Evolutionary (or Darwinian) Perspective
  • Examines thoughts/actions in terms of natural selection.
  • Advantageous psychological traits are passed down.
  • Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection (1809-1882) foundation.
  • Example: Extroversion as a survival advantage through forming connections.
  • Similar to (and in some ways a subset of) the biopsychology perspective.
Behavioral Perspective
  • Explains thought/behavior in terms of conditioning.
  • Focus on observable behaviors and responses to stimuli.
  • Example: Extroversion explained through reward and punishment.
  • Environmental conditions causing extroverted response are important.
Cognitive Perspective
  • Examines thoughts/behaviors in terms of interpretation, processing, and remembering events.
  • Rules used to view the world are important.
  • Jean Piaget's cognitive developmental theory covered in Unit 3.
  • Example: Extroversion depends on how social situations are interpreted.
Social-Cultural (or Sociocultural) Perspective
  • Examines how thoughts/behaviors vary across cultures.
  • Emphasizes cultural influence.
  • Example: Explains extroversion by examining cultural norms about social interaction.
Biopsychosocial Perspective
  • Modern perspective acknowledging biological, psychological, and social factors.
  • Views other perspectives as reductionistic.
  • Agrees with cognitive influence but includes biological and social influences.
  • Example: Explains extroversion through a combination of genetic tendency, conditioning and social pressures.
Summary
  • Psychologists may agree with various perspectives depending on the situation; this is sometimes called eclectic.
  • No single perspective has all the answers.
  • Perspectives may combine or new ones may emerge with continued research.