psych approaches

8/7/2019 psych approaches

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Prof. Andrea B. Martinez

Department of Behavioral Sciences

UP College of Arts and Sciences
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Y Behavioral Approach: Observable behavior

Y Psychoanalytic Approach: The unconscious mind

Y Humanistic Approach: Free will and self-actualization

Y Cognitive Approach: Information processing

Y Neuroscience Approach:

Role of the brain, hormones and genesY Evolutionary Approach:

Natural selection and adaptation

Y Socio-cultural Approach: Role of culture, ethnicity, gender and

socio-demographic factors


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Behavior is public,

Consciousness is private.


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Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,

and my own specified world to bring them

up in and Ill guarantee to take any one at

random and train him to become any typeof specialist I might selectdoctor, lawyer,

artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-

man and thief, regardless of his talents,

penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocationsand race of his ancestors.

John B. Watson (1924-1970


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John WatsonJohn Watson

Ivan Pavlov

A. Bandura

B.F. Skinner


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Y Whereas Structuralism,Functionalism, Gestalt andPsychoanalytic perspectives looked

at non-observable mental forces,Behavioral Approach emphasizesobjective, observable environmentalinfluences on overt behavior.

Y Hence, Behavioral Approachfocuses on the study of observablebehaviorand its environmentaldeterminants .


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YIt is not the why ofconsciousness that is

important but thehowof behavior thatshould be studied.


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Y John Watson strongly objected to

the practice of introspection, the

study of mental processes, and theinfluence of unconscious forces,

believing that these were unscientific

to be studied empirically.

Y Conscious thoughts and mental

processes had no place inpsychology they lacked objectivity

and could not be measured.


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YWatson argued that preoccupationwith the study of consciousness

would prevent psychology frombeing a true science.

YHe believed that learning is themost important cause of behavior.

YThus, if we can control theenvironment, we can create learningexperiences for the individual.


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YFor psychology to become a science, its datamust be open to public inspection its datamust be observable and measurable.


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YWatson adopted Russian

physiologist Ivan Pavlovs

concept of conditioning toexplain behavior as a result

of observable stimuli (in theenvironment) and

observable responses

(behavioral actions).


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YB.F. Skinnerwas

convinced that we could

use behaviorist approachto shape human

behavior (such as treatingphobias, alcoholism, etc.)


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Y B.F. Skinnerstressed the study ofobservable behaviors, theimportance of environmental

reinforcers (reward or punishment)and the exclusion of mentalprocesses.

Y Behavioral approach asserts that

learning new behaviors ormodifying existing ones depends onwhether events in the environmentreward or punish the behavior.


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YExamples:We do well in school because of the

rewards we experienceWe behave in a well-manneredfashion for our parents because of thecontrols they place on us

We work hard at our jobs because of

the money we receive for our effortsWe learn to love people because ofthe warmth and comfort they give us


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YBehaviorists affirm that wedon t do these things because

of inborn motivation to becomecompetent or because rewardsmake us feel better aboutourselves we do thembecause of the environmentalconditions we haveexperienced and are continuingto experience.


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YMan s conduct is not dueto consciousness but to

stimulus (environmentaldeterminants), hencebehaviorists modify andre-arrange environmentalexperiences to determinetheir effects on theorganism.


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YNot every Behaviorist rejected theimportance of mental processes.

YAlbert Bandura proposed theSocial Cognitive Theory whichstresses that behavior isdetermined not only by its

controlling environmentalconditions but also by howthoughts modify the impact ofenvironment on behavior.


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Y Bandura believes that many of our

complex behaviors are the result of

exposure to competent models whodisplay appropriate behavior in

solving problems and coping.

Y Imitation is one of the ways we

learn about our world. To reproduce

a model s behavior, we must codeand store the information in memory

which is a mental process.


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Y Social cognitive learning or observational learningresults from watching, imitating and modeling behavior.


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Criticisms:

YBehaviorism espoused an

environmental viewpointthat totally denies theinfluence of heredity inshaping behavior.

YBehaviorism is focused onthe observable behavior,less on mental process.


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The key to understanding mind and

behavior rested in the unconscious

aspects of the mindthe aspects of

which we are unaware of.Sigmund Freud


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The year is 1904. You are lying on

an incredibly comfortable couch in

an office in Vienna, Austria. A

gentleman with a stern look on hisface walks and sits down near you.

He asks you to close your eyes and

to disclose everything that goes

inside your mind. Then he inquires

about your childhood experiences.The man asking the questions is

Sigmund Freud. The method he used

is psychotherapy.


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YUnlike many pioneerpsychologists, Sigmund

Freud was intrigued bythe abnormal aspects ofthe people s lives.

YHis focus of study is on

the case and cure ofpersonality disorders,using case studies asmethod of investigation.
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Y Freud believe that all human

actions have a cause, but that

cause is often some

unconscious motive rather thanthe rational reason.

Y For Freud, the key to

understanding mind and

behavior rested in theunconscious aspects of the

mind the part of the mind thatis outside of our awareness.


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Y

Unconscious processes

arethoughts, fears, desires and wishesthat a person is unaware of butnevertheless influence behavior.


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The human mind is like

an iceberg

theconscious mind is only

the tip of the iceberg,whereas the unconscious

mind is the huge bulk ofthe iceberg submergedbeyond our awareness.


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Man is driven by two

basic instincts:

2. Death instinct

in the form of (a)aggression and(b) self-inflictedpain (e.g. suicide)

1. Life instinct in the

form of (a) self-preservation and (b)sexual instinct (calledlibido)
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YThese unlearned biologicalinstincts are located in theunconscious mind andinfluence the way individualsthink, feel and behave.

YThese instincts, especially

sexual and aggressiveimpulses, often conflict withacceptable social behavior.


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YMany of the impulses that areforbidden or punished byparents and society duringchildhood are derived frominnate instincts.

YThese thoughts or feelings that

make us feel fearful or guiltyand threaten our self-esteemare automatically sent deepinto our unconscious.


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YThese unconscious,threatening thoughts andfeelings give rise toanxiety, fear and other

psychological problems.


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YUnconscious impulses

are expressed through:

DreamsSlips of the tongue

Mannerisms

Symptoms of mental illness

Socially-approved behavior likeartistic or literary activities


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YTechniques to uncover the

unconscious:

Dream interpretationdreamshave latent and manifestcontents

Free associationthe patientfreely associates his thoughts

and experiences with the help ofthe psychiatrist who analyzes thecause of difficulties.


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Y Although Freud saw much ofpsychological development asinstinctually based, he argued that

our early relationships with ourparents were the chiefenvironmental contribution to ourpersonality.

Y The first five years of life (or earlychildhood experiences) has aprofound effect on adult personalitydevelopment and the formation ofother psychological problems.


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YTo sum, psychoanalyticapproach emphasizes:

The unconscious aspect s of the

mindThe human nature being driven bythe same basic instincts as animals(primarily sex and aggression)

The conflict between biological

instincts and society s demands thatgive rise to anxiety

Importance of early familyexperiences and relationship withparents in personality development


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Criticisms:

YFreud s non-scientificapproach and emphasison sexual and aggressive

impulses have caused agreat deal of controvers y.


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YHowever, his approach hasa profound impact on

psychotherapy, psychiatryand modern psychodynamicpsychology.


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YThe Humanistic Approachofficially began in the early

1960 s, started by AbrahamMaslow and Carl Rogers.


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YThe Humanistic Approachbelieves that the human

person is characterized by:1. capacity for growth

2. Freedom

3. enormous positive qualities or

intrinsic worth.


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YHumanistic approach asserts

that an individual s principalmotivational force is atendency toward growth andself-actualizationthe state

of self-fulfillment in which werealize our highest potential.


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YWe may have to struggle to

reach our potential, but wehave control of our fate tobecome whatever we arecapable of being (as against

being manipulated by instinctor by environmentaldeterminants).


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YHumanists emphasize our uniqueability to make voluntary choicesthrough our free will about ourbehavior and life.


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Y There is a positive side of

human nature with its creative

tendencies and its inclination to

build caring relationships.

Y Humanists believe that we havea natural tendency to be loving

toward each other and that

each of us has the capacity tobe a loving person if we would

recognize it.


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Y Humanists stress that oursubjective, personal perception ofourselves and the world is more

important than behavior itself .Y They believe that we have a

tremendous potential for self-understanding and that we canhelp others achieve this self -

understanding by providing anurturant, warm social climate bybeing supportive.


