Unit 1 (B):Unit 1 (B):Contemporary Contemporary Approaches to Approaches to

PsychologyPsychologyMr. McCormickMr. McCormickA.P. PsychologyA.P. Psychology

Do-Now:Do-Now:(Discussion)(Discussion)

Describe Describe the the 44

Historical ApproachesHistorical Approachesto Psychologyto Psychology

Which Which approaches approaches

do you feel have do you feel have most influenced most influenced

Modern PsychologyModern Psychology??

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Biological:Biological: Biochemical/Physical factorsBiochemical/Physical factors Behavioral GeneticsBehavioral Genetics Cognitive NeuroscienceCognitive Neuroscience

Evolutionary:Evolutionary: Natural SelectionNatural Selection ““Survival of the Fittest”Survival of the Fittest” Charles Darwin (1809-1882)Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Psychodynamic:Psychodynamic: ““Unconscious” drives/conflictsUnconscious” drives/conflicts Past/Early childhoodPast/Early childhood Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Behavioral:Behavioral: Observable behaviorObservable behavior Events in the environment Events in the environment

(rewards/punishments)(rewards/punishments) Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Cognitive:Cognitive: How we process, How we process,

retrieve, and store retrieve, and store informationinformation

Mental activities Mental activities (thinking, knowing, (thinking, knowing, remembering, remembering, communicating)communicating)

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Noam Chomsky (1928-Noam Chomsky (1928-

Present)Present)

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Humanistic:Humanistic: Individual/Self-directed Individual/Self-directed

choiceschoices Carl Rogers (1902-1987)Carl Rogers (1902-1987) Abraham Maslow (1908-Abraham Maslow (1908-

1970)1970)

Social-Cultural:Social-Cultural: Sex, gender, race, ethnicity, Sex, gender, race, ethnicity,

sexual orientation, culture, sexual orientation, culture, environment, socioeconomic environment, socioeconomic statusstatus

Stanley Milgram (1933-Stanley Milgram (1933-1984)1984)

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Which Which contemporary contemporary approachesapproaches of of Psychology Psychology do feel are most favorable?do feel are most favorable?

Why?Why?

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsBiological/Neuroscience

How do the body and brain enable emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How does natural selection of traits promote the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics

How much do our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Psychodynamic

How does behavior spring from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How do we learn observable responses?

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsCognitive How do we encode,

process, store and retrieve information?

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving?

Social-cultural

How does behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyPsychology

Because no individual approach Because no individual approach may explain human thought and may explain human thought and

behavior exclusively, behavior exclusively, psychologists often take a more psychologists often take a more

integrated approach, known as integrated approach, known as the the

Biopsychosocial ApproachBiopsychosocial Approach..

Contemporary Approaches to Contemporary Approaches to Psychology:Psychology:

Biopsychosocial ApproachBiopsychosocial Approach

Nature Vs. NurtureNature Vs. Nurture

What is the What is the “Nature-Nurture” “Nature-Nurture” controversy facing Psychology?controversy facing Psychology?

Which factor do you feel is Which factor do you feel is moremore influential influential on human thought and on human thought and behavior? Do you feel they are behavior? Do you feel they are equallyequally influentialinfluential??

Nature Vs. NurtureNature Vs. Nurture

““Nature-Nurture” Nature-Nurture” Issue:Issue: Psychological Psychological

controversycontroversy Debate of origin of Debate of origin of

personality traitspersonality traits ““Nature” = GenesNature” = Genes ““Nurture” = Nurture” =

ExperiencesExperiences

Nature Vs. NurtureNature Vs. Nurture Psychologists often Psychologists often debatedebate the the “Nature-Nurture” “Nature-Nurture”

issue with these types of issue with these types of questionsquestions:: How are we How are we humanshumans alikealike (because of our common biology (because of our common biology

and evolutionary history) and and evolutionary history) and diversediverse (because of our differing (because of our differing environments)?environments)?

Are Are gender differences gender differences biologically predisposed biologically predisposed or or socially socially constructedconstructed??

Is children’s Is children’s grammargrammar mostly mostly innateinnate or formed by or formed by experienceexperience?? How are differences in How are differences in intelligenceintelligence and and personalitypersonality

influenced by influenced by heredityheredity and and environmentenvironment?? Are Are sexual behaviors sexual behaviors more more “pushed” “pushed” by by inner biology inner biology or or

“pulled” “pulled” by by external incentivesexternal incentives?? Should we treat Should we treat psychological disorders psychological disorders – depression, for – depression, for

example – as disorders of the example – as disorders of the brainbrain, disorders of , disorders of thoughtthought, or , or bothboth??

ReviewReview Briefly Briefly describedescribe the 7 the 7 Contemporary Contemporary

ApproachesApproaches to Psychology:to Psychology: BiologicalBiological EvolutionaryEvolutionary PsychodynamicPsychodynamic BehavioralBehavioral CognitiveCognitive HumanisticHumanistic Social-CulturalSocial-Cultural

What is the What is the “Nature-Nurture” Issue“Nature-Nurture” Issue? What are ? What are some ways that psychologists may some ways that psychologists may addressaddress this? this?

HomeworkHomework

Unit 1 FRQUnit 1 FRQ

Unit 1 Key PeopleUnit 1 Key People

Unit 1 Quiz: Unit 1 Quiz: “Psychology’s History “Psychology’s History & Approaches”& Approaches”