Discuss the Different Approaches To Psychology For the Development of Modern Psychology.
Modern psychology plays a significant role in a vast number of fields today such as health, education, sports and industry. Psychology can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks where physicians and philosophers investigated and formed theories on the mind and behaviour of humans. However, it was only in the late 17th century that psychology was considered an independent field of study which was made possible by the scientific methods used to study behaviour and mental processes. "Only when researchers came to rely on carefully controlled observation and experimentation to study the human mind did psychology begin to attain an identity separate from its philosophical roots" (Shultz and Shultz 2011:3)
Throughout the history of psychology there were developments of many schools of thought which all contributed in the advancement of psychology to the complex and popular field it is today. These schools of thought which are also known as approaches of psychology had different ideas on the manner in which human behaviour and mental processes function, the aspects to be studied and the methodologies used to study them. As a whole, all the approaches form a complete understanding to human behaviour and allow modern psychologists to look at cases from different perspectives and understand them better.
The very first school of thought called structuralism, was introduced by Wilhelm Wundt who is known as the 'Father of Modern Psychology'. Structuralism focused on the very basic elements of the mind and gave importance to sensation and perception. The greatest contribution of Wundt was introspection which explored the conscious mental processes by loo...
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...en greatly influenced by them. One modern approach is the psychodynamic approach which focuses on the unconscious rather than the conscious mind. It completely disregarded free will with its view that behaviour is motivated by unconscious inner forces over with an individual had little control and contrasted with behavioral, cognitive and biological approaches. It introduced the idea that the unconscious was significant in human behaviour, the significance of early childhood experiences and the utilization of therapy to improve human lives (Stangor n.d.: 32). Psychodynamics has been able to explain the irrationality of human actions which could not be explained by the other approaches since they focused only in the conscious mind. According to Schottenbauer et. al., psychodynamics plays a major role in clinical psychology in the treatment of PTSD and trauma.
Psychology comprises of two words originally used by the ‘Greeks’, ‘psyche’, defining the mind, soul or spirit and lastly ‘logos’ being study. Both words define together the ‘study of the mind’. Psychology perspectives evaluate the normal and abnormal behaviour and how persons’ deal with different concepts of issues and problems. Psychology theories’ are based on ‘common sense’, but its scientific structure, everything needs to be evaluated and tested, therefore, promoting different psychological theories’.
In Psychology, various different explanations of behaviour and the intellect have been presented and debated over the years such as the psychodynamic, behavioral, biological and humanistic approach. The biological approach aims to provide explanation is concerned with how behaviour is affected by physiological systems and mechanisms (Barnes, 2013). This approach assumptions usually explore physiological and evolutionary explanations to behaviour. In opposition to this, the Psychoanalytic approach presents an explanation to psychological occurrence by exploring
Schultz, Duane P., and Sydney Ellen. Schultz. A History of Modern Psychology. 9th ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
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.
Titchener, who was a one student of Wundt, on the other hand, described his system as structuralism, which involves the analysis of the structure of the mind. Tichener broke down consciousness into elemental feelings and sensations. Wundt held the belief that consciousness was vital in scientific psychology, thus dependent on structuralism. He used introspection to study the functions of the mind occurring in active experience. It is however, imperative to note that Wundt’s introspection could not be used to establish higher functions of the mind. He divided the active experiences as feelings and sensations (Titchener, 1915).
The birth of psychology was in December of 1879, at Germanys University of Leipzig (Myers, 2014, p.2). In 1960, Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener defines psychology as “the science of mental health” (Myers, 2014, p.4). However, two provocative American psychologists, John Watson and B.F Skinner, redefined psychology in 1920. They redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior” (Myers, 2014, p.4). The problem arose when psychologists realized people could not observe feeling or thought so they needed to come up with a new definition for psychology. We define psychology today as “the science of behavior and mental processes” (Myers, 2014, p.4). Psychology includes many subfields such as human development, social behavior,
The term psychology has many meanings to different people, even to those who work within the psychological field. The word psychology derives from two Greek roots; 'psyche' refers to 'soul' or 'mind' and logo refers to 'the study of'. A more update definition of the word psychology can be found from Atkinson, et al (1991) “The scientific study of behaviours and mental processes.” However on Google Definitions the definition of psychology is “the mental characteristics and attitudes of a person” [accessed 16 September 2011], which gives somewhat of a contradiction. In this assignment I will be outlining and evaluating four key psychological perspectives. The psychological perspectives I have chosen are the behavioural approach, biological approach, cognitive approach and the psychodynamic approach.
The psychodynamics theory which was introduced by Freud to understand the human mind and psyche, reached a new level in the continuous analysis from therapists. Psychodynamics originally has been explained as a study of various psychological forces that affect human behavior which is related to early experiences. It specifically discusses the connection between the conscious and subconscious motivations. The theory was further analyzed and developed by Melanie Klein, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. Based on the theory, the psychodynamic therapy evolved to help patients through psychoanalysis. With time other therapies like individual, group and family therapy evolved to offer treatment by understanding the present day complexities in more detail. The main aim of the therapy is self –awareness through identifying the various influences of many past events in life. The therapies are continuously evolving since it was introduced by Freud to help in solving a variety of psychological disorders within people.
The modern world of today, psychologists have drifted away from the popularity of the psychodynamic therapy is use. Considering that many still use portions within their professional practice currently, it would seem appropriate to conclude the value and worth of psychodynamic theory in psychological work. Generally speaking, those practicing cognitive-behavior theory are applying a blend of the psychodynamic theory within their psychological efforts.
The development of psychology like all other sciences started with great minds debating unknown topics and searching for unknown answers. Early philosophers and psychologists such as Sir Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin took a scientific approach to psychology by introducing the ideas of measurement and biology into the way an indi...
In this essay I am looking at where Psychology as a discipline has come from and what affects these early ideas have had on psychology today, Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology,
The aim of this essay is to analyse four theoretical approaches to psychology, including psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive and behavioural. Analysing each approach in detail and identifying key features the approach uses to explain human behaviour. This essay will also analyse how successful each approach is in it methods, evidence gathering techniques and analyse how it can be applied to giving reasons for particular human behaviours. As well as analysing each approaches failings in it theories, methods and evidence gathering techniques.
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.
This assignment is going to outline four approaches to psychology. The approaches are: psychodynamic, biological, cognitive and behavioural approaches.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) officially opened an institution and laboratory for Psychology, in Leipzig, Germany. Many students were also taught here on experimental psychology. Wundt was touted as a great lecturer, and some of those taught, emulated Wundt's work and made a significant contribution to psychology; for example Edward Titchner (1867-1927), who introduced 'Structuralism' to the United States of America. This facility was renowned through out the world as the premise on which psychology became a science, because, it was there Wundt carried out extensive research on several hypotheses.