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To sum, the concept

of human naturecharacterized byfreedom, potential,

creativity is themost distinctive

feature ofHumanistic

approach and setsit apart from theBehavioral andPsychoanalytic

approaches.


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Y Critics may call the Humanistic Approach

unscientific, but it has been applauded forhelping us reach our human potential and

cope more effectively with out problems.

YMaslow called the Humanistic Psychology

thethird force in psychology,

believingit also deserves the attention that

Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis get.


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YThe Behavioral

Neuroscience approachseeks to specify the

neurobiological processes

and structures that underlie

behavior and mental events.


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YRather than study only

thoughtsas cognitivepsychologists do

neurobiologists believe that

thoughts have physical basis

in the brain.


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YThe NeurobiologicalApproach examines how our

genes, hormones and thenervous system, especiallythe brain, interact with ourenvironment to influence

learning, personality,

memory, motivation,

emotion, coping techniques

and other traits and abilities.


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YThis approach asserts that all

psychological events as well

as behavior are represented

in some manner by the

activity of the brain and the

nervous system.


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Y Examples of biological

explanations:

Identifying changes that

take place in the brain

because of memory

processes

Showing patterns of brain

activities when making

quick decisions


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Y Examples of biological

explanations:

Researchers found out that

autistic children share a

genetic defect in

regulating a chemical

known as seratonin that

has an important role in

brain functioning.


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Y For psychobiologists, the

brain and the nervous system

are central to understandingbehavior, thought and

emotion.

YOur remarkable capabilities

as human beings would notbe possible without ourbrains.


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Y Roger Sperry, the major

proponent of Neurobiological

Approach, conducted extensive

research on the brains twohemispheres.

Y Sperry made remarkable

discovery when he revealed that

some aspects of our behavior are

controlled by one side of the

brain than by the other side.


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YThe human brain is only a

three-pound lump of matter,

but in this lump are more

than 100 billion

interconnected nerve cells.

Electrical impulses zoom

throughout our brain cells

and chemical substances are

released as we think, feel

and act.


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Y In sum, the NeurobiologicalApproach examines how our

genes, hormones and thenervous system, especiallythe brain, interact with ourenvironment to influence

learning, personality,

memory, motivation,

emotion, coping techniques

and other traits and abilities.


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How the mind works


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YCognitive Psychology is the

scientific study of cognition,

the goal of which is toexplain how mentalprocesses are organized andhow they function.


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YCognitionrefers to the

mental process of

perception, memory andinformation processing by

which individuals acquire

knowledge, solve problems,

and plan for the future.


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YCognitive Psychology is

concerned primarily with

how individuals perceiveevents and code, categorize

and represent information in

memory.

Y It seeks to develop a theoryon how the mind works soas to predict behavior.


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It emphasizes the

mental processes

involved in knowing

how we process,

store, and use

information and how

this information

influences what we

attend to, perceive,

learn, remember,

believe, feel, etc.


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YExamples:

How do we solve algebraic equations?

How do we memorize a poem? How do we use imagery to plan for the future?

Why do we remember some things only for a short

period of time but remember others for a lifetime?


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Y Human beings are not passive

receptors of stimulithe mind

actively processes the

information it receives andtransforms it into new forms and

categories.

Y Hence, an individuals mental

processes

memory,perception, imaging, thinking

are in control of behavior.


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Comparison with other approaches:

Y Cognitive Psychology: The mind is an

active and aware problem-solving

system. Hence, an individuals mental

processes are in control of behavior.

Y Psychodynamic Approach: The

individual is controlled by instincts.

Y Behavioral Approach: Behavior is

controlled by external environmental

forces.


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YKenneth Craik, a Britishpsychologist, proposed that

the brain is like a computer

capable of modeling or

paralleling external events.


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YHerbert Simon, pioneered

the Information ProcessingApproach, who asserted thatthe human mind is best

understood by comparing it

to how a computer processesinformation.


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YAccording to InformationProcessing Approach, wegather information from ourenvironment and then process

it in a series of stages.YLike computers, we first take

in information, process it, andthen produce a response.


