...Theories Comparison and Contrast SSCI206-1205B-32: Aspects of Psychology Brittany Shalice Herrig Abstract The purpose of this paper is to define, compare and contrast three perspectives of psychology. In detail this paper will define and examine the theories of; behaviorism, psychodynamic, and cognitive. This paper will include a description of each perspective and provide an example for each. Included in this paper will be a comparison of the three perspectives. This paper will conclude with an example of how each perspective influences psychology today. Psychology Theories Psychology is the word that is used to define the science of mind and behavior. The word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, which means “breathe, spirit, soul” and the Greek word logia, which means the study of something (Nordqvist, 2009). By derivative definition psychology is the study of every aspect of human function and behavior. The human being is extremely complex, evolutionary individual, and new discoveries regarding human development are discovered often. Because of constant stream of new discoveries regarding human psyche, there are many different perspectives that when combined in an eclectic manner provide a unique insight into what makes us, as human beings, so special. The behaviorist perspective is an approach in psychology that proposes that learning comes from either rewards or punishment in association with specific behaviors (Editorial Board, 2011). Ivan Pavlov was...
Words: 999 - Pages: 4
...This includes the following perspectives: psychodynamic, behaviorist, cognitive, and evolutionary (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Although the biopsychological approach is not considered as one of the four major schools of thought within psychology, it plays an important role in the foundations of psychology. These perspectives focus on a unique viewpoint or approach toward the field of psychology and each brings new ideas and theories to the table. The Psychodynamic Perspective It can be said that Sigmund Freud was the father of the psychodynamic perspective of psychology. Freud developed this perspective based upon the idea that the unconscious self is responsible for certain “underlying wishes, fears, and patterns of thought from an individual’s conscious, verbalized thought, and behavior” (Kowalski & Westen, 2009, p. 13). Essentially, the psychodynamic perspective suggests that people’s actions and thoughts are influenced by unconscious factors that they may not be aware of. The goal of psychodynamic psychologists was to discover how these unconscious factors influence the behavior and mental processes of human beings. Due to the nature of this perspective psychologists relied heavily upon the case study method which permitted observation and analysis of the patient’s dreams, fantasies, and fears. The psychodynamic perspective has been intensely criticized throughout the years because of the nature of the theories provided by this perspective. In fact, it is the most...
Words: 1316 - Pages: 6
...The question of the Psychoanalytic and Behaviorist perspective and their methods to find the answer Psychology has been around for a long time and, within that time, has expanded and contracted with its theories and perspectives. A few of these perspectives sometimes coalesce while others sometimes completely oppose each other. None however, seem to do both like the Psychoanalysis and Behaviorist perspectives, both of which ask the same questions but use very different methods to find the answers. Psychoanalysis was said to be the most influential system of psychology and was pioneered by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychologist in Vienna, during the 19th century. Freud was influenced by several significant individuals such as Josef Breuer, Jean-Martin Charcot and Rudolf Chrobak. All of these people shared similar views about behaviours which most people thought were absurd and unprovable. As a result behaviorism was born. The development of Behaviorism was largely influenced by the dissatisfaction of John B. Watson with a number of theories which were in place at the time, especially Psychoanalysis. Behaviorism was created in an attempt to make psychology a science like Biology or Physics which focused only on observable data. Behaviorism was developed from a utilitarian school of thought. It was designed to predict and control behavior and focused on the study of overt behavior. Both perspectives have differing theories about personality. Burrhus Frederick Skinner was...
Words: 654 - Pages: 3
...theoretical perspectives in psychology are biological, learning, cognitive, psychodynamic, and social cultural perspectives. Each one of these perspectives searches for answers about behavior through different techniques and through looking for answers to different kinds of questions. Due to the different approaches, each perspective formed their own assumption and explanations. Some perspectives are widely accepted while others struggle for acceptance. Biological perspective “The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all action, feelings, and thought s are associated with bodily events.”Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulse, hormones, and chemical flowing through the body can affect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspect of biology effects peoples emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events. One of the major theories of biological psychology is that “we cannot know ourselves if we do not know our bodies”. Through application of this theory, biological psychologists strive to understand the relationship between the mind and body and they influence sickness or health. It is believed that poor health can lead to negative attitudes while poor attitudes can lead to poor health. Biological psychologists research and study the correlation of this theory in an attempt to help solve some mental and emotional problems. Learning perspective, the writing...
