The five major theoretical perspectives in psychology are biological, learning, cognitive, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. Each one of these perspectives searches for answers about behavior through different techniques and through looking for answers to different kinds of questions. Due to the different approaches, each perspective form their own assumptions and explanations. Some perspectives are widely accepted while others struggle for acceptance.
Biological perspective
"The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with bodily events." Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can effect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect peoples' emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events.
One of the major theories of biological psychology is that "We cannot know ourselves if we do not know our bodies." Through application of this theory, biological psychologists strive to understand the relationship between the mind and body and they influence sickness or health. It is believed that poor health can lead to negative attitudes while poor attitudes can lead to poor health. Biological psychologists research and study the correlation of this theory in an attempt to help solve some mental and emotional problems.
Learning Perspective
The writings and findings of Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner have done much for the advancement of modern psychology. Many of the important findings in psychology from their theory of behaviorism, later evolving into the social-learning theory or cognitive social-learning theory. Proponents of the learning perspective think that mentalism should be abandoned for behaviorism. Psychologists should concentrate on observation and direct measurement rather focusing on introspection.
Behaviorists believed that actions were responses to stimuli that were learned. The basic concept was that positive responses would be triggered by good stimuli while negative responses would could from bad stimuli. Actions that would produce positive results tended to repeated, while those that led to negative results tended to be avoided.
This concept led to a broadening of psychology. Many groups that were often overlooked by psychologists were being discovered and observed. Behavior became the dominant school of psychology in the U.S. until the 1960's.
Adversaries to this approach were repulsed by the concept that humans did not think or feel, but only thought that they did. Nonbehaviorists and behaviorists parted company. Behaviorists believed that feelings could not explain behavior.
Messenger, Sharon L., Charles E. Rupprecht, and Jean S. Smith. "Emerging Epidemiology of Bat-Associated Cryptic Cases of Rabies in Humans in the United States." Clinical Infectious Diseases 35.6 (2002): 738-748. 21 Feb. 2004 .
...at in domestic animals, which indicates wild animals cause a higher risk to humans. Controlling the disease in susceptible wild free-ranging animal populations is implemented by oral vaccination and recombinant rabies vaccine by use of vaccine-containing bait. The best prevention is decreasing chances to expose to the disease. Once a patient is suspected as a rabies case, the physician and local health administrator should decide whether infection actually occurs and whether a risk of rabies exists in the geographic area. Once the identification is completed, the patient should receive post-exposure prophylaxis immediately, which contains the combination of local wound cleansing, human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine. The population such as veterinarians, animal handlers that have higher risk to be infected should receive pre-exposure immunization.
Rabies does not discriminate against any warm blooded mammal; all that come into contact with the virus are at risk. Those who choose to live, work, and recreation in areas with a larger wildlife population are understandably at higher risk. People should be extremely wary of unknown animals and heed behavior changes in familiar animals. The virus is usually spread from a bite wound when the saliva of an infected animal is introduced to the victim via the bite. The virus travels from the origin of the wound to nerves and onward to ultimately infect the brain.
A “vaccine” or otherwise known as a vaccination, is something that stimulates someone’s immune system from a disease. Vaccines can prevent infections and actually cause it to not re-occur again. The invention of the Rabies, and Anthrax vaccines not only saved life’s, but helped scientist conduct and produce more accurate and successful research. Discovered by Louis Pasteur, in 1882, the innovation of the rabies vaccine was invented. Rabies is a critical and sometimes fatal infection that one could get with coming in contact with a “rabid” or wild animal. When this virus enters the body and spreads, it travels slowly through all the nerves and all the way to the brain. Once it reaches the brain, it becomes fatal. The number of deaths due to rabies worldwide each year is approximately 55,000. However, due to the invention of the rabies vaccine, the number of fatalities and illnesses decreased by a substantial amount.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
Psychology can be broadly defined as the scientific and systematic study of people’s behavior and mental processes.
