Seven Perspectives Of Psychology Paper

I support an integrative approach, when it comes to merging the seven perspectives of the mind. The seven perspectives include: social psychology, cognitive psychology, biological psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, individual differences, and evolutionary psychology. When something is merged together that, simply, means that they are combined or connected together. If we, were to merge the seven perspectives together there will be an overall understanding, moreso, than an individual understanding about each perspective of the brain. These perspectives are connected in one way or another. By understanding one perspective may leave room to understand another. I believe, there is more knowledge to be gained if the seven

Psychology can be defined as the systematic study of mental processes, couple with behaviors, and experiences (Kalat, 2011). There are many ways in examining, mental processes and behaviors among people, and therefore psychologist uses different perspectives to understand how human beings, think, act, and behave. Some psychologist uses one perspective to analyze behaviors, and other uses a multidimensional approach. Carter & Seifert (2013) identified 7 major perspectives that are used to study people’s behavior, and mental processes. These perspectives are the biological, evolutionary, psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and the sociocultural perspective.

The often asked question is the relationship between the theories of psychology and its application to human life for instance, individual life, mental life and subjectivity. Presently, efforts by writers to separate the three categories have seen light. Psychology itself cannot exist without a society which supports all its facts. Moreover, psychological object cannot be taken as independent, given, discovered but that which is discovered and comes before knowledge. Psychology can hence be seen in two perspectives: as a discipline and as a subject of human. A conclusion can be made that psychology exists in a domain that is constructed. This is contrary to science domain where truth

1. When deciding between a stranger and a family member your brain picks the one most familiar to you, this is called natural selection. The choice between a stranger and family a member has developed over time and has been passed down through evolution. Evolution along with natural selection also plays a part in behavioral actions. Similar behavior also persuades someone to pick family over helping a stranger. The way we pick who we hurt and who we love is also developed through evolution.

“Without society, there cannot be a self” (132). That said, the way one presents himself should be examined in terms of the interplay between both the individual and the culture he is immersed in. Symbolic statements used by the self, for example, are often constrained or shifted to convey a meaning that aligns with the institution such a self belongs to. With this in mind, I observed the office doors of the 3rd floor Psychology Department in the Brogden Psychology Building by taking photos of such doors to examine how such statements can reflect one as an individual and as a member of a subculture.

Questions to the human mind have been sought over for decade’s even centuries. The human mind sometimes known as the psyche or as others would call it a “soul” is one of the most complex and incredibly fascinating things to study. The mind is simply not something you unravel overnight, psychologist and others alike have been studying it for a long time trying to unlock its mysteries. Questions like what makes the foundation for a personality? Why do we do what we do? What is a person thinking while they are reacting to something, do they weigh the pros and cons or just dive right in? There are so many questions of the like that have yet to been answered or explained. This article is designed to give a better understanding of the human mind by research through the Biological, Cognitive, and Behavioral Approaches.

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. It is applicable to every part of an individual's life. Psychological theories fall primarily into three categories, cognitive, humanistic, and behavioral. These types of theories aim to explore the reasoning behind the way individuals function in different areas of their lives. Cognitive theories will apply to learning, while behavioral theories will explain how conditioning shapes people and humanistic theories will examine how individuals influence themselves. These theories are throughout the lifespan from birth to death.

Dating back 65000 years, Aborigines have had the longest continuous culture. The Aborigines believed and lived in the ‘Dreamtime’. The ‘dreamtime’ refers to the time when land and humans were created, and when ancestors and spirits came to earth and created everything. Every tribe had their own dreamtime and was passed down through storytelling. The Aborigines connection was either through the Wandjina or the rainbow serpent depending on the tribe. For the Aboriginals the world is sacred and has to be honoured. For the Aborigines everything is related to everything else therefore man was related to fellow man, animals, stars and the cosmos (Bowles, 2010). Even the men and women were equal because they were equally divine. The Aborigines

We as a people are under constant stress. Stress to do better in both educational and social aspects of life. Psychology is all around us. We are presented with it in all aspects of life. I use psychology when I go the gym. My parents use psychology to get my brother and sister to do something. It just happens that my brother and sister use psychology to get around my parents, well parenting. Do they know they're doing it? No. Do they do it well? Yes, yes, they do. The truth behind what I’m trying to say is, no matter what we do in our everyday life something, everything can be related back to psychology. Though we don’t know everything about the mind or why we truly do what we do in some aspect of life, as an educated society of people can use psychology to make sense of it. I’m finding explanations for my emotions, temperaments, and thoughts with many of the theory’s we have discussed throughout the semester so far. Now as we go through our days we strive for perfection. We strive for more. But why? This can be seen through almost every module in this textbook.

