Recording-2025-02-26T17:44:54.167Z

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Origin: Developed by Sigmund Freud.

• Focus: Explores the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.

• Key Concepts:

  • Childhood experiences and unresolved inner conflicts shape personality and behavior.

  • Exploration of dream meanings is common among theorists.

  • Therapy aims to uncover suppressed thoughts and traumatic memories through techniques like free association.

  • Suppression of memories is viewed as a defense mechanism.

Behavioral Perspective

• Overview: Critiques both psychodynamic and cognitive approaches, emphasizing observable behavior over internal thought processes.

• Pioneers: BF Skinner and John Watson.

• Key Concepts:

  • Focuses on how the environment influences behavior.

  • Behaviors are learned through conditioning, which can be operant or classical.

  • Utilizes reinforcement (positive and negative) and punishment to modify behavior.

Cognitive Approach

• Overview: Disagrees with the behavioral perspective, asserting the importance of studying unobservable thought processes.

• Focus Areas:

  • How people think, perceive, remember, and learn.

  • Studies mental processes including problem solving, decision making, and language comprehension.

• Key Concepts:

  • Understanding mental processes provides insights into human behavior.

Sociocultural Perspective

• Definition: Emphasizes the role of social and cultural influences on human behavior.

• Key Concepts:

  • Examines how societal norms, values, and traditions shape individual thoughts and behaviors.

  • Explores behavioral variations across cultures and the impact of cultural evolution.

  • Recognizes that different cultural backgrounds result in diverse thought processes.

Biological Perspective

• Overview: Investigates the connections between the brain, nervous system, and behavior.

• Key Concepts:

  • Explores the influence of genetics, hormones, and neurotransmitters on emotions, thoughts, and actions.

  • Often collaborates with neuroscientists, employing tools like brain scans to study brain structure and function.

Evolutionary Perspective

• Definition: Focuses on how evolutionary principles, such as natural selection, shape human behavior over time.

• Key Concepts:

  • Certain behaviors are considered hardwired into our DNA due to their ancestral advantages in survival and reproduction.

  • Investigates topics like mating preferences, aggression, and altruism.

Humanistic Perspective

• Founders: Rooted in the works of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

• Focus: Emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, and human potential.

• Key Concepts:

  • Belief in the innate goodness of individuals.

  • Self-actualization defined by Maslow as the optimal state of humanity achieved through fulfilling basic needs (comfort, food, shelter, safety, belonging, self-esteem).

  • Recommended viewing: Video on Maslow's hierarchy of needs for deeper understanding.