Six Approaches to

1. Six Approaches to Psychology

2. Psychoanalysis Approach • A system of viewing the individual as the product of unconscious forces • Sigmund Freud • Carl Jung • Advantages • Provides a framework for analyzing thought processes below consciousness • Disadvantages • Focuses on how people are only products of negative unconscious impulses • Difficult to proof

3. Behaviorism Approach • Viewing behavior as the product of learning and associations • B.F. Skinner • John B. Watson • Ivan Pavlov • Advantages • Observable, measurable & scientific • Many experiments to support founding • Disadvantages • Takes away “free will” & Ignores biology

4. Humanism • Believing that people are basically good & capable of helping themselves • Each person in unique – Self • Free Will- make own choices • Carl Rogers & • Abraham Maslow • Advantages • It give people power over their own lives & behavior • Disadvantages • No one is good all the time • Self-centeredness & Hard to verify –Not measurable

5. Cognitive Approach • Emphasizes the use of mental processes to handle problems • How people understand, diagnose & solve problems • Jean Piaget & E.C. Tolman • Advantages • Analyzes how thoughts affect behavior • Good thoughts = Good behavior • Disadvantages • Does not include feelings & emotions

6. Biopsychological Approach • Behavior as the result of nervous system functions & biology • Nature vs Nurture • Ivan Pavlov & Charles Darwin • Advantages • Using biological aspects of behavior can help develop treatment (drugs) for some disorders • Disadvantages • Does not take in account environmental influences

7. Socioculturalism Approach • Behavior viewed as strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific social groups or cultures • Albert Bandura • Advantages • Helps to understand different cultures and to understand social influences on behavior • Disadvantages • Does not look at biology or self