Rabies is spread from animal to humans through contact with infected saliva of both willed and domestic animal. Roughly 98% of people in developing that are infected with rabies die, because the vaccine is hard to come by in these countries. The majority of these cases are children (Williamson, 2010). Dogs are the main domestic animal that carries of rabies but, cats can also transmit this disease. Wild animals that carry the infection include bats, raccoons, and skunks.
The virus is spread by animals. Warm blooded animals are required to transmit the virus and the disease is almost always fatal (CDC). It is passed through saliva from the host to the victim also through mucous membranes like the eyes or nose. Yet the most common ways of transition is through a bite with the virus containing saliva. The main animals that hold the virus are: skunk, fox, bat, raccoon, and the coyote (CDC). These wild animals account for 93% of the cases in the United States. The raccoon still leads as the major carrier and the animal is domestic in the Eastern United States. The skunk is native to the inland states, parts of Texas to Montana and all the way to Wyoming. The fox and the coyote are both native to the Mid Southern US, and the fox is also spotted in Alaska along the coast. Although not heard of lately, bats are a big carrier of the virus. They are common in most of the states except Hawaii (WebMD.com). The bats have also spread though out the world, and most recently in Australia. Australia was once free of rabies until rabid bats were found there recently (Mayo Clinic Proceedings). The virus can also be spread to domesticated animals, and most cases are reported in the summer and fall months. The three major domesticated animals are: cats, dogs, and cattle.
“All warm blooded animals are susceptible to rabies; but, according to the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on the disease, not all animals are equally susceptible…dogs are listed as only moderately susceptible; but dogs are without any doubt the animals most likely to spread the infection to human beings.” (Kaplan et al. 1).
The best-known psychodynamic theory of personality is S. Freud’s (1900) psychoanalytic theory which can be seen as a response to James’ (1890) radical empiricism.
The biological approach looks at the relationship between behaviours and the body's physiological systems, especially the nervous system. Biological psychologists also believe that the chemical processes within the brain have an influence on behaviour. The treatments for the biological approach to psychology include, as previously said drug ...
11. What is the difference between a. and a. McLeod, S., (2007). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary Psychology Perspectives from http://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html.
Many psychologists have contributed to behaviorism becoming the approach that is today. Behaviorism was first presented by the American psychologist John B.Watson. The new concept that Watson presented perceived behavior as a physiological response to environmental stimuli. He disagreed with the belief that mental processes could not be studied scientifically (Behaviorism, 2013). Watson sought to make psychology “a purely objective, experimental branch of natural science,” with conditioning as one of its chief methods (Irvine, 2007). Watson took an extreme standpoint on environmentalism and stated that personality can be created (Irvine, 2007).
Behaviorism is a learning theory or a developmental theory that measures observable behaviors that are produced by the learner’s response to stimuli. On one end of the spectrum behaviorism is known as an attitude. At the other end, it is known as a doctrine. According to the behavioral views of human development, behaviorists argued that to focus attention on unobservable constructs, such as emotions, thoughts, or the unconscious, was an unscientific approach.(Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010)
Even though it was the beginning of psychology, it brought much controversy. (Unit 8 Introduction.) The Structuralists were influenced by the chemists who had discovered the elements in the periodic table. The essence of Structuralism was to understand the elements of the mind, now referred to as mental chemistry. (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014.) Wilhelm Wundt was an important person in this school. He believed that difference in reaction time would test the brain and measure decision making. (Unit 8 Introduction.) Wundt’s version of testing decision making would often consist of using introspection. A psychology based on introspection was difficult to defend. Two groups, Titchener and Wurzburg group, disagreed with one another. (Introspection Video.) These two groups in Structuralism engaged in an argument with no proven solution. As a result, a number of new schools arose, each having a different problem with Structuralism. The Behaviorists held the firm belief that introspection would never be a science. Functionalists wanted a school that was practical, putting their focus into education and individual differences. Psychoanalysts were interested in helping people who suffered from anxiety and depression. (Unit 8 Introduction.) These differencing views, along with others, lead to the death of Structuralism. There are now over ten schools of psychology. (Introspection