The Birth of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

• Considered by many as the father of Psychology

7 main Approaches or Perspective

• Psychodynamic
• Behaviorism
• Cognitive (including Gestalt)
• Humanistic
• Evolutionary
• Bio-Psychological
• Socio-Cultural

The Psychodynamic Perspective

- Originated with the work of Sigmund Freud
- Emphasize the role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and
interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior, as well as to treat mental
illnesses.
Freud conceived of the mind as being composed of three key elements:

• Id – part of the psyche that includes all the primal and unconscious desires
• Ego – the aspect of the psyche that must deal with the demands of the real world
• Superego – last part of the psyche to develop and is tasked with managing all of our
internalized morals, standards, and ideals.

The Behavioral Perspective

• Focuses on learned behaviors

• Was founded on the work of psychologists such as Edward Thorndike and John B.
Watson
• Differs from other perspectives because it focuses solely on observable behaviors rather
than on emphasizing internal states

The Cognitive Perspective (1960s)

• Focuses on mental process like memory, thinking, problem-solving, language, and

decision-making
• Influences by psychologist such as Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura
• Utilize an information-processing model (comparing the human mind to a compute) to
conceptualize how information is acquired, processed, stored, and utilize.
The Biological Perspective

• Also called Biopsychology or Physiological psychology

• Emphasize the physical and biological bases of behavior
➢ How genetic influence behavior or how damage to specific areas of the brain
affect personality
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans give
researchers tools to observe the brain under a variety of conditions.

The Cross-Cultural Perspective

• Look at human behavior across different cultures to learn more about how culture
influences our thinking and behavior
➢ How social behavior differ in individualistic and collectivistic cultures
➢ In individualistic cultures (such as the United States) people tend to exert less
effort when they are part of a group (social loafing)
➢ In collectivistic cultures (Asia), people tend to work harder when they are part of
a group.

Evolutionary Psychology

• Focuses on the study of how the theory of evolution can explain physiological
processes.
• Apply the basic principles of evolution (like natural selection) to psychological
phenomena
➢ The evolutionary perspective suggest that these mental processes exist because
they serve an evolutionary purpose – meaning that they aid in human survival
and reproduction.

The Humanistic Perspective

• Emphasizes the role of motivation in thought and behavior

• Focus on what drives humans to grow, change, and develop their personal potential.
• Greatly Influenced by the work of prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow.