THE 7 MAIN APPROACHES/PERSPECTIVES TO PSYCHOLOGY

*Many psychologists may believe that each perspective has valid explanations depending on the specific situation, and this point of view is called eclectic. This term refers to the claim
that no one perspective has all the answers to the variety of human thought and behavior. Psychologists tend to use various perspectives in their work depending on which point of view
fits best with the explanation.
Approach & Its Infl!nt"al
P!r"o#
Pr"nc"pl! Contr"$tors S$%!ct Matt!r &as"c Pr!'"s!
H'an"st"c
(!"#s$Present%
&arl 'ogers$Person$centered
therapy and unconditional positive
regard
(braham Maslow$)ierarchy of
*eeds and +elf$(ctuali,ation
-ni.ue aspects of human
experience
/elief that we choose most of our behaviors and these
choices are guided by physiological, emotional or
spiritual needs. )umans are free, rational beings with
the potential for personal growth, and they are
fundamentally different from animals.
Ps(choanal(t"c/Ps(cho#(na'"c
(!##$Present%
+igmund 0reud$Personality and
+tates of &onsciousness
&arl 1ung$the most important and
lifelong task imposed upon any
person is fulfillment through the
process of individuation,
achievement of harmony of
conscious and unconscious, which
makes a person one and whole
(lfred (dler$23ndividual Psychology,2
a term which is sometimes
misunderstood. 3t refers to the
indivisibility of the personality in its
psychological structure.
-nconscious determinants of
behavior
/elief that the unconscious mind$$$a part of our mind
that we do not have conscious control over or access
to$$$controls much of our thought and action.
-nconscious motives and experiences in early
childhood govern personality and mental disorders.
&"ops(cholo)(/N!rosc"!nc!
(!"#s$Present%
1ames 4lds$the 2reward2 system in
the brain
'oger +perry$showed that if the two
hemispheres of the brain are
separated by severing the corpus
callosum (the large band of fibers
that connects them%, the transfer of
information between the
hemispheres ceases, and the
coexistence in the same individual of
two functionally different brains can
be demonstrated.
5eorge Miller$The Magical *umber
+even, Plus or Minus Two6 +ome
7imits on our &apacity for
Processing 3nformation
Physiological bases of behavior in
humans and animals
(n organism8s functioning can be explained in terms of
the bodily structures and biochemical processes that
underlie behavior. )ow the body and brain enable
emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
E*olt"onar(/+ar,"n"an
((lso called sociobiologists%
(!9#s$Present%
:avid /uss$)is primary interests
include the evolutionary psychology
of human mating strategies; conflict
between the sexes; prestige, status,
and social reputation; the emotion of
<ealousy; homicide; anti$homicide
defenses; and stalking.
&harles :arwin$the Origin of
Species in 9"#.
=volutionary bases of behavior in
humans and animals.
=xamines human thought and behavior in terms of
natural selection. /ehavior patterns have evolved to
solve adaptive problems; natural selection favors
behaviors that enhance reproductive success.
&!ha*"oral
(!>$Present%
1ohn /. ?atson$0ather of
/ehaviorism @ /aby (lbert
=xperiment
3van Pavlov$&lassical &onditioning
with dogs and salivation
/.0. +kinner$4perant &onditioning
and invented the +kinner /ox
=ffects of environment on the
overt behavior of human and
animals.
=xplain human thought and behavior in terms of
conditioning and look strictly at observable behaviors
and what reaction organisms get in response to specific
behaviors. /elief that only observable events (stimulus
response relationships% can be studied scientifically.
Co)n"t"*!
(!"#s$Present%
1ean Piaget$+tage Theory of
&ognitive :evelopment
*oam &homsky$Theori,ed the
critical$period for language
ac.uisition
)erbert +imon$one of the founding
fathers of modern research in
artificial intelligence
-lric *eisser$focused on pattern
recognition, visual search, brief
information processing, and memory.
Thoughts; mental process =xamine human thought and behavior in terms of how
we interpret, process, and remember environmental
events. The rules that we use to view the world are
important to understanding why we think and behave
the way we do. 4verall, human behavior cannot be
fully understood without examining how people ac.uire,
store, and process information.
Soc"ocltral -Soc"al.Cltral/
(AAA$Present%
Bygotsky$argues that a childCs
development cannot be understood
by a study of the individual. ?e must
also examine the external social
world in which that individual life has
developed.
=ffects of social and cultural
issues on behavior
7ooks at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from
people living in other cultures. =mphasi,es the
influence culture has on the way we think and act.