approaches to psychology

We people, as marvellously self-aware creatures, tend to place a high value on our cognitive processes: we’re reasonable and thinking beings, capable of taking a step back and analysing our own conduct.

However, we, like any other biological organism, interact with and respond to our surroundings in a variety of ways that are much beyond our conscious awareness. We often take these unconscious, autonomic components of our being for granted, but they’re vital to both our understanding of the world around us and, more importantly, our daily survival.

 Our biological constitution and the events that occur in our bodies that lead to our behaviour are the focus of the physiological approach to psychology. Psychological psychology which is an approach to psychology will consequently primarily focus on the brain, but will also involve research into the neurological system, hormones, and heredity.

 You must be able to perform the following tasks:

• Describe and evaluate the many approaches used to investigate physiological psychology

• Define and assess the physiological psychology approach in psychology 
• Describe and evaluate the major issues and disputes relevant to physiological psychology

 Human behaviour can be examined from many different angles. Psychologists use the approaches to psychology when studying how people think, feel, and act.

Some researchers focus on a specific school of thought, such as biology, whereas others use a more diversified approach that takes into account a number of viewpoints. There is no “superior” viewpoint, each just stresses various facets of human behaviour and Adlerian personality.

Only a tiny percentage of psychologists categorise their viewpoints into several schools of thought. While some pure behaviourists or psychoanalysts still exist, most psychologists now divide their work into specialities and perspectives.

You might be wondering why there are so many distinct perspectives of psychology and whether one is correct while the others are incorrect.

Most psychologists believe that no single approach is valid, even though behaviourists claimed that their viewpoint was the only one that was genuinely scientific in the early days of psychology in perspectives of psychology.

Different Approaches

The six major approaches to psychology are summarised in the table below.

From the standpoint of a behaviourist

In contrast to most other theories, behaviourism argues that humans are governed by their environment and that we are the result of what we’ve learned from it. According to the behaviourist perspective, environmental influences have an impact on observable behaviour.

According to the behaviourist perspective, classic conditioning and operant conditioning are the two fundamental mechanisms people learn from their surroundings. Learning via association is common in habituation while learning from the consequences of conduct is expected in behaviour modification in approaches to psychology.

Perspective from a Humanist

Humanistic psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the entire person. Humanistic psychologists examine human behaviour through the eyes of the person who is doing the acting, not just the eyes of the spectator.

Humanistic theory of personality psychologists believe that a person’s actions are linked to their inner feelings and self-image. Humanism is based on the belief that each person is unique and individual, with the ability to change at any point in their lives.

Perspective on Psychodynamics

Sigmund Freud is a well-known psychoanalyst. Freud’s psychoanalytic theories have influenced so many aspects of our daily lives. Events from our childhood, according to Freud, might have a substantial impact on our adult behaviour. He also felt that people had a limited amount of free will when making life decisions. Instead, the unconscious mind and childhood events shape our conduct. The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, compared the human mind to an iceberg, with only a minor portion visible, which is our observable behaviour but mostly hidden in approaches to psychology.

Taking a Cognitive Approach

The idea behind cognitive psychology is that if we want to know what makes individuals tick, we need to figure out what processes are going on in their heads. In other words, from this perspective, psychologists examine cognition, which is defined as “the mental act or process through which knowledge is obtained.” In the way we process information, it compares us to computers.

It’s a scientific method that usually involves doing lab experiments to investigate human behaviour. Cognitive therapy and eyewitness testimony are two applications of the cognitive approach.

Psychology of Biology

According to the biological perspective, all attitudes, feelings, and behaviours have a genetic component. It is one of the most important aspects of psychology, and it includes research into the brain and genetics, among other things. Behavioural genomics theorists investigate how genes influence behaviour from a biological standpoint. Perhaps, now that the human genome has been mapped, we will better comprehend how our DNA affects our behaviour.

Biological psychologists explain behaviour in terms of neurology, or the physiology and anatomy of the brain, and how this influences behaviour. Many biological psychologists have studied and attempted to explain anomalous behaviour. 

Conclusion

 As a result, a variety of psychological viewpoints can be used to explain diverse types of behaviour and provide multiple perspectives of psychology. There is no single viewpoint that can explain everything in approaches to psychology. The human mind and behaviour can be viewed in several ways. Researchers and students can use the many views in modern psychology to explore the problems and give their solutions. Adlerian personality theory also assists psychologists in developing fresh techniques to explain and anticipate human behaviour. This understanding and research could lead to the creation of unique treatment methods.