Explaining Charlie using the 9 Modern
Biological
Behavioral
Perspectives:
Developmental
Sociocultural
Cognitive
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Trait
Nine Modern Perspectives of Psychology
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
View of Human Nature:
Natural influences
personalities, behaviors and
abilities
What Determines Behavior:
1. Neural structures
2. Biochemistry
3. Inborn responses to
external cues
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
•Neuroscience
• The field devoted to understanding how
the brain creates thoughts, feelings,
motives, consciousness, memories, and
other mental processes
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
View of Human Nature:
Behavior is developed and
adapted over time
What Determines Behavior:
Natural selection
Evolutionary
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
View of Human Nature:
We undergo predictable patterns
of change throughout our
entire life span
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
What Determines Behavior:
The interaction between
heredity-genes and environment
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
View of Human Nature:
People are informationprocessing systems
What Determines Behavior:
Mental interpretation of our
experience
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Cognitive Neuroscience
• An interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain
activity
as information processing.
Example:
• Involves
cognitivethe
psych,
neurology, biology,
Studying
strategies
in a
computer science, linguistics, and specialists
game of chess
• from other fields who are interested in the
connection between mental processes and the
brain.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon
2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
View of Human Nature:
Cognitive
We are driven by dark forces
of the unconscious
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
What Determines Behavior:
Behavioral
Unconscious needs, conflicts,
repressed memories, and
childhood experiences
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Psychoanalyst
• Medical doctors with a specialty in psychiatry
and advanced training in
• Freudian Methods
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Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
View of Human Nature:
Emphasizes human growth,
potential and free will
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
What Determines Behavior:
The influence of self-concept,
perceptions, and interpersonal
relationships, and on need for
personal growth
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
People have control over who they are
• People make choices, good or bad, that affect
their lives
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Major Humanistic Figures
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
View of Human Nature:
Behavior is primarily shaped by
learning
What Determines Behavior:
Stimulus cues and our history of
rewards and punishments
Environment causes behavior…not
the mind or biology
Trait
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
B.F Skinner
• Can’t prove the
mind exists….
• so it’s too
subjective to
study
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The Skinner Box
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The “Air Crib”
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Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
View of Human Nature:
People are social animals, so
human behavior must be
interpreted in the social context
from a cultural perspective
What Determines Behavior:
Cultures
Social norms
Expectations
Social learning
How are humans alike…and how
are they different
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Alike
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Different
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Perspective
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
View of Human Nature:
Individual differences result from
differences in our underlying
patterns of stable
characteristics…or traits
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
What Determines Behavior:
Behavioral
Each person’s unique
combination of traits
Sociocultural
Evolutionary/
Sociobiological
Trait
Personality tests
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The End..finally!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon
2007