Current approaches/ perspectives/

models
 The major approaches to study Psychology
are following:
 i) The biological approach/ model
 ii) The psychodynamic approach/model
 iii) The cognitive approach/ model
 iv) The behavioral approach/ model
 V) The humanistic approach/ model
i) The biological approach/ model

 According to this approach, the behavior of

people and animals should be considered
from the view of their biological functioning.
 The study of brain and nervous system helps
us interpret perception, memory emotions
and psychological disorders, etc.
ii) The psychodynamic
approach/model
 The psychodynamic theory emphasizes
unconscious motivation and the influence of
sexual and aggressive drives on behavior. It
has major impact in the fields of personality,
psychological disorders and therapy
iii) The cognitive approach/ model

 This approach includes the study of mental

processes, such as thinking, perception,
memory and problem solving. Cognitive
psychologists seek to explain how we
process information and how our ways of
thinking about the world influence our
behavior.
iv) The behavioral approach/ model

 The behavioral approach concentrates on

observable behavior. It suggests that an
understanding and control of a person’s
environment is sufficient to fully explain and
modify behavior.
V) The humanistic approach/ model
 The humanistic approach emphasizes that
people are unique and complex organism;
each person has a capacity to reach his or
her maximum potential. It is specially
important in the field of personality ,
motivation and psychotherapy.
Psychology today
 All these five approaches have come to
dominate psychology in the 21st century.
These models add to our understanding of
why human beings behave the way they do.
 Psychologists with different view points have
different things to say; each tackles the issue
from different angle and contribute different
insights.
Psychology today
 They are now more likely to have an eclectic
approach to study behavior and cognitive
processes.
Psychology as a science
 Psychology is a science of behavior including
a person’s overt behavior and his cognitive
mental processes.
 As a science, psychology shares goals and
scientific methods with other sciences, such
as biology, chemistry, etc.
 Psychologist begin with a body of knowledge
and then proceed to investigate. They use a
variety of methods
Psychology as a science
 for this purpose. These research methods
allow them to reach the goals of description,
explanation, prediction and control.
 Psychology is comprised of systematized
knowledge that is gathered by carefully
measuring and observing events.
 Theories are used to summarize observation
and to predict the outcomes of
Psychology as a science
 future observations.
 Another important aspect of psychology as a
science is its use of measurement_ the
assignment of numbers to objects or events
according to certain rules.