PERPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY Every topic in psychology can be looked at in a number of different ways.

For example, let's consider the subject of aggression. Someone who emphasizes a biological perspective would look at the how the brain and nervous system impact aggressive behavior. A professional who stresses a behavioral perspective would look at how environmental variables reinforce aggressive actions. Another psychologist who utilizes a cross-cultural approach might consider how cultural and social influences contribute to aggressive or violent behaviors. The following are just a few of the major perspectives in modern psychology.

The Biological Perspective

The study of physiology played a major role in the development of psychology as a separate science. Today, this perspective is known as biological psychology. Sometimes referred to as biopsychology or physiological psychology, this point of view emphasizes the physical and biological bases of behavior. This perspective has grown significantly over the last few decades, especially with advances in our ability to explore and understand the human brain and nervous system. Tools such as MRI scans and PET scans allow researchers to look at the brain under a variety of conditions. Scientists can now look at the effects of brain damage, drugs, and disease in ways that were simply not possible in the past.

The Behavioral Perspective

Behavioral psychology is a perspective that focuses on learned behaviors. Today, the behavioral perspective is still concerned with how behaviors are learned and reinforced. Behavioral principles are often applied in mental health settings, where therapists and counselors use these techniques to explain and treat a variety of illnesses.
Behaviorism is different from most other approaches because they view people (and animals) as controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the result of what we have learned from our environment. Behaviorism is concerned with how environmental factors (called stimuli) affect observable behavior (called the response).

This is reflected in the equation O + S = R; whereas O is the Organism, S is Stimulus, and R is Response. The equation of O+S=R means that when an Organism is presented with a Stimulus a Response will be elicited.
The behaviorist approach proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their environment: namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by association, and operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behavior.

The Cognitive Perspective

During the 1960s, a new perspective known as cognitive psychology began to take hold.
The word Cogito, was derived from the Latin word to "think". This area of psychology focuses on

mental processes such as memory, thinking, problem solving, language and decision-making. Influenced by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura, this perspective has grown tremendously in recent decades. The focus of the cognitive perspective is the mind. It emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, how we perceive, how we remember, and how we think and solve problems. It examines internal mental processes, such as creativity, perception, thinking, problem solving, memory, and language. Cognitive psychologists are interested in how a person understands, diagnoses, and solves a problem, concerning themselves with the mental processes that mediate between stimulus and response. In recent years cognitive psychology has become associated with computer information processing and artificial intelligence, studying parallels in the ways that both brain and computer receive, process, store, and retrieve information.

The Cross-Cultural Perspective

Cross-cultural psychology is a fairly new perspective that has grown significantly over the last twenty years. These psychologists and researchers look at human behavior across different cultures. By looking at these differences, we can learn more about how our culture influences our thinking and behavior. The socio-cultural perspective in psychology suggests that human behavior is
influenced by social context, environmental cues, social pressures and cultural influences.

It emphasizes on social and cultural influences on behavior. They look at the cultural context of a person, meaning the traditions, folklore, customs, beliefs and values that a certain culture champions.

The Psychodynamic/ Psychoanalytic Perspective

The psychodynamic perspective originated with the work of Sigmund Freud , considered to be the
Father of Psychoanalysis.

This view of psychology and human behavior emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind, , conflicts, early family or childhood experiences.and interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior and to treat people suffering from mental illnesses. This perspective assumes that every
person has both conscious and unconscious parts.

The Humanistic/ Phenomenological Perspective

During the 1950s, a school of thought known as humanistic psychology emerged. Influenced greatly by the work of prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, this

perspective emphasizes the role of motivation on thought and behavior. Concepts such as selfactualization are an essential part of this perspective. The phenomenological perspective, and particularly the humanistic perspectives, sees humankind as being intrinsically good and self-perfecting. People are seen as being drawn towards growth, health, self-sufficiency, and maturity. This is a very OPTIMISTIC perspective which focuses on peoples POTENTIAL. People are seen as growing and evolving naturally towards greater beauty and more completeness. The major themes and underlying assumptions of this perspective are: There is a self which has beautiful and unique form. It is changing and growing. Everyones self is unique. Once we provide a nurturing outer and inner environment, growth towards our higher selves occurs naturally. We have enormous potential, possibility, and choice. Uniqueness of Individuals: we view the world from our own unique perspective and our subjective experience of reality is very important . Phenomenology means the subjective experience of individuals. We can and must exercise our free will. Some people think that they dont have the capacity or ability to make life HAPPEN for themselves. Or they believe that past problems are insurmountable. Or they spend so much time regretting the past that they are blinded to the possibilities of the here and now and the future. This perspective takes the view that this is due to people losing sight of the free will they possess and not recognizing their own potential for change and growth. There are many different ways to think about human thought and behavior. The many perspectives in modern psychology provide researchers and students a way to approach different problems and find new ways to explain and predict human behavior as well as develop new treatment approaches for problem behaviors

References Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2000). Perspectives on personality (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Funder, D. C. (1997). The personality puzzle. New York: Norton. Keutzer, C. S. (1978). Whatever turns you on: Triggers to transcendental experiences. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 18, 77-80.

Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand.