The document summarizes the major perspectives in psychology: 1) Humanistic perspective focuses on free will and an individual's potential for growth. Key figures are Maslow and Rogers. 2) Behavioral perspective studies observable behavior and believes behavior can be controlled through environment. Pioneers are Watson and Skinner. 3) Cognitive perspective focuses on how people think and understand the world. Key psychologists are Piaget and Sternberg. 4) Biological (neuroscience) perspective examines the brain and nervous system's effects on behavior. Founders are Bernard and Bell. 5) Psychodynamic perspective views behavior as motivated by unconscious forces. Founders include Freud, Jung, and Adler.

1. Major Perspectives
in
Psychology

2. Humanistic Protagoras:
“Man is the measure of all things.”
This perspective suggests that all individuals strive to grow, develop and
be in control of their lives and behavior.
Maintains that each human being had the capacity to seek and reach
their full potential.
Suggests that no country or culture is superior; they are all
demonstrations of human creativity and adaptation.
Emphasis of perspective is on FREE WILL, the ability to freely make
decisions about one's behavior and life.
Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers
Central figures in the
development of
the Humanistic
Perspective

3. Ivan Pavlov:
Behavioral “While you are
experimenting, do not
remain content with the
surface of things.”
Maintains that psychology should study observable behavior, instead of
exploring a person’s unconscious feelings.
Belief that any desired type of behavior could be attained by controlling
a person's environment.
Behavioral perspective can be seen in every branch of psychology:
contributions include treating mental disorders, curbing aggression
and ending addictions.
John B. Watson B.F. Skinner
Pioneers of the
Behavioral
Perspective

4. Cognitive
Ulric Neisser
“Most of our oldest
memories are the
product of repeated
rehearsal and
reconstruction.”
Focuses on how people think, understand, and reason about the world.
Emphasis is on learning how people internally comprehend and
represent the outside world; how does our way of thinking about the
world influence our behavior?
Comparison is made between the human brain and the workings of a
computer; thinking is INFORMATION PROCESSING.
Jean Piaget Robert Sternberg
Notable Cognitive
Psychologists

5. Biological
Claude Bernard
“The experimenter
who does not
know what he is
(Neuroscience) looking for will not
understand what
he finds.”
This perspective includes the study of heredity, evolution and behavioral
neuroscience – which examines how the brain and nervous systems
affect behavior.
Major contributions include cures for certain types of deafness and drug
treatments for severe mental disorders.
has grown in recent years because the technology used to study the
brain and nervous system has advanced. PET and MRI scans are
being used to look at how drugs, disease and brain damage impact
behavior and cognitive functioning.
William Harvey Charles Bell
Fathers of
Biological
Psychology

6. Psychodynamic
Carl Jung:
“As far as we can discern,
the sole purpose of
human existence is to
kindle a light in the
darkness of mere being.”
The theory and systematic study of the psychological forces that
underlie human behavior, including the relations between conscious
motivation and unconscious motivation.
Belief that behavior is motivated by inner forces and conflicts over which
we have little control or knowledge.
Slips of the tongue and dreams are seen as indicators of a person's true
feelings.
Front: Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, Carl Jung
Back: Abraham Brill, Ernest Jones, Sandor Ferenczi
Alfred Adler
Founders
Of
Psychodynamic
Perspecitve