Seven Psychological Perspectives: Study Notes on Behavior, Cognition, and More
How We Look at Why People Do Things
Imagine wearing different glasses to see the world. Each pair of glasses helps us understand why people act the way they do, why they learn, and why they get scared.
We have seven special "glasses" or ways to look at people: The "Learned Behavior" glasses, the "Thinking" glasses, the "Hidden Feelings" glasses, the "Growing Up" glasses, the "Body Inside" glasses, the "Friends & Family" glasses, and the "Old Ancestors" glasses.
These different ways of looking come up again and again. They help us figure out real-life situations by focusing on different reasons like what's around us, what we think, our hidden feelings, how we want to grow, what our body does, what our family and friends do, and what our ancestors did a long, long time ago.
A cool trick: if you hear certain words in a story, you can pick the right "glasses" to understand why someone is doing what they're doing.
The "Learned Behavior" Glasses
Main Idea: We learn how to act based on what happens to us. If we get a treat for something good, we'll do it again. If we get a time-out for something bad, we might stop.
Example: If a dog gets a yummy treat for sitting, it learns to sit. Like when your teacher says "Good job!" for raising your hand, you learn to raise it again.
Learning to be Scared: Sometimes, we learn to be scared of things because something yucky happened. Like if you messed up while talking in front of the class and kids giggled, you might start to feel nervous about public speaking.
How it Works: Our actions change because of good things (rewards) or bad things (punishments) that happen afterward. If you got embarrassed talking in front of everyone, you might try to avoid it next time.
What it Means: This helps us see how things happening outside of us make us act. We don't always need to think about what's going on inside our heads.
The "Thinking" Glasses
Main Idea: What we think about things makes us act the way we do, not just rewards or punishments.
Different from "Learned Behavior" Glasses: People are not like robots! Our choices come from how we think and what we believe about different situations.
Thoughts Make Us Scared: If we have silly or worried thoughts, like "What if I fall?" or "What if everyone laughs at me?", these thoughts can make us feel really scared.
Example Thoughts:
"What if someone sees me mess up?"
"What if my shirt is on backward?"
"What if I start sweating a lot?"
How it Works: What we think inside our heads, our beliefs, and even our mixed-up ideas change how we feel and what we do.
What it Means: This shows that if we can change our worried thoughts to happier or more realistic ones, we can feel less scared and do better.
The "Hidden Feelings" Glasses
Main Idea: There's a secret part of our mind, like a deep ocean, that makes us do many things without us even knowing it. This secret part can hold old feelings from when we were super little.
Iceberg Picture: Imagine an iceberg. Only a tiny tip is above the water (that's what you know and think consciously). But a huge part is deep under the water (that's your unconscious mind, with all the hidden feelings).
Pushing Memories Away: Sometimes, yucky or sad things that happened when we were kids get pushed down into this hidden part and can still make us act certain ways now.
Why We're Scared: Our fears might come from bigger, deeper problems, like being scared of people not liking us. These problems often start in our hidden feelings.
Example: Being scared to talk in front of the class might come from times when an adult or teacher made fun of you when you were little, and you forgot about it, but the feeling stuck.
What it Means: This idea makes us think that not everything we do or feel can be explained by just what we know. Early parts of our life and hidden fights inside can make us feel scared now.
The "Growing Up" Glasses
Main Idea: This is a happy way of looking at things! It says we always have choices, we can always grow, and we want to be the best version of ourselves.
How We Act: We're not just told what to do by things that happened in the past or by rewards. We get to choose our own path.
Love to Grow: People can look for hard tasks to get over their fears. Feeling scared can actually help us try harder, not make us weak.
Happy View: These glasses help us see the good side – like a glass that's half-full! It's all about what we can do and how strong we are.
What it Means: This way of thinking gives us a positive, growing mindset and says we have the power to make our own lives meaningful.
The "Body Inside" Glasses
Main Idea: What happens inside our bodies – like our genes, our brain, and special chemicals – makes us think and act.
Brain Focus: Certain parts of our brain are important for feeling scared and worried.
Example: There's a tiny part of your brain shaped like an almond, called the amygdala. It's like your brain's alarm system, telling other parts of your brain when something is scary.
