Psy_300_Foundations_of_Psychology

Student Name "Foundations of Psychology" Univeristy of Phoenix PSY 300 03/12/2011 Instructor: Name People have always been fascinated by human behavior, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that psychology became a science. When psychology was first established, there was a debate over how it should describe or explain human behavior and the mind. It was originally tied in with philosophy, but the next generation of experimental psychologists wanted to divorce themselves from philosophical speculation and establish a fully scientific psychology. Instead of holding on to one particular outlook on psychology, ideas and theories were drawn from different schools of thought. The major schools of thought enhance our knowledge and understanding of psychology. The schools of thought include structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanism, and cognitivism. Structuralism, a system developed by Edward Titchener is the study of the elemental composition of consciousness. He believed that this was the correct way for a science of psychology. The structuralism idea breaks away and opposes the neoclassical conception of the mind, which views man as autonomous. Structuralist thought explains thought and behavior of an individual or group as the operation of choice within the determinant structure of a cognitive system (Solo R.A, 1975). Functionalism along with structuralism ruled psychology in the early years. It was influenced by the Darwinism theory emphasized the role or function—of psychological processes in helping individuals adapt to their environment. Functionalism explains that humans have primary needs that must be satisfied in order to survive. Its assumptions are implicit in practically all the earlier attempts to think systematically about human society (Fletcher R, 1956). The school of thought that was developed by Sigmund Freud is psychoanalysis. The psychoanalysis approach is an approach to treating psychological disorders and a theory of mental life and behavior. It emphasizes the unconscious mind on behavior. The psychodynamic perspective focuses on three principles. Actions are established by the way feelings or thoughts are connected in the mind, mental events can occur outside of conscious awareness and mental processes can conflict with one another. Psychoanalysis gives meaning to behavior by showing the significance of myth in our lives, those inner images of fantasy which render objects significant, and which lead us to create and respond to relationships (Cohler, B. J., & Galatzer-Levy, R. 2007). The underlying premise is that consciousness is like the tip of an iceberg because the aim is to interpret the motives of behavior. The behaviorism perspective pioneered by John Watson and B.F Skinner focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behavior through learning. Behaviorists focus on external and observable behavior. Research for behaviorism is not necessary because data and information is collected from observable behavior. The underlying comparison is the mind because its subjects cannot be studied scientifically. Humanism upholds our ability and obligation to lead ethical lives. It highlights a person's tussle to grow and retain an assimilated personality as the main motivational force in human behavior. Humanism is concerned with the internal life or things like feelings and attitude, which make us human. Humanists thought that both psychoanalysis and behaviorism focused too much on either the most tragic emotions and failed to take the role of personal choice into account. Humanism however, focuses on growth, potential and self-actualization. The cognitive perspective is a psychological perspective that focuses on the way people perceive, process, and retrieve information. The cognitive tool is useful when it comes to examining perception, memory, and decision making. A comparison behind the cognitive perspective is the mind as computer, complete with software. The primary biological foundations linked to behavior include genetics, evolution, and the brain. Genetics have incessantly brought on the argument of the nature vs. nurture approach. However, all traits and personality characteristics are brought on by the interaction of genes and environmental feedback. Evolutionary psychology focuses on the effects evolution. Simple evolutionary psychology covers simple topics such as being able to learn language and the behaviors that come naturally. A more complex example of an evolutionary psychology theory is phobias where caution became an instinctive human reaction (New York Times, 2011). During the nineteenth century, the link between the brain and behavior became clear. The hemispheres of the nervous system allow us to move, speak, touch visualize, memorize and controls almost all of our natural functions. Once doctors began observing patients who suffered from head injuries; they were able to notice deficits in language or memory and dramatic personality changes. Psychology is not formed from a single model, but comes from several different perspectives, so that we are able to understand human behavior completely. References Cohler, B. J., & Galatzer-Levy, R. (2007). What Kind of Science Is Psychoanalysis' Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 27(5), 547-582. doi:10.1080/07351690701468108 Fletcher, R. (1956). FUNCTIONALISM AS A SOCIAL THEORY. Sociological Review, 4(1), 31-46. doi:10.1111/1467-954X.ep13664181 New York Times (2011). About.com. Retrieved from http://phobias.about.com/od/glossary/g/evolutionarypsychologydef.htm Solo, R. A. (1975). What is Structuralism' Piaget's Genetic Epistemology and the Varieties of Structuralist Thought. Journal of Economic Issues (Association for Evolutionary Economics), 9(4), 605. Retrieved from EBSCOhost University of Phoenix (2007). Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes and Behavior. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, PSY 300 website