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Psychology is extremely diverse; it can investigate some of the most random things. For instance, there's research out there investigating whether couples start to match facial features over time, odd right? Not only is the disciple diverse in the topics of interest, but it is also different in how these concepts are understood. There are five main approaches in psychology; behavioural, psychodynamic, biological, cognitive and humanistic.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenPsychology is extremely diverse; it can investigate some of the most random things. For instance, there's research out there investigating whether couples start to match facial features over time, odd right? Not only is the disciple diverse in the topics of interest, but it is also different in how these concepts are understood. There are five main approaches in psychology; behavioural, psychodynamic, biological, cognitive and humanistic.
Approaches in psychology are called schools of thought. In psychology, there are five main approaches biological, cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioural and humanistic. Each of these major approaches in psychology explains human behaviour differently and prefers differing research methods to investigate these.
In the late 1900s, Sigmund Freud established the psychodynamic approach, a personality theory that emphasised unconsciousness.
Psychodynamic means' mind in conflict'; therefore, the approach is based on the idea that certain parts of our personality conflict with others.
Freud argued that human behaviour emerged as a consequence of the interaction of the components of the psyche (mind). These were: the id, the ego and the superego.
The id is responsible for urges and impulses, the ego seeks to avoid breaking social rules and norms, and the superego considers our moral values. The three aspects of the psyche are thought to be in constant conflict, and the balance between the two is what makes up our personality.
Further, Freud argued that the psyche develops during the psychosexual stages of development; during these stages, children receive pleasure from different body regions. Children becoming fixated on a stage can lead to psychological illnesses.
The approach highlights the importance of early childhood experiences.
Freud explained that individuals use defence mechanisms to deal with the conflict between the id, the ego and the superego. Some examples of defence mechanisms are repression and denial.
Other approaches in psychology criticise the psychodynamic approach because it can't be tested empirically and the research methods used, e.g. Freud used mostly used case studies.
Psychology underwent a dramatic change in the early 1900s. Moving away from Freud's ideas of the conscious mind, psychology was dominated by the scientific view and focused on observable and measurable behaviour. This is how behaviourism was born.
Behaviourism is the learning theory that suggests that all behaviour is acquired through the conditioning that takes place in the environment.
Behaviourists stress that we are all born as blank slates and can learn to be anything through our experiences.
Ivan Pavlov developed the theory of classical conditioning. Pavlov conducted an experiment with dogs and argued that learning occurs when an involuntary reflex is associated with a new stimulus.
Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus (such as a bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) that occurs naturally. Eventually, the neutral stimulus evokes the same response (salivation) as the naturally occurring stimulus. Pavlov explained that this process would take place in three steps:
The main idea of this theory is that learning occurs through association.
Operant conditioning is a theory developed by Skinner (1948), who demonstrated that learning occurs after associating behaviour with a consequence; such a consequence could either be a punishment or a reinforcement.
Skinner used the "Skinner box" with rats and pigeons; the animal was placed in a box where they could move freely. In the box, there was a level; when pressed, it would reward the animal with food. The animal eventually learned the association between the behaviour (pressing the lever) and the reinforcement (food).
Skinner suggested that punishments decrease the likelihood of the behaviour happening, while reinforcements increase the likelihood of the behaviour occurring again.
He distinguished between positive and negative consequences. Positive consequences essentially add something and negative consequences essentially remove something.
Positive Example | Negative Example | |
Punishment | A child told off for hitting a sibling. | A child not being allowed TV time for getting bad grades. |
Reinforcement | A child praised by his/her parents for eating all the vegetables. | Stop petting your dog when it jumps over you. |
The approach is criticised as reductionistic as it ignores free will. In addition, the research is often conducted in a lab, so it has low ecological validity. Furthermore, much of the early research was conducted on animals, raising extrapolation (generalising findings from human to animal) issues.
The humanistic approach supports the individual to fulfil their potential and maximise their well-being. It states that people need to be viewed as a whole. According to this approach, we have the innate capacity for self-actualisation, which is the desire to be the best version of ourselves. Another assumption of the approach is that humans have free will.
Free will is the capacity that humans possess to make decisions.
Abraham Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who developed the hierarchy of needs theory. This theory suggests that four previous stages must be achieved before self-actualisation. The five components of the self-actualisation theory are:
Fig. 1 - Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests individuals must follow through each stage sequentially to achieve self-actualisation
The humanistic approach is the basis of counselling psychology which promotes growth and well-being.
However, critics argue that it's difficult to prove the theories empirically (as they are not observable) and often criticised as an unrealistic approach (why can so few people reach self-actualisation and still be happy).