Brain Chemicals: Special body chemicals help make us feel scared, like how stress hormones make your heart beat fast or your hands sweat.
What it Means: This helps us understand that our actions come from how our body and brain work. It connects our mind to our body.
The "Friends & Family" Glasses
Main Idea: What we think and do is shaped by our family, friends, and the rules of the groups we belong to.
Group Rules: There are unspoken rules in different groups about things like looking people in the eye, how loud we talk, or how we show feelings. These rules can change how scary public speaking feels.
TV and Stories: What we see on TV or read in stories can also change what we expect and how we act.
Different Families/Cultures: In some places (like North America), people are taught to be very independent. In other places (like Asia), fitting in with the group and helping each other is more important. These differences change how we feel about success or failure.
What it Means: We can't fully understand why someone acts a certain way without thinking about their family, friends, and where they grew up.
The "Old Ancestors" Glasses
Main Idea: Our actions and even how we think are like special tools that helped people long, long ago (our ancestors) stay alive and have babies.
From Way Back When: The reasons why we feel scared come from a very, very old story – the story of how humans grew up over millions of years.
Fear = Danger: Being scared is like a warning sign from long ago. Feeling scared of public speaking might make your brain think you're in real danger, like a lion is chasing you! So, it makes your body get ready to fight or run away.
How it Works: Our brain can see some social situations (like talking in front of people) as dangerous, and it sets off the "fight or flight" alarm.
What it Means: This helps us understand why being scared is such a basic feeling and why some fears seem to be "built-in" to us.
Putting It All Together
All these seven "glasses" give us helpful hints, but no single one can fully explain why people do everything they do.
They show up in all our lessons and are great for figuring out new stories by picking the right "glasses."
The idea that "everything in our mind is also happening in our body" means that our thoughts, brain, body, and what's around us are all connected, like a big puzzle.
Fun Things to Do
Activity: Try to match special words from a story to each set of "glasses." This helps you see if you understand each way of thinking.
Activity: On a piece of paper, try to explain a situation from the view of each set of "glasses." See how the explanations are different or similar.
No Big Math Stuff
Don't worry, there aren't any hard math problems, numbers, or secret formulas in these notes. If there were, we'd write them in a special way to make them clear.
Thinking About Right and Wrong and What's Useful
Being Kind: Understanding that there are many reasons why someone is scared or acts a certain way can help us not to blame them or make them feel bad.
What's Smart to Do: Using all these ideas together helps teachers, helpers, and coaches combine different ways to help people – like changing what they do, changing what they think, understanding their feelings, knowing about their family/friends, and thinking about their body – to help them do well and feel good.
How We Understand Why People Do Things
Think of these as different ways to look at and understand why people act the way they do, why they learn, and why they experience emotions like fear.
We have seven main viewpoints or "perspectives": the Behavioral, Cognitive, Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Biological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary perspectives.
These perspectives help us analyze real-life situations by focusing on different reasons, such as things happening around us, our thoughts, hidden feelings, our drive to grow, what's happening inside our body, our friends and family, and even what helped our ancestors survive long ago.
A useful tip: certain words in a story about someone can often point you to the right perspective to understand their actions.
The Behavioral Perspective
Main Idea: We learn our behaviors from what happens in our environment. If we get a reward for something, we're likely to do it again; if we face a negative consequence, we might stop.
Example: A dog learns to sit because it gets a treat. Similarly, a student might speak up more in class if the teacher praises their contributions.
Learning Fears: People can develop fears (like phobias) by associating something neutral with a bad experience. For example, someone might become anxious about public speaking after a past negative experience.
How it Works: Our actions change based on the rewards or punishments that follow them. If avoiding public speaking helps you escape embarrassment, you'll likely continue to avoid it.
What it Means: This perspective focuses on outside influences to explain why we act, often without needing to look into our inner thoughts.
The Cognitive Perspective
Main Idea: How we think about things — our thoughts, beliefs, and interpretations — is what truly drives our actions, not just rewards or punishments.
Different from Behavioral: This view sees people as active thinkers, not just robots reacting to their environment. Our choices come from how we understand and interpret situations.
Thoughts Shape Fear: Worried or negative thoughts (e.g., "I'll make a fool of myself," "Everyone will judge me") can make us feel very anxious or scared.
