7 main approaches in psychology
The 7 Main Approaches/Perspectives to Psychology
*Many psychologists may believe that each perspective has valid explanations depending on the specific situation, and this point of view is called eclectic. This term refers to the claim that no one perspective has all the answers to the variety of human thought and behavior. Psychologists tend to use various perspectives in their work depending on which point of view fits best with the explanation.
Approach & Its Influential Period
Principle Contributors
Subject Matter
Basic Premise
Humanistic
(1950s-Present)
Carl Rogers-Person-centered therapy and unconditional positive regard
Abraham Maslow-Hierarchy of Needs and Self-Actualization
Unique aspects of human experience
Belief that we choose most of our behaviors and these choices are guided by physiological, emotional or spiritual needs. Humans are free, rational beings with the potential for personal growth, and they are fundamentally different from animals.
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
(1900-Present)
Sigmund Freud-Personality and States of Consciousness
Carl Jung-the most important and lifelong task imposed upon any person is fulfillment through the process of individuation, achievement of harmony of conscious and unconscious, which makes a person one and whole
Alfred Adler-"Individual Psychology," a term which is sometimes misunderstood. It refers to the indivisibility of the personality in its psychological structure.
Unconscious determinants of behavior
Belief that the unconscious mind---a part of our mind that we do not have conscious control over or access to---controls much of our thought and action. Unconscious motives and experiences in early childhood govern personality and mental disorders.
Biopsychology/Neuroscience
(1950s-Present)
James Olds-the "reward" system in the brain
Roger Sperry-showed that if the two hemispheres of the brain are separated by severing the corpus callosum (the large band of fibers that
*Many psychologists may believe that each perspective has valid explanations depending on the specific situation, and this point of view is called eclectic. This term refers to the claim that no one perspective has all the answers to the variety of human thought and behavior. Psychologists tend to use various perspectives in their work depending on which point of view fits best with the explanation.
Approach & Its Influential Period
Principle Contributors
Subject Matter
Basic Premise
Humanistic
(1950s-Present)
Carl Rogers-Person-centered therapy and unconditional positive regard
Abraham Maslow-Hierarchy of Needs and Self-Actualization
Unique aspects of human experience
Belief that we choose most of our behaviors and these choices are guided by physiological, emotional or spiritual needs. Humans are free, rational beings with the potential for personal growth, and they are fundamentally different from animals.
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
(1900-Present)
Sigmund Freud-Personality and States of Consciousness
Carl Jung-the most important and lifelong task imposed upon any person is fulfillment through the process of individuation, achievement of harmony of conscious and unconscious, which makes a person one and whole
Alfred Adler-"Individual Psychology," a term which is sometimes misunderstood. It refers to the indivisibility of the personality in its psychological structure.
Unconscious determinants of behavior
Belief that the unconscious mind---a part of our mind that we do not have conscious control over or access to---controls much of our thought and action. Unconscious motives and experiences in early childhood govern personality and mental disorders.
Biopsychology/Neuroscience
(1950s-Present)
James Olds-the "reward" system in the brain
Roger Sperry-showed that if the two hemispheres of the brain are separated by severing the corpus callosum (the large band of fibers that