Biological Approach

Biopsychologists look at how your nervous system, hormones and genetic makeup affect
your behavior. Biological psychologists explore the connection between your mental
states and your brain, nerves and hormones to explore how your thoughts, moods and
actions are shaped.
So what does that mean? It means that for the biological approach, you are the sum of your
parts. You think the way you do because of the way your brain is built and because of your
body's needs. All of your choices are based on your physical body. The biological approach
attempts to understand the healthy brain, but it also examines the mind and body to figure
out how disorders like schizophrenia develop from genetic roots.

Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic approach was promoted by Sigmund Freud, who believed that many of
our impulses are driven by sex. Psychologists in this school of thought believe that
unconscious drives and experiences from early childhood are at the root of your behaviors
and that conflict arises when societal restrictions are placed on these urges.
There are a lot of jokes about Freud and his now mostly outdated theories. But have you
ever thought that something about who you are today comes from your experiences as a
child? Say, you blame your smoking habit on an oral fixation that stems from being weaned
from breastfeeding too early as a baby. Well, that also comes from Freud's theories, and it
was an idea that revolutionized how we see ourselves.

Behavioral Approach
Behavioral psychologists believe that external environmental stimuli influence your behavior
and that you can be trained to act a certain way. Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner don't believe
in free will. They believe that you learn through a system of reinforcements and punishment.
The behavioral approach is really effective when you don't care what someone thinks, as
long as you get the desired behavior. The influence of these theories affects us every day
and throughout our lives, impacting everything from why we follow the rules of the road
when driving to how advertising companies build campaigns to get us to buy their products.

Cognitive Approach
In contrast to behaviorists, cognitive psychologists believe that your behavior is determined
by your expectations and emotions. Cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget would argue that you
remember things based on what you already know. You also solve problems based on your
memory of past experiences.
So, with this approach, we turn away from people as machines without free will and delve
back into thoughts and feelings. How you act is based upon internal processes, and there is
much more stress upon individuals. From a cognitive perspective, your expectations of an
upcoming party will affect how you feel and act while you're there and will color your
memory of the night after you return home.

Humanistic Approach
Humanistic psychologists believe that you're essentially good and that you're motivated to
realize your full potential. Psychologists from this camp focus on how you can feel good
about yourself by fulfilling your needs and goals. The prominent humanistic
psychologist Carl Rogers called his patients 'clients' and offered a supportive environment in
which clients could gain insight into their own feelings.
In contrast to the behavioral approach, the humanistic approach works on individual
empowerment. Whether you are right or not, in a larger sense, you are motivated to be the
best person you can be. All your choices come from trying to improve your life. So, if you're
trying to cut back on your nightly wine consumption, a humanistic therapist would be
encouraging and supportive but won't directly advise you to quit or try to analyze why you
drink in the first place.

Biological- Focuses primarily on the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes,

the brain and nervous system, and the endocrine system. This view puts an emphasis on
how our personality, preferences, behavior, and abilities are influenced by our physical
makeup. Biological psychology, biology, neurology and other disciplines devoted to
understanding how the brain operates are known collectively as neuroscience.

Evolutionary/Sociobiology- Focuses on how behavior and mental processes have been

genetically adapted for survival and reproduction. This view, proposed by Charles Darwin,
comes from the theory of natural selection--the idea that environmental forces have killed
the weak and favored the survival of the most adaptive individuals, tracing behavior back to
other times/species.

Developmental- (Nature vs. Nurture) A part of psychology that studies how organisms
develop over time as a result of environmental and biological influences. Psychologists of
this perspective focus on studying the ways in which we change with age and as our
development of social skills progresses. They also focus on our ability to learn language, and
assimilating the expectations of our culture.

Cognitive- Deals with mental processes (cognition) like learning, memory, perception,
and thinking of them as parts of information processing model. This perspective calls
attention to how our actions are influenced by the way we process information streaming in
from our environment.

Cognitive neuroscience- A study that emphasizes the connections among mind, brain,
and behavior. This field puts emphasis on brain activity as information processing and

includes fields interested in the link between the brain and mental processes. Hybrid
of biological and cognitive.

