Psychology

Psychology is the science of human behavior and mental processes. Behavior is anything we do overt actions and reactions. Mental processes are our internal experiences  thoughts, feelings, memories

Structuralism (Wilhelm Wundt)

· Structuralism as a school of psychology seeks to analyze the adult mind (the sum total of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences as well as how they correlated to physical events. To do this, psychologists employ introspection, self-reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions, etc.

Gestalt psychology (Max Wertheimer and Gestalt)

This approach is based upon the idea that individuals experience things as unified wholes.

Rather than breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest element, the Gestalt position maintains that the whole of experience is important, and the whole is different from the sum of its parts.

Functionalism- (William James )

Functionalists proposed that the mind was shaped by natural selection; modern evolutionary psychology is one descendant of James’ ideas.

Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a general psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behaviour in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. As such, it provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by controlled experiments and for applied psychology.

Behaviorism

behaviorists studied observable animal behavior to try to understand human learning.) Behaviorism was founded by John Watson in direct opposition to Psychoanalytic Theory. Behaviorism focused on behavior that can be measured  and observable.

psychodynamic theory (Sigmund Freud)

Emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior and to treat people suffering from mental illnesses.

Humanism

Focused on each individual’s potential and stressed the importance of growth and self-actualization. The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology was that people are innately good.

We are humans with free will.

The Cognitive Revolution

Ulric Neisser argued that internal cognitive processes could be studied objectively, as well as behavior. Cognitive psychology believes that behaviors are performed because of ideas and thoughts. the cognitive perspective focuses on such processes as perception, memory, and thinking.

Psychological Perspectives

Developmental

Mainly focusing on the development of the human mind through the life span, developmental psychology seeks to understand how people come to perceive, understand, and act within the world and how these processes change as they age

Psychological Perspectives

Social

Social psychology is the study of how humans think about each other and how they relate to each other. Social psychologists study such topics as the influence of others on an individual's behavior (e.g. conformity, persuasion), and the formation of beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes about other people.

Psychological Perspectives

Experimental

Encompasses the traditional core of topics such as sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation and emotion.  

Psychological Perspectives

Physiological/Biological

Examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior.

Psychological Perspectives

Cognitive

Cognitive psychology studies cognition, the mental processes underlying mental activity. Perception, attention, reasoning, thinking, problem solving, memory, learning, language, and emotion are areas of research.

Psychological Perspectives

Personality

Interested in describing and understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior, which represents their personality.  This area is interested in factors that shape personality and with personality assessment.

Psychological Perspectives

Clinical

Clinical psychology includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development.