The cognitive approach believes that to understand human thinking, one must explain the internal processes in the brain.
Therefore, the cognitive approach studies cognition, which refers to remembering, reasoning, imagining and problem-solving processes, among others.
The cognitive approach in psychology often compares the mind to a computer, called the information-processing model. The brain receives an input (stimuli), and the internal mental processes give an order of what to do with it, which leads to an output.
Sounds similar to how computers work, right?
Neuroscience is a relatively new cognitive approach in psychology that involves investigating brain functionality using brain imaging techniques.
Brain functionality is the study of identifying brain regions (or their networks) and their role in human functioning, e.g. Broca's area is linked to speech.
Critics argue that cognitive concepts are not directly observable and so challenging to research scientifically and verify their findings. It's debated as reductionistic (doesn't consider biological, environmental, etc. factors and often lacks ecological validity as primarily conducted in lab settings.
The biological approach assumes that all human behaviour has a biological origin and highlights the importance of understanding internal biological structures, hormones, genes, the nervous system and neurochemistry.
The biological approach emphasises the role of biology in determining human behaviour. This approach focuses on biological systems at various levels:
Similar to the other approaches in psychology, it is criticised as reductionist and for not accounting for free will.
As we discussed earlier, the approaches in psychology explain human behaviour differently but also use different research methods to back the theories they proposed.
The psychology approaches can either take an idiographic or nomothetic approach.
An idiographic approach is when qualitative methods, such as case studies, interviews, open-ended questions or observations, are used to explain how individuals' experiences influence behaviour.
A nomothetic approach uses quantitative methods, e.g. experiments, questionnaires and fixed/close-ended questions, to allow generalisable inferences.
The table below summarises and compares the different approaches in psychology.
Approach in Psychology | The explanation for Human Behaviour | Research Method Approach |
Psychodynamic | Childhood experiences and the development of the psyche influence and dictate future behaviours. | Idiographic |
Behavioural | Behaviour is learned from our experiences; it can be learned through association or reinforcement. | Nomothetic |
Humanistic | Humans have an innate desire to reach self-actualisation, and this, in conjunction with personal experiences, drives and motivates human behaviour. | Idiographic |
Cognitive | Behaviour results from internal cognitive processes and includes theories such as the information-processing model. Neuroscience stems from cognitive psychology. | Nomothetic |
Biological | Inherited genes, evolutionary processes, irregular neurotransmitter activity and disruption/ damage to brain regions/networks | Nomothetic |
The five main approaches in psychology are psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, cognitive and biological.
The preferred approaches and research methods in psychology differ across the subject.
For example, cognitive approaches in psychology explain human behaviour using the information-processing model or findings from neuroscientific research.
In contrast biological approach, psychology explains human behaviour dysfunction or mental illnesses as a result of inherited genes, irregular neurotransmitter activity and disruption/ damage to brain regions/networks.
The learning approaches psychology uses classical and operant conditioning principles to explain human behaviour.
The cognitive approach studies internal mental processes - concerning our emotions, perceptions, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and learning. The cognitive approaches in psychology explain human behaviour using the information-processing model or findings from neuroscientific research.
Behavioural psychology is based on a theory of learning that we acquire our behaviours through conditioning or reinforcement. The learning approaches in psychology are explained via classical or operant conditioning principles.
The five main approaches in psychology are psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, cognitive and biological. The preferred approaches and research methods in psychology differ across the subject.
The biological approach assumes that all human behaviour has a biological origin. In the biological approach, psychology explains human behaviour dysfunction or mental illnesses as a result of inherited genes, irregular neurotransmitter activity and disruption/ damage to brain regions/networks.
Freud argued that the psyche develops during the psychosexual stages of development; during these stages, children receive pleasure from different body regions. Children becoming fixated on a stage can lead to psychological illnesses. The approach highlights the importance of early childhood experiences.
What is behaviourism?
Behaviourism is the learning theory that suggests that all behaviour is acquired through the conditioning that takes place in the environment.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant Conditioning is a theory developed by Skinner which suggests that learning occurs after associating behaviour with a consequence. The consequence could either be a punishment or a reinforcement.
Operant conditioning is a technique applied to behavioural training. Essentially it occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that occurs naturally. Is this true or false?
False.
Who was Wilhelm Wundt?
The founding father of psychology who established psychology as a separate, scientific discipline for the first time from philosophy and the natural sciences.
What is introspection?
Observing and examining your own thoughts and feelings.
What is one practice associated with mental health that uses introspection?
Mindfulness.
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