Compare & Contrast Two Approaches to Psychology

Behaviourists believe that learning is a change in behaviour, when the learner is born the mind is tabula rasa (a clean slate) and behaviour is shaped by positive or negative reinforcement, learning is controlled by the teacher who supplies stimulus and reinforcement, so from a behaviourist perspective behaviour can only be learned and each action has to be learned in isolation. Cognitive theorist believe that learning is the ability to process information so they can cope with their surrounding environment, they also believe that there is an internal need to make sense of conflicting observation and that learning is a change in thinking or stored knowledge. Behaviourist set up a situation where the behaviour is likely to occur naturally an only allow for there to be a limited number of responses and wait for the learner to pick the desired answer by choice or process of elimination and then they will be reinforced for choosing the correct answer, whereas the cognitive theorist believe in encouraging accommodation (learning information by placing it in a cognitive structure) and assimilation (forming or changing cognitive structures to hold

The Behaviourist approach believe that human beings are able to learn all types of behaviours through the environment they grow up in, its believes that we learn these behaviours through using theories, such as, Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning and Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s Operant Conditioning.

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,

all use different parts of psychology to explain different forms of study and ways to view the

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (Feldman, 2013, p.5). The simplistic definition is actual very complex, as it includes a persons thought, emotions, perceptions, reasoning process, memories, and their biological activates that maintain their bodily functions (Feldman, 2013, p.5). Psychologists use the scientific method in order to describe, predict, and explain human behavior (Feldman, 2013, p.5). This is done to achieve an understanding of what or why a person does what they do, in order to help people improve their lives, with out the need for speculation.

When it comes psychology there are many different fields of study ranging from clinical psychologists to sports psychologists, with many more fields in between. Though all these studies do different tasks, there is still one thing that puts them all under the same branch; the definition of psychology. In psychology a person will study mental processes, and behavior. A huge part of psychology is watching people, weather they know it or not. When a person watches someone they will write down different items that they notice, and make observations based off of the person of interest. Katie Schmitt is over all a girl that has a passion for music and dance, might seem a little shy in class, but really opens up around her classmates, and loves to not only dress up, but also dress down with a coffee by her side.

There are 4 different approaches to psychology such as Cognitive, Biological, Psychodynamic and Behaviourism (Jarvis, M. et al. 2004). Cognitive approach deals with the mental processes such as the memory, the way of thinking and problem solving which is a necessity to process information. It concentrates on the mental process, which contrasts with behaviourism (Woods, B. 2006). Behaviourism approach focuses on how an individual behaves in different circumstances. It states that behaviour is formed through positive and negative reinforcements as well as the behaviour are a response to a stimulus.

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. There is some tension between scientific psychology (with its program of empirical research) and applied psychology (dealing with a number of areas). Psychologists attempt to explain the mind and brain in the context of real life. In contrast neurologists utilize a physiological approach. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity including issues related to daily life—e.g. family, education, and work—and the treatment of

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.

Skinner, a Psychologist  and behaviorist is known for his work in operant conditiong. Operant conditioning influences behavivor by using reward or punishment. Skinner introduced a theory of negetive reinforcement and positive reinforcement. In negetive reinforcement a behaviour is strenthened by either removing or avoiding an unfavourable or negetive outcome. In skinners theory positive reinforcement is when a reinforcing stimulus is given after a particular behavior is displayed to make it more likely to repeat that same behavior and behavior is being less likely to be repeated if punished.

Pockett, S., Banks, W., & Gallagher, S. (2006). Does consciousness cause behavior? Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Psychology, the study of human behavior and mental processes, is a social science that use principles and theories to help people and psychologists understand ourselves and others. Psychology helps people figure out why they are the way they are, and why things happen the way they do. Psychology was created in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt, but has psychological thoughts and traces from as far back as over 2,ooo years ago. Psychology gives reason to things that happen that cannot be seen or measured. Psychology, in other terms, helps us understand human behavior and how internal or external forces affect our behavior.

What could be more fascinating and more important than taking time to study and to comprehend the human brain? Why is it that some people prefer apples to oranges? Why can some people place a name to every face, while others struggle to even remember his own address? Why is laughter considered to be contagious? These questions are only a few of the many that a psychologist may strive to answer in his lifetime. Psychology is a very broad topic in general, and is easily broken down into two main categories: experimental psychology and social psychology. These two categories of psychology can be broken down further into many subcategories such as the following: clinical psychology, forensic psychology, and sports psychology. Both of these broad categories, nevertheless, share the same end goal, which is to understand the human mind and its functions. Psychology defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “The science of mind and behavior; the mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group; the study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity.”

The subject matter of psychology is consciousness and it maybe understood in terms of what it is (structure), or in terms of what it does (function).? (Benjafield, 1996, p.123)

Psychology to me is meant to help people understand the complexity of other human beings. We have established the existence of many disorders which are mainly beyond the control of people because of chemical imbalances in the brain. Although with these reasons, we still have attached negative and positive connotations to many disorders. We have created this concept of psychology in order to help us try to find some sense of order in our lives. This can allow us to try rank ourselves next to another person by seeing if we are more normal than them.