Clinical view- Characterized by a special interest in mental health and mental

disorder. This perspective includes two main groups: Psychodynamic psychology and
humanistic psychology. Adherents of this view typically practice counseling or
psychotherapy. Desires are fueled by need for personal growth and fulfillment.

Psychodynamic- This view, most notably represented by Sigmund Freud, pays close
attention to unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts in order to further our
understanding of mental disorders. Psychodynamic psychology says that our motivation
comes from the energy of irrational desires created in our unconscious minds.

Humanistic- Centers on and emphasizes human ability, growth, potential, and free
will. According to this perspective, our self-concept and need for personal growth and
fulfillment are profound influences on our actions.

Behavioral- This view sees environmental stimuli as the cause of our actions, not
mental processes. There is a focus on the way reinforcements (rewards and punishments)
shape the way we act.

Sociocultural- This view emphasizes how social interaction, social learning,

and culture are all important. Psychologists use this view to examine mysteries such as love,
prejudice, aggression, obedience, and conformity.

Trait views- According to this perspective, individual differences are derived from
differences in our underlying patterns of stable traits (long-lasting personality
characteristics). It focuses on personality, and how they affect short-term mood states such
as introversion vs. extroversion, as contrasted with temporary mood states.

Important people

1. B. F. Skinner
In the 2002 study ranking the 99 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, B.F.
Skinner topped the list. Skinner's staunch behaviorism made him a dominating force in
psychology and therapy techniques based on his theories are still used extensively today,
including behavior modification and token economies.

2. Sigmund Freud

When people think of psychology, many tend to think of Freud. His work supported the belief
that not all mental illnesses have physiological causes and he also offered evidence that
cultural differences have an impact on psychology and behavior. His work and writings
contributed to our understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development,
and abnormal psychology.

3. Albert Bandura
Bandura's work is considered part of the cognitive revolution in psychology that began in the
late 1960s. His social learning theory stressed the importance of observational learning,
imitation, and modeling. "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention
hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them
what to do," Bandura explained in his 1977 book Social Learning Theory.
4. Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget's work had a profound influence on psychology, especially our understanding
children's intellectual development. His research contributed to the growth of developmental
psychology, cognitive psychology, genetic epistemology, and education reform. Albert
Einstein once described Piaget's observations on children's intellectual growth and thought
processes as a discovery "so simple that only a genius could have thought of it."
5. Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers placed emphasis on human potential, which had an enormous influence on both
psychology and education. He became one of the major humanist thinkers and an
eponymous influence in therapy with his "Rogerian therapy." As described by his daughter
Natalie Rogers, he was "a model for compassion and democratic ideals in his own life, and in
his work as an educator, writer, and therapist."
6. William James
Psychologist and philosopher William James is often referred to as the father of American
psychology. His 1200-page text, The Principles of Psychology, became a classic on the
subject and his teachings and writings helped establish psychology as a science. In addition,
James contributed to functionalism, pragmatism, and influenced many students of
psychology during his 35-year teaching career.
7. Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial development helped create interest and research
on human development through the lifespan. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna
Freud, Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout the
life, including events of childhood, adulthood, and old age.
8. Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist whose research on conditioned reflexes influenced
the rise of behaviorism in psychology. Pavlov's experimental methods helped move

psychology away from introspection and subjective assessments to objective measurement

of behavior.

9. Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky was a contemporary of some better known psychologists including Piaget, Freud,
Skinner, and Pavlov, yet his work never achieved the same eminence during his lifetime.
This is largely because many of his writing remained inaccessible to the Western world until
quite recently. It was during the 1970s that many of his writings were translated from
Russian, but his work has become enormously influential in recent decades, particularly in
the fields of educational psychology and child development.
While his premature death at age 38 put a halt to his work, he went on to become one of the
most frequently cited psychologists of the 20th-century.

