The five core theoretical approaches in psychology are:
- Biological
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
- Humanistic
- Psychodynamic
Each of these perspectives in psychology emphasizes different influences and methods of study, providing a comprehensive view of the mind and behavior. Let's take a closer look at each one.
The biological perspective is also known as biopsychology or physiological psychology. Biopsychology focuses on the physical and biological roots of behavior.1
For example, a biological psychologist may research the influence of genetics on behavior or the changes in personality after a person suffers damage to certain parts of the brain. This type of research also explores the physiological effects of drugs and diseases on patients. Diagnostic tools, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, play a vital role in biological psychology.
The findings of biological psychologists are often useful in discovering new treatments. For example, a biological psychologist may determine that the level of dopamine in the brain plays a significant role in schizophrenia. This could influence research to test new drugs intended to stabilize dopamine levels in patients with schizophrenia.
The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how internal thoughts and feelings influence one’s behavior. The cognitive approach emphasizes the importance of memory, perception and attention, language, decision-making and problem-solving. This psychological perspective also explores how humans process emotions.1
This approach often compares the human mind to that of a computer. It states that human memory is comprised of three stages:
- Encoding: Information is received.
- Storage: Information is retained.
- Retrieval: Information is recalled.
Cognitive psychology seeks to understand why people learn and process information the way they do. Cognitive psychologists might help patients cope with memory disorders, or they might consult on ways to improve educational environments and curriculum.
The behavioral perspective gained popularity during the early 1900s with groundbreaking work by John B. Watson and Edward Thorndike.1 This approach centers around learned behaviors rather than internal processes like cognition.
In other words, behavioral psychologists explore psychology through observable behaviors and actions. In this perspective, psychologists treat all behavior as learned or acquired. For example, a researcher could conclude that an introverted behavior pattern was acquired in response to childhood rejection by peers during attempts at interaction.
Many psychological techniques have arisen from the behavioral perspective. These include behavior modeling, systematic desensitization and exposure therapy.1
The humanistic perspective, due to work by notable thinkers like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, arose during the 1950s.1Humanistic psychology focuses on the importance of helping people achieve their full potential for well-being. Instead of focusing on abnormal psychology, the humanistic perspective emphasizes free will, self-actualization and self-efficacy.
Before the development of this approach, the psychology profession was dominated by the behavioral and psychodynamic approaches, which could be seen as deterministic and pessimistic. Some of the central principles of the humanistic perspective are:
- Human beings have inherent goodness and will thrive under the right conditions.
- Each person is unique and has unique experiences. As a result, psychologists should not rely heavily on group studies.
- Individuals have free will and must accept responsibility for their self-actualization.
Positive psychology, which emphasizes living a healthy and happy life, has roots in the humanistic perspective.1
The psychodynamic perspective arose from the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that the behaviors exhibited by adults result from their childhood experiences and the contents of their unconscious mind, which lead to psychological dysfunction.2
An analogy Freud used to explain the unconscious mind is the iceberg. Only a small part of a floating iceberg is visible above the water. Most of the iceberg is underneath the water.3
In Freud's analogy, the tip of the iceberg represents the conscious mind. The conscious mind makes up only a small percentage of a person’s thought processes. A second, larger layer is the preconscious mind. The preconscious mind consists of accessible memories. The last and deepest layer is the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind consists of deeply buried memories and desires.
The psychodynamic perspective theorizes that the unconscious mind influences behaviors. A person can overcome undesirable behaviors and thoughts by forming a better understanding of their unconscious root causes. As a result, “talk therapy,” or “the talking cure,” was developed to guide patients to a better understanding of their internal processes.
There are benefits to exploring all these theoretical perspectives in psychology. Psychologists can turn to multiple psychological perspectives when developing an understanding of a patient’s issues and putting together a treatment plan.
Although the above are the main perspectives in psychology, there are others that are well worth consideration. Each provides different ways of looking at a particular issue, and some perspectives may be better suited to certain behavioral and human thought issues than others. Beyond the five core approaches, others include:
The evolutionary perspective approaches physiological processes and psychological matters from the standpoint of natural selection and evolution. This approach suggests that some human behaviors and mental processes exist because they support or continue to support human survival. For example, humans’ tendency to gravitate toward social groups may exist because it was safer for early humans to coexist in groups, as members could offer mutual assistance with regard to food and shelter.1 From an evolutionary standpoint, reproduction would also be more likely within social groups, consequently supporting the perpetuation of the species.
The cross-cultural perspective encourages psychologists to examine human behavior in light of cultural influences. A person’s culture can influence their thought patterns, behaviors and values. For example, people from collectivistic cultures tend to value social harmony, whereas people from individualistic cultures emphasize independence.1
The feminist perspective explores gender inequality and societal systems that perpetuate power imbalances among genders. The feminist approach may explore issues like depression and eating disorders in women, which may be triggered or exacerbated by societal and gender inequities, as well as imbalanced societal expectations.4
Conflict theory strives to develop a greater understanding of how a society’s social structure leads to inequality and conflict. That is, conflict theory is based on the concepts that there are finite resources in the world, that humans are primarily driven by self-interest, and that conflict is therefore inevitable as social groups compete for the same resources.5