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COMPUTER

Data entry

Software program

acts on data

Data storage / save

Data search / find

Print out

HUMAN MIND

Sensory and perceptual

Systems as input channel

Mental processes act on

Information input

Memory

Retrieval of information

From memory

Behavior

Comparing the human mi ndComparing the human mi nd

with how the computer w orks:with how the computer w orks:


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Information Processing Model:Information Processing Model:

Y This is the most widely adoptedcognitive approach which studies

how individuals process

information:

How do we attend to

information?

How do we perceive information?

How do we store information?

How do we think about the

information? How do we retrieve the

information for future use?


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YThe evolutionary perspectivederives from a focus on natural

selection or survival of the fittest,adaptation and evolution of

behavior and mental processes.


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Y In this view, theevolutionary process of

natural selectionfavors behaviors thatincrease organism sreproductive successand their ability to pass

their genes to the nextgeneration.


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Y Evolutionists see

natural selection

operating at the level of

genes.

Y Genes that result incharacteristics and

behaviors that are

adaptive and useful incertain environment will

enable the creature to

survive and reproduce.


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YThat is, humans andother animals

exhibiting behaviorsthat contribute tosurvival will passthem on through their

genes to the nextgeneration.


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YHence, evolution favors organisms that are bestadapted to survive and reproduce in a particularenvironment.


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YDavid Buss believes thatjust as evolution shapes

our physical features , suchas body shape and height,it also pervasivelyinfluences how we make

decisions, how aggressivewe are, our fears and ourmating patterns.


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Y Steven Pinkerargued that howthe mind works can besummarized by three main points:

(1) The mind computes;(2) The mind was designed to

compute by evolution;

(3) These computations are

performed by specialized brainsystems that natural selectionhas designed to achievespecific kinds of goal such assurvival.


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Y Thus, minds that understood causes and effects,built tools, set traps and avoided poisonous

mushrooms in primitive times had the bestchance of surviving and having offspring that in,modern times, invented mathematics, design

computers and make robots.


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YFor instance, in analyzingaggressive behavior:YBehaviorists argue that

aggressiveness is learned.YCognitive psychologists would

emphasize how thoughtscontribute to aggression.

YBiopsychologists might point to therole of hormones and structures of

the brain in aggression.YEvolutionary psychologists would

argue that people behaveaggressively because aggressionconveys a survival or reproductiveadvantage.


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Y The Socio-cultural Approach, also called the Cross-

cultural Approach, emphasizes that culture, ethnicity,

gender and other socio-cultural and economic traits are

essential in understanding behavior.


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Socio-cultural psychologyhas shown that factors

such as ethnicity,religion, occupation and

socio-economic classhave an enormous

psychological impact onall of us.


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Y It is the pattern ofbehavior, beliefs,practices, values, music,diet, rituals and other

products of a particulargroup of people that arepassed on fromgeneration to generation.

Y It is the way of life of

the people, influencingthe identity, learning andsocial behavior ofmembers of a particularcultural group.


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Y It is based on cultural

heritage, nationality

characteristics, race,

religion and language of

the people.

Y It involves descent from

common ancestors, usually

in a specifiable part of theworld.

Y Given this common

descent, people often

make inferences about

someones ethnicity basedon physical features

believed to be typical of an

ethnic group.


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Examples of ethnicExamples of ethnic

issues addressed byissues addressed by

SocioSocio--cultural Approach:cultural Approach:

YWhat traits arecommonly associated or

stereotyped behaviors

of Westerners and

Asians?

YAre Filipinos naturally

indolent people?


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It is the socioIt is the socio--cultural dimensioncultural dimension

of being male or female, asof being male or female, asagainstagainst sexsex which is thewhich is the

biological dimension of beingbiological dimension of being

male or female.male or female.


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Examples ofgender issues addressedExamples ofgender issues addressed

by Socioby Socio--cultural Approach:cultural Approach:

Y Is there a limit to how

much society can

determine what isappropriate behavior

for males and females?

YWhat are the emerging

gender roles of malesand females in various

social behavior?

R l fR l f


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Relevance ofRelevance of

SocioSocio--cultural Approachcultural Approach

YAs the future bringsincreasing contactbetween people

from differentcultural background,the cross-culturalapproach will helpexpand the role of

psychology as arelevant discipline.

psych approaches

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