Psychological Perspectives Today

Many of the early psychological theories (also known as perspectives or approaches) that you have learned about so far are still used today (such as psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, and cognitive). They provide frameworks for psychologists in explaining and analyzing behavior and are helpful lenses through which psychologists understand and study human behavior, thoughts, and emotions.

Modern psychologists often use an eclectic approach, drawing on multiple perspectives to explain behavior or guide therapy.

Early Perspectives of Psychology: Still Active and Advanced Beyond Early Ideas

School of Psychology	Description	Earliest Period	Historically Important People
Psychodynamic perspective	Focuses on the role of the unconscious and childhood experiences in affecting conscious behavior.	Very late 19th to Early 20th Century	Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson
Behavioral perspective	Focuses on observable behavior and how it can be shaped through learning and conditioning.	Early 20th Century	Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner
Humanistic perspective	Emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans and rejects that psychology should focus on problems and disorders.	1950s	Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers
Cognitive perspective	Focuses not just on behavior, but on mental processes and internal mental states.	1960s[1]	Ulric Neisser, Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky

In addition to these early perspectives, there are a few other major perspectives, including the:

• Biological perspective (behaviors are connected to biological or physiological processes)
  • This developed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century when researchers began to uncover the links between brain activity, hormones, neurotransmitters, and behavior. This perspective focuses on how physiological aspects like genetics, brain chemistry, and bodily processes influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Evolutionary perspective (behaviors have an evolutionary cause)
  • Stemming from the work of Charles Darwin, the evolutionary perspective grew from the functionalist views in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This perspective posits that our psychological traits, such as memory, perception, or language, are adaptive and have evolved over time through the process of natural selection to increase our chances of survival and reproduction.
• Sociocultural perspective (the environment strongly influences thoughts and behaviors).
  • The sociocultural perspective emerged in the mid-20th century and emphasizes the influence of social and cultural factors on human behavior and mental processes. It considers how an individual’s behaviors and attitudes are shaped by their history, society, and cultural norms, and argues that psychology cannot be fully understood without considering the cultural context.

Psychology in Practice

Although perspectives had periods of prominence—such as behaviorism in the early 20th century or cognitive psychology in the 1950s–60s—psychologists were never bound to a single school of thought. Even in the early years, some focused on research, while others worked in education, counseling, or therapy.

Psychology has always been diverse, with studies in child development, personality, and social behavior that did not fit neatly into one category but still advanced the field. Today, psychologists continue to integrate ideas across perspectives to address complex questions about the mind and behavior.

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