Growing up in a world where science and technology has advanced faster than ever before in history, our understanding of the human mind becomes more complex with each new discovery. Taking this psychology class has opened my eyes to the endless psychological theories many great minds have introduced to the world. More interestingly, what I have learned from this class has affected me in my daily life as I find myself thinking about how my mind works and develops more often than before. Many experiences of my past can now be seen through a different light with the understanding of our remarkable cognitive abilities.

While completing the readings for this reflection paper, I found myself thinking just how important it is to obtain knowledge of one's history. I believe it is essential as it allows one to develop a more profound understanding and appreciation of each other as well as their work. Wilhelm Wundt was a very renowned human being affectionately credited as the founder of psychology as a science. He was quite inspirational, possessed an inquisitive mind, and believed in proving phenomena using experiments. It therefore comes as no surprise that he was the first to establish a formal experimental laboratory in the field of psychology. This accomplishment, of course, was primarily influenced by Hermon von Helmholtz and Gustav Fechner through their research on the measurement of reaction time and the idea of psychology as an experimental psychology respectively. Wundt's research was done through introspection a term more formally described as an experimental self-observation in which individuals own thoughts and feelings are carefully examined objectively.

My introduction to psychology had captivated much curiosity about the mind and how it works. I ponder about various aspects of the mind given the ways people conceptualize thoughts that affect the core feelings and emotions, and ultimately impacting their behaviors to make choices. People are free agents whose complexity poses many challenges to understand completely. Like mechanical gears with various moving parts including genetics, cultures, sexual orientation, traumas, values, family upbringing, and how all together influence their cognitive processes, the mind is influenced by both nature and nurture.

The behaviourists viewed psychology as a science and believed that everything had to be observable and measurable. Skinner believed that humans are born a blank slate and our behaviour is moulded through experiences with and in our environments. Through classical and operant conditioning, we are shaped by socialisation, punishment and reinforcement; as Skinner stated (1953:91) ‘Operant conditioning shapes behaviour as a sculptor shapes a lump of clay.’ Talk about Skinner study into rats in the box. Conversely, the psychodynamic approach focused on peoples’ unconscious motives and emotions. Freud believed that the mind was driven by three elements, these elements make up personality: the id ‘the true psychic reality’ (Hall date :26). The workings of the id are unconscious and are driven by the pleasure principle whose aim is to avoid pain and find pleasure by releasing tension (Hall date:22). Freud believed the pleasure principle drove people’s sexual desires. The Ego, run by the reality principle; mediates between the id and the Superego. The final element is the Superego; the moral branch of the three elements. It is subdivided into the conscience; where people internalise rules and morals learnt and the ego-ideal; a person’s ideal image of themselves. The Superego combines visions of ethics and morals that have been learnt, into a moral code. Freud believed that these elements, combined with childhood experiences, shape people. Neither of the approaches acknowledge

I am applying to the Masters of Philosophy of Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, because the

While psychology of today follows the discipline’s rich and varied history, the origins of psychology show incomparable differences from the modern understanding of the field. From the beginning, psychology has been tested and bombarded with a tremendous number of complex questions. The first and foremost question being how to define psychology has helped psychologists to establish psychology as a separate science from physiology and philosophy. Other challenging questions include, the topics and issues psychology should be concerned with, research methods to be used in psychological research, scientific explanation of psychology, whether psychology should focus on only observable behaviour or only on mental processes. Majority of psychologists today do not limit themselves to a single school of thought. With the dramatic growth and constant change, psychology focuses on gathering ideas from a range of theoretical backgrounds and this new path has provided new theories and ideas that will continue to shape psychology for many years to come.