Objective 2
Identify the
major theoretical and professional perspectives in psychology and their basic
assumptions.
Explanation:
There are many different perspectives in psychology. One of them is the evolutionary perspective. Charles Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection which is also called survival of the fittest. Natural selection picks traits to be passed on to future generations that will best help an organism survive and reproduce. Evolutionary psychologists study how humans have adapted over time to become what we are today. Another perspective in psychology is the behavioral perspective. B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson were two of psychology’s leading behaviorists. They said that you can’t observe a feeling or thought, but you can observe how people behave. They dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as the scientific study of an observable behavior. One more psychology perspective is the cognitive neuroscience perspective. It studies the brain activity associated with perception, thinking, memory, and language. It helps us understand the biology and psychology of our brains. Neuroscientists use EEGs, PETs, MRIs, and fMRIs to see what part of the brain lights up to certain stimulus. Using this technology many neuroscientists are mapping out our brains, determining the functions of parts of our brain, and learning how to treat disorders like depression. All of these perspectives are important in psychology today.
There are many different perspectives in psychology. One of them is the evolutionary perspective. Charles Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection which is also called survival of the fittest. Natural selection picks traits to be passed on to future generations that will best help an organism survive and reproduce. Evolutionary psychologists study how humans have adapted over time to become what we are today. Another perspective in psychology is the behavioral perspective. B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson were two of psychology’s leading behaviorists. They said that you can’t observe a feeling or thought, but you can observe how people behave. They dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as the scientific study of an observable behavior. One more psychology perspective is the cognitive neuroscience perspective. It studies the brain activity associated with perception, thinking, memory, and language. It helps us understand the biology and psychology of our brains. Neuroscientists use EEGs, PETs, MRIs, and fMRIs to see what part of the brain lights up to certain stimulus. Using this technology many neuroscientists are mapping out our brains, determining the functions of parts of our brain, and learning how to treat disorders like depression. All of these perspectives are important in psychology today.
Example:
This website, http://evolution.about.com/od/Evolution-Glossary/g/Evolutionary-Psychology.htm, gives the six core principles of evolutionary psychology.
They are:
1.The human brain's purpose is to process information, and in doing so, it produces responses to both external and internal stimuli.
2. The human brain adapted and has undergone both natural and sexual selection.
3. The parts of the human brain are specialized to solve problems that occurred over evolutionary time.
4. Modern humans have brains that evolved after problems recurred time and time again over long periods of time.
5. Most of the human brain's functions are done unconsciously. Even problems that seem easy to solve take very intricate neural responses at an unconscious level.
6. Many very specialized mechanisms make up the whole of human psychology. All of these mechanisms together create human nature.
These six principles help explain what evolutionary psychology is all about.
This website, http://evolution.about.com/od/Evolution-Glossary/g/Evolutionary-Psychology.htm, gives the six core principles of evolutionary psychology.
They are:
1.The human brain's purpose is to process information, and in doing so, it produces responses to both external and internal stimuli.
2. The human brain adapted and has undergone both natural and sexual selection.
3. The parts of the human brain are specialized to solve problems that occurred over evolutionary time.
4. Modern humans have brains that evolved after problems recurred time and time again over long periods of time.
5. Most of the human brain's functions are done unconsciously. Even problems that seem easy to solve take very intricate neural responses at an unconscious level.
6. Many very specialized mechanisms make up the whole of human psychology. All of these mechanisms together create human nature.
These six principles help explain what evolutionary psychology is all about.
Example:
This website, http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm, gives more information on the behaviorism perspective in psychology. It gives a quote from John B. Watson. He said "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select -- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors." His view is that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed through conditioning.
This website, http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm, gives more information on the behaviorism perspective in psychology. It gives a quote from John B. Watson. He said "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select -- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors." His view is that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed through conditioning.