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...this it is my hope for readers to have a better understanding of these points. There are four schools of thought or perspectives that I am going to discuss. These are the psychodynamic perspective, behaviorist perspective, the cognitive perspective, and the evolutionary perspective. According to the text book Psychology, Sixth Edition, perspectives are broad ways of understanding psychological phenomena, including theoretical propositions, shared metaphors and accepted methods of observation. The first perspective or school of thought I am going to discuss is the psychodynamic perspective. According to the book the psychodynamic perspective rests on three key premises, the first being that people’s actions are determined by the way thoughts, wishes, and feelings are connected in their minds. Next, many of our mental events occur outside of conscious awareness. Third, our mental processes may conflict with one another, causing people to compromise among competing motives. This means that people most likely do not precisely know the chain of psychological events that leads to their conscious thoughts, intentions, feelings, or behaviors. In the text book psychodynamics is defined as a view, analogous to dynamics among physical forces such as wishes, fears, and intentions have a direction and intensity. One of the assumptions of the psychodynamic perspective is the importance of the unconscious mind and motivation. Sigmund Freud believed that what determines our behavior...
Words: 805 - Pages: 4
...Early Psychology: Perspectives and Theories 3 Early Theories of Psychology By: Jasmine N. Gresham AIU online: Course work unit one individual project SSCI206-1205D-01 Aspects of Psychology Short Description of each Perspective: Gestalt: Is a psychology term which means "unified whole". It refers to theories of visual perception developed by German psychologists in the 1920s. These theories attempt to describe how people tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied. Founded by Max Wertheimer, was to some extent a rebellion against the molecularism of Wundt’s program for psychology, in sympathy with many others at the time, including William James. In fact, the word Gestalt means a unified or meaningful whole, which was to be the focus of psychological study instead. Behaviorism: hard core behaviorists believe that everything you do is because of conditioning. You are merely a puppet, an animal trained to act one way or another by your parents and society. Physiological: the name says it all - most everything you do or feel can be traced back to a chemical, neurological, physical reaction of some kind in your body. Examples that represent each perspective: * Example of Gestalt:...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...Watson in the early twentieth century. Three suspicions set out its ideas. Grippin, P., and Peters, S., (1984) stated that the center of study is by and large noticeable conduct, the earth shapes conduct, and the standards of contiguity and support are key in clarifying the learning procedure Behaviorisms keep up the supposition that we see and experience the world precisely as it exhibits itself physically, for everybody. This consequently prompts the idea that everything capacities as indicated by characteristic laws, and any change happening is because of a circumstances and end results. Henceforth, this hypothesis concentrates on how ecological boosts inspire conduct and reactions. COGNITIVISM ORIENTATION DESCIRBED Gestalt's perspectives of Bode, Wertheimer, Kohler, Koffka and Lewin later reprimanded the behaviorism hypothesis in 1929, through productions. According to Ormrod, E., (1995) these clinicians proposed taking a gander at the entire as opposed to its parts and at examples rather than separated occasions .Before long termed as the cognitive methodology, it demonstrated that such learners would accumulate all assets important to take care of an issue, and afterward set up them together in distinctive...
Words: 1487 - Pages: 6
...planning, learning theory, and training needs analysis Benoitte Muzitu Professor JEANETTE HORNER-SMITH BUS 407 07/28/2011 1. The training process model refers to steps which are taken in order to ensure company growth, and business change. When managing any training process, it is usually recommend that company leaders work closely with functional department heads and Human Resources personnel in following a systematic approach to training. A good system will help attack training problems using a “rifle” approach, rather than a “shotgun” approach. The following are five generic steps or phases in the model that we as trainers simply call A.D.D.I.E. These steps will help build a training program, and will increase chances of assembling an effective program. By analyzing the need, or performing a “needs assessment,” is crucial in identifying the information that must be addressed in the program. This is where the question, “What do we want our employees to get out of the program?” is asked. A great way to complete this phase is to perform a “gap analysis” by comparing current results to the desired performance. Another way to perform this phase is to treat team members as stakeholders in the process, much like we treat customers. Get their help by asking for specifications for the training. After all, they know where they need help...particularly when it comes to delivering a better product or dealing with customers. This analysis is also useful in creating metrics that...