Wilhelm
Wundt

Founder of scientific psychologyFounded first formal lab

Studied consciousness using introspection in Leipzig,
GermanyAssociated with school of Structuralism - early psychological
perspective that emphasized units of consciousness and identification
of elements of thought through introspection; breaking down mental
processes into basic components.Titchener = student Wrote Principles
of Physiological Psychology

Leon Festinger

Developed the theory of cognitive dissonance and social comparison

theory. Cognitive dissonance states that inconsistency between beliefs
and behaviors will cause intense psychological tension and a person will
try to alleviate that tension by changing their beliefs instead of their
behavior

Martin
Seligman

Studied learned helplessness in dogs

Josef Breuer

Helped lay foundation for psychoanalysisWorked with Freud

Carl Rogers

Among the founders of the humanist approach Person-centered or

client-centered therapyPerceptual field = reality for an individual
Phenomenal field = changing world of experience Behavior = goaldirected attempt at satisfying needs "Unconditional Positive Regard"
Main issue is the development of the self-concept

Hermann
Ebbinghaus

Pioneered the experimental study of memory, and his known for his
discovery of the forgetting curve, learning curve and spacing effect.

John Dewey

One of the founders of School of Functionalism and philosophy of

pragmatism Carr, Mead, and Angell also proponents of Functionalism

Sigmund
Freud

"Father of psychoanalysis"Psychoanalysis - concerned with how

unconscious instincts, conflicts, motives and defenses influence
behaviorFree association, theory of transference, interpretation of
dreams, id, ego & superego, theory of psychosexual development,
thanatos, eros Daughter = Anna

Erik Erikson

Developed a psycho-social theory. Stages: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy

vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs guilt, industry vs inferiority, identity vs
role confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs stagnation,
integrity vs despair

YoungHelmholtz

Theory of trichromatic color vision.

Konrad Lorenz

One of the founders of modern ethology. Studied instinctive behavior in

animals (fixed action patterns) and rediscovered imprinting.

SchacterSinger

Developed theory of emotion that says people determine the emotion

from their physiological arousal and label that emotion to agree with
their cognitive explanation for it (a cognitive approach to emotion)

Lawrence
Kohlberg

Moral development theory: Pre-conventional (obedience & punishment

orientation and self interest orientation), Conventional (interpersonal
accord & conformity and authority & social order maintaining
orientation), Post-conventional (social contract and universal ethics).

Abraham
Maslow

Founder of the Humanistic approachConceptualized the "hierarchy of

human needs" Basic Needs Security and Stability Love and Belonging
Self-Esteem Self-Actualization

Benjamin
Whorf

Known for his theories in linguistic relativity. Believed that language

affects the way we see the world

Cannon-Bard

Developed theory of emotion that says emotions originate in the

subcortical brain structures and create the conscious or visceral
feelings of emotions

Clark Hull

Sought to explain learning and motivation by scientific laws of behavior.

Also known for his drive theory: organisms are born with certain
physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created
when these needs are not satisfied. When a need is satisfied, drive is
reduced and the organism returns to a state of homeostasis and
relaxation

Albert
Bandura

Most famous for his social learning theory (observe and then imitate
behavior) Bobo doll experiment. Found that self-efficacy beliefs
mediated changes in behavior and fear-arousal.

AtkinsonShiffrin

Developed three part memory model - Sensory, Short-Term and LongTerm

John Watson

Established School of Behaviorism - analysis of behavior and reactions

is the only objective method to get insight into human actions; learning
as a result of experienceKnown for experiments in classical
conditioningThought thinking consisted of "subvocal speech" Little
Albert experiment"Twelve infants" quote

Noam
Chomsky

Developed theory of generative grammar whose properties arise from

an innate universal grammar.

Ernst Heinrich
Weber

Saw that the relationship between stimulus and perception is

logarithmic P=k ln S

Hans Selye

A noted stress researcher; identified the General Adaptation Syndrome

(alarm, resistance, exhaustion)

Jean Piaget

Developed a theory of cognitive development which consisted of four

stages: Sensorimotor (circular reactions, object permanence), Preoperational thought (magical thinking, egocentrism), Concrete
operational thought (think logically but concretely) and Formal
operational thought (abstract reasoning).

Premack

Premack's principle = high probability behavior paired with low

probability behavior results in increase of the low probability behavior.