Example Thoughts:
"What if I'm not good enough?"
"What if I forget what to say?"
"What if I start to sweat a lot?"
How it Works: Our internal thoughts, beliefs, and even biased ways of thinking influence our emotions and behaviors.
What it Means: If we can learn to change our unhelpful or worried thoughts into more positive or realistic ones, we can reduce our fears and perform better.
The Psychodynamic Perspective
Main Idea: Many of our actions are shaped by hidden, unconscious parts of our mind, often influenced by early childhood experiences and unresolved inner conflicts.
Iceberg Analogy: Imagine an iceberg, where only a small tip is obvious (our conscious thoughts). The much larger, hidden part underwater represents our unconscious mind, filled with forgotten memories and desires.
Repressed Memories: Difficult or painful experiences from childhood might be pushed into our unconscious, but they can still affect our behavior and feelings later in life without us realizing it.
Why We're Scared: Our fears might stem from deeper, hidden emotional struggles, like an unconscious fear of not being loved or accepted, which often start in our early years.
Example: Being scared to give a presentation might be linked to feeling shamed or criticized by an adult when you were very young, even if you don't consciously remember the event.
What it Means: This perspective suggests that we don't always know the real reasons behind our actions or fears, and that early life and hidden feelings play a crucial role.
The Humanistic Perspective
Main Idea: People have the freedom to choose, a natural desire to grow, and a strong urge to become the best version of themselves.
How We Act: We're not just controlled by past events or rewards. We actively make choices and strive for personal meaning and fulfillment.
Desire to Grow: People often seek out challenges to overcome their fears. Feeling scared can actually motivate us to try harder and helps us develop resilience.
Positive Outlook: This view is very optimistic, focusing on human potential, strengths, and the ability to make our own decisions.
What it Means: It promotes a positive, growth-oriented mindset, emphasizing our power to live meaningful and self-directed lives.
The Biological Perspective
Main Idea: Our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are strongly linked to what's happening inside our bodies, including our genes, brain, and body chemistry.
Brain's Role in Fear: Specific areas of our brain are essential for experiencing and regulating fear and anxiety.
Example: The amygdala ( \text{amygdala} ), a small part of your brain, acts like an alarm system, telling other brain areas when there's a perceived threat or something scary.
Body Chemicals: Special chemicals in our body, like stress hormones and neurotransmitters, contribute to feelings of fear, causing physical reactions such as a racing heart or sweaty hands.
What it Means: This perspective helps us understand that our actions and feelings are connected to how our physical body and brain function.
The Sociocultural Perspective
Main Idea: Our thoughts and actions are significantly shaped by our family, friends, the groups we belong to, and the culture we grow up in.
Group Rules: There are unwritten rules in different social circles about how we should behave, like how much eye contact to make or how loudly to speak. These rules can influence how we feel about social situations like public speaking.
Media and Stories: What we see in movies, on TV, or read in books can also impact our expectations and behaviors.
Cultural Differences: Cultures vary greatly; for example, Western cultures often value independence, while many Eastern cultures emphasize group harmony. These differences can affect how people view success, failure, and social interactions.
What it Means: To fully understand why someone acts a certain way, we need to consider their social environment, family background, and cultural influences.
The Evolutionary Perspective
Main Idea: Our current behaviors and psychological traits are a result of adaptations that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce over millions of years.
Ancient Origins: Our fears and anxieties have deep historical roots, evolving as protective mechanisms to help humans deal with ancient dangers.
Fear as a Survival Tool: Feeling scared is an ancient warning signal. For instance, public speaking anxiety might trigger a primal "fight or flight" response in our brain, as if we were facing a physical threat like a predator.
How it Works: Our brain can interpret certain social situations (like speaking in front of a crowd) as dangerous, activating inherited responses designed for survival.
What it Means: This helps us understand why fear is such a fundamental emotion and why some fears seem almost "built-in" to human nature.
Putting It All Together
All these seven perspectives offer valuable insights, but no single one can fully explain every human behavior. Often, behaviors are the result of a combination of these factors.
These ideas appear in many academic subjects and are excellent for analyzing new situations by applying the most relevant viewpoint.
The concept that "everything in our mind is also happening in our body" means that our thoughts, brain, physical feelings, and environment are all connected and influence each other.