Words: 1773 - Pages: 8
...The Theoretical Perspective of the Cognitive Personality Approach Brett Abstract What I as an author am trying to do in this essay is to grab my audiences attention and explain and appeal to them about the theoretical perspective of the Cognitive Personality approach. I provided historical statements, theories, and research to make each individual aspect of the perspective as clear as possible. This essay will consist of the Theoretical perspective of the approach, Theorists who have contributed to this approach, Compare and contrast two theorists perspectives within this approach, Identify and describe measurement and assessment instruments, and Clinical application of the approach. If you believe the saying 'Perception is everything,' then you may well be a cognitivist. Cognitive theory is focused on the individual's thoughts as the determinate of his or her emotions and behaviors and therefore personality (Dasen). Many cognitive theorists believe that without these thought processes, we could have no emotions and no behavior and would therefore not function. In other words, thoughts always come before any feeling and before any action. The theoretical perspective of the Cognitive approach of personality can be simply described as what personality does, but is much more complex than that. Cognitive Psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick then we need to understand the internal processes of their mind (Dasen). Cognition...
Words: 1907 - Pages: 8
...Three Learning Perspectives. Cognitive- is a mental processes which includes the attention memory which produced. Language, learning, reasoning, problem solving and decision making. Cognitive is a different approaches from previous psychological. Accepts when you use scientific and rejects introspection. As a method of investigation. Not symbol approaches like Freudian psychology. Acknowledge the internal mental states, unlike behaviorist psychology. Early years critics said that empiricism of cognitive combined with acceptance mental states was contradictory. Cognition is a processing of information applying and changing preferences. It could be natural or artificial and conscious and unconscious. When you look at cognitive learning you have to understand how it works and how the children will learn from it. When you have students that need to understand who they work in groups and understanding things. When you look things over you need to make sure that students understand the lesson and how to do it. Cognitive Lesson Plan Content that is addressed in this lesson is about outer space. This lesson will teach the children how they can travel in any direction using basic locomotors skills with the understanding of space. Question: Which is easier to control in a group. How much space is need in a group to provide movement? Concepts and skills students master, During this time children will know about personal space and personal space in general. Evidence outcomes: ...
Words: 976 - Pages: 4
...Methods Worksheet Part I: Origins of Psychology Within psychology, there are several perspectives used to describe, predict, and explain human behavior. The seven major perspectives in modern psychology are psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanist, cognitive, neuroscientific/biopsychological, evolutionary, and sociocultural. Describe the perspectives, using two to three sentences each. Select one major figure associated with one of the perspectives and describe his or her work in two to three sentences. Type your response in the space below. Psychoanalytic – Construction which alerts the relative of conscious and unaware psychological processes. Freud Sigmund was the founder of the psychoanalytic school. . behavioral perspective- : A Psychologist who analyses obvious or scientific behavior. John Watson was the founder of the behaviorist school. humanistic perspective- expressed discretion and a position of self-realization because every people try to build up self actualisation. cognitive perspective- is how we accumulate and store data through views and perceptions. neuroscientific/biopsychological perspective-examines behavior through genetic processes of the brain and other parts of the nervous system. evolutionary perspective- Tensions natural selection, adjustment, and development of behavior and psychological processes. sociocultural perspective- social interactions and social determinants of behavior and mental processes. ...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...Behaviorist and Psychoanalytic Psychology Introduction Psychology has been around for as long as the human civilization. Every now and then as social situations shift, we have new psychological approaches taking place and they go a long way to act as a response to such shifts in social situations as well as discontent with theoretical explanations advanced previously. It therefore follows that each psychology system has differing perspectives as well as objectives on what constitutes fiction or fact. It hence follows that the view of truth for each system is largely dependent on the research methods as well as goals and techniques in place. In this ext, I compare and contrast psychoanalytic psychology and behaviorist psychology. I also give my opinion on how these theories are utilized in the practice of psychology. A discussion When it comes to the evolution, it is important to note that Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism both share unique though substantively different intellectual as well as social contexts. Sigmund Freud is considered the pioneer of psychoanalysis which is considered to be quite influential as far as psychology is concerned. Amongst those who influenced Freud his early days include but are not limited to Chrobak Rudolf, Jean-Martin Charcot as well as Breuer, Josef. It can be noted that these three individuals had a lot in common and this included their view of neurotic disorders and the role sex played by sex in the same. On the other hand, behaviorism...