Approaches to Psychology Essay Example for Free

Approaches to Psychology Essay The social world is complex. To try to explain it human psychological actions through one simple theory is a difficult task. Different psychologists and psychological schools have come up with different approaches that attempt to understand human behavior, emotion and motivation. These approaches include the bio-psychological, behavioral, psychoanalytic, humanistic cognitive and socio-cultural schools of thought and action. While these approaches may not be entirely compatible, they do form a basket of tools with which the student of psychology can use to try to understand the psychological make-up of the people he or she encounters. Through the notion of eclecticism, it is possible to take elements from these approaches to come up with an understanding of a given situation. These schools all have their own important voice that reveals important characteristics in varying psychological situations. Biophysical approach: talk about how this approach helps us to understand how the body reacts to psychological events, without an understanding of the brain, nervous, muscle and hormonal systems, you can’t really understand people as part of their environment. Humans are animal systems and the bio-psychological approaches help us understand the human animal, but it fails at more human characteristics such as cognition and problem solving and psychological trauma of childhood Behavioral approach: tell about Skinner; tell how this approach helps us to understand basic human psychology, especially in modern times when the stress is on scientific observation. Behavioral approach helps us understand what can be observed, it helps us to control others by understanding how to get people to do things through rewards, it does not tell us, though about what goes on inside the person and how some people may not react to rewards, or how cultural issues may be more important to people Psychoanalytic approach: tell about Freud and psychoanalysis, this is based on introspection, so it is not very scientific, but it does help people think about their past and the unconscious motivations of their behavior in the present. It also is good because it relies on talking, instead of giving people medication, so it can provide solutions for people. It also is a little simple with the stress on violence and sex. Humanistic approach: talk about Carl Rogers, tell about how it is a positive psychological approach because it focuses on improving people, however, it is weak because some people are so traumatized by an imperfect world and family that they need the help of other approaches to first figure out what the problem is. Cognitive approach: tell about how it is good because it focuses on people using strategies to solve problems, it helps people feel more independent and strong, however, it is weak because it is very narrow and focuses on a very small part of a person’s psychological make-up. Sociocultural approach: tell about how cultural can affect psychology and it is important to understand that different groups are affected by their culture, tell about how IQ testing might be biased and how the sociocultural approach makes us sensitive to this. However, it is bad because it does not help us actually solve problems, only focuses on making us more sensitive. Sensory activities In learning process students faces various challenges. Teachers should try to understand sources of students’ problem and also employ various approaches in helping them. Eg carrying out the following sensory activities may drive this point home. American flag afterimage One may report American flag to have different colors in according to number of times one has seen it and also depending on which occasions one saw this flag. Color reported may not be the correct due to confusion arising from the number of times the flag was seen and occasions in which the flag was seen. This may make it difficult for one to have the real picture about the flag. Mirror writing Mirror writing can also bring confusion to the learner. Such occurrence may occur as a result of problems in the development of the brain or confusion arising from the nervous system. A psychologist should understand such a problem by using the biophysical approach. For instance understanding why a person writes his name as reteP instead of writing it correctly as Peter. Food paragraph When one is asked to write a paragraph about food, his or her culture will greatly determine what message he/she writes. It may entail condemning certain food or praising certain food in which one has been brought up with or which are highly regarded in his/her society. This should help the psychologist to understand how to help the person who is having a problem. Conclusion All these approaches to psychology are interdependent. The need to combine them in dealing with every day challenges is very important. For instance a case of a student that cannot succeed on a written exam but can excel when tested verbally, the teacher need to employ behavioral approach and know such a student has difficulty in written exams. Then a humanistic approach will be relevant so as to understand why the student has problem with a written exam and have a positive attitude to help the student out of such problem. The biophysical approach will call upon the teacher to know the working of such student brains. Does the student have a problem in interpreting instructions in a written exam? Therefore, an all inclusive approach is the best way in solving daily life problems. (William, Glassman, Hadad 2008) An example of an all inclusive approach was employed by Maslov in describing the needs of human beings. He encompassed biological and psychological needs, then safety needs, esteem needs and then self actualization needs. Such approach encompasses biological, human, social cultural and human views. Thus, none of psychological approach can stand on it alone to solve problem facing human beings. Work cited William, G. , Glassman, W Hadad, M Approaches to Psychology. 2008.