When approaching modern psychology, there are seven major perspectives you could attack it from. The perspectives are psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, biological, evolutionary, and sociocultural. There is also the biopsychosocial model, which is a more balanced approach that considers the influence of biological, psychological, and social factors. All seven of today’s major perspectives make important contributions to the field of psychology. These perspectives work best when they are used together. For example, both the behavioral and sociocultural perspectives address how our environment affect us psychologically, but they do it in their own way. When a psychologist who holds to the behavioral perspective looks at the
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Without the other perspectives to round them out, the biological and behavioral perspective are the most comprehensive. These two make the most sense because they represent both sides of the nature verses nurture controversy. I have a friend who comes from a positive environment, she grew up with people who loved and supported her. Even with the positive “nurture” element, she struggles with violence and depression. She discovered a history of hereditary mental health problems in her mother’s family line. This experience showed me the validity in a biological approach to psychology. I also know several people who have shown me the other side to this same coin. As influential as a chemical imbalance in our brains can be, an unhealthy environment can be just as devastating. Teenagers who biologically have a clean bill of health told me about their struggles with low self-esteem and depression. They are bullied at school. The behavioral perspective addresses how a child who grew up in an abusive home may be more prone to depression or aggression. It’s the visible reaction to the stimuli of their childhood. The combination of the influence our environment has on how we act and the power of our brain/nervous system to affect us psychologically makes the most sense out of all seven of the psychological
Without the other perspectives to round them out, the biological and behavioral perspective are the most comprehensive. These two make the most sense because they represent both sides of the nature verses nurture controversy. I have a friend who comes from a positive environment, she grew up with people who loved and supported her. Even with the positive “nurture” element, she struggles with violence and depression. She discovered a history of hereditary mental health problems in her mother’s family line. This experience showed me the validity in a biological approach to psychology. I also know several people who have shown me the other side to this same coin. As influential as a chemical imbalance in our brains can be, an unhealthy environment can be just as devastating. Teenagers who biologically have a clean bill of health told me about their struggles with low self-esteem and depression. They are bullied at school. The behavioral perspective addresses how a child who grew up in an abusive home may be more prone to depression or aggression. It’s the visible reaction to the stimuli of their childhood. The combination of the influence our environment has on how we act and the power of our brain/nervous system to affect us psychologically makes the most sense out of all seven of the psychological