Alfred Adler

Founder of the school of Individual PsychologyMost famous concept =

inferiority complex and emphasis on power dynamics Personality types
= getting/leaning, avoiding, ruling/dominant, socially useful
Emphasized birth order as influencing style of life (idiographic measure)

Julian Rotter

Social learning theory and locus of control = individual's belief about

how much they control their destiny

Karen Horney

Classified as Neo-Freudian Detailed theory of neurosis: a continuous

process with neuroses occurring sporadically during life; named ten
patterns of neurotic needs (moving toward, against or away from
people aka compliance, aggression, and detachment)Criticized Freud's
theory of penis envySelf-actualization is a person's aim throughout life
(we have real self and ideal self)

William
Sheldon

Somatotype Theory - Assigned people into three categories of body

types: endomorphs, mesomophs and ectomorphs.

Donald
Broadbent

Developed a Memory filter theory - thought process can be modeled in

series of sequential stages and information is lost at each stage. Filter
located between the sensory register and short-term memory storage

B.F. Skinner

Part of the Behaviorist SchoolKnown for experiments in operant

conditioningInvented the operant conditioning chamber ("Skinner
box")Schedules of reinforcement

Kurt Lewin

Often recognized as founder of social psychology. One of the first to

study group dynamics and organizational development. Force field
analysis = provides framework for looking at forces that influence a
situation. B = f(P,E) means that behavior is a function of a person and
his/her environment

Kurt Koffka,
Max
Wertheimer,
Wolfgang
Kohler

Gestalt theorists

William James

"Father of psychology"Wrote Principles of Psychology James-Lange

theory of emotion says emotion is the mind's perception of
physiological conditions that result from some stimulusAssociated with
School of Functionalism - early psychological perspective concerned
with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to adapt to its
environment

William
McDougall

Developed the idea that each instinct is receptive to certain stimuli and
that the receptivity and behavioral components of each instinct might
change as a function of learning

Wolfgang
Kohler

Spent several years studying the problem-solving abilities of chimps

and observed that animals often exhibit insight

Yerkes-Dodson

Developed a relationship between arousal and performance (illustrated

by a bell-shaped curve). Also developed a rule: For easy tasks,
moderately high arousal is needed to do well. For difficult tasks,
moderately low. And for most average tasks, moderate level of arousal.

Joseph Wolpe

Developed systematic desensitization

Carl Jung

Founder of analytical psychologyCollective

unconsciousArchetypesAnima and animus

Ivan Pavlov

Described the phenomenon of classical conditioning (conditioned reflex)

David
McClelland

Noted for work on achievement motivation and consciousness.

Achievement motive found to be highly related to individual
productivity and success. Levels of the need for achievement vary.
People with fear of success or fear of failure seem to have had negative
experiences with achievement.

Gordon Bower

Looked at how context affects memory - Mood Congruent Memory

George Kelly

Best known for developing Personal Construct Psychology which looks

at how we develop bipolar mental constructs to judge and predict
others behavior

Heinz Kohut

Psychoanalyst known for development of Self Psychology Tripartite

(three-part) self can only develop when the needs of one's self-states
are met Extended Freud's theory of narcissism and introduced "selfobject transferences of mirroring and idealization"

Gordon Allport

One of the founding figures of personality psychology. Emphasized the

uniqueness of each individual and the importance of the present
context, as opposed to past history. Known as a trait psychologist organized trait-like words into three traits (cardinal, central, and
secondary). Drew distinction between motive and drive. He suggested
that a drive formed as a reaction to a motive may outgrow the motive
as a reason. The drive then is autonomous and distinct from the motive,

whether it is instinct or any other.

Wolfe

Token economy with monkeys. Secondary reinforcers become primary

reinforcers

Edward
Thorndike

His work on animal behavior and learning led to the theory of

connectionism. Formulated the law of effect: responses that are closely
followed by satisfying consequences become associated with the
situation and are more likely to recur when the situation presents itself
again. Instrumental learning. Kitten puzzle box.

Edward
Tolman

Developed a motivation theory known as the expectancy-value theory

which states Performance = Expectancy x Value. Also states that
behavior results from the interactions between needs and demands of a
person and the person's perception of the quality of the environment.
Also said that behavior is elicited by environmental cues, both internal
and external, and a variety of "unbalanced" situations. Also studied
latent learning and cognitive maps using rats in mazes

Dollard, Doob
and Miller

Social learning theorists who proposed the frustration-aggression

hypothesis