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...sometimes mystifying being. Our actions, behaviors, emotions, mannerisms, and functions are all so complicated and sometimes mystifying. Questioning why we do what we do, act the way we do, behave in a certain manner, or react to a situation, even asking these questions in general is the very reason for the study of Psychology. Psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior, and as stated in our book, psychology lies in the intersection of biology and culture [ (Kowalski & Westen, 2009) ]. Throughout the journey of psychology there have been many brilliant and ground breaking scientists and psychologists who’ve laid the foundations for what is studied today. Through these journeys many schools of thought and perspectives have been formed into this foundation which we still use today. It is said that Psychology is between biology and culture, it is meaning that biology covers the central nervous system and within that system are the areas with which control many of our mental processes. Culture has a place on the opposite boarder of psychology because how and where we grew up effects the way we are in regard to our behavior and reactions to situations. While Psychology is said to border biology and culture, it is said to be born from philosophy. When Philosophers started looking for more answers in regard to the nature of thought, Feeling, and behavior in their minds, using logic and argumentation they turned to psychology [ (Kowalski & Westen, 2009)...
Words: 1350 - Pages: 6
...focusing on observable behaviors, which behaviorists uses key concepts of conditioning, punishment, and reinforcement. John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner’s approach on behaviorism exhibited behavioral psychology as the model of formal disciplinary. On the other hand, Edward C. Tolman’s approach on behavioral learning subsidized to behavioral psychology. Although Watson, Skinner, and Tolman’s approaches were different in describing and explaining their theoretical approach, Watson, Skinner, and Tolman contributed their own theories proven to impact a part of psychology in influencing the advancement of modern day psychology in understanding behavior and human learning. Perspectives John B. Watson (1878-1958) was born in a small city (Travelers Rest) in Greenville County of South Carolina to Emma Watson and Pickens Butler. Watson was an American psychologist who founded the psychological school of behaviorism and the first to advocate a behavioral approach. Watson believed that one could benefit a full understanding of behavior by learning and modifying the environment in which people function and control as well as he thought that it was feasible and probable to produce any desired type of behavior by controlling a person’s environment (Feldman, 2010). According to Watson, psychology should be the science of observable behavior in which he treated mental events outside the province of a scientific psychology. Watson’s launching of the behaviorist movement in the United States in 1913...
Words: 2156 - Pages: 9
...Perspective Paper María D. Rodríguez University of Phoenix December 14th, 2009 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY: I certify that the attached paper is my original work. I affirm that I have not submitted any portion of this paper to any previous course, and neither has anyone else. I confirm that I have cited all sources from which I used language, ideas, and information, whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased. Any assistance I received while producing this paper has been acknowledged in the References section. I have obtained written permission from the copyright holder for any trademarked material, logos, images from the Internet, or other sources. I further agree that my name typed on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Maria D. Rodriguez __________ Perspective Paper Human beings by nature are inquisitive. Knowing where one comes from and what aspects separates one from other individuals has been in our nature since humans discovered having five toes on each foot. The approach of psychology basing the study on the fact that behavior can be researched without consideration of the inner state of the mind is known as behaviorism. Behaviorism is said to be both a philosophy as well as a psychological movement. Radical behaviorism Early in the 20th century, behaviorism initiated with the work of John B. Watson...
Words: 1531 - Pages: 7