Running Head: Foundations of Psychology
Foundations of Psychology
Psychology can fit into a few major categories. These categories tell us what a psychologist believes the most. Is the cause of a person’s mental state due to childhood inadequacies or from something in their current life? All of the categories have something to offer the world of psychology, yet all of them are very different.
When an average person thinks of the word “psychology” their minds automatically think of psychologists like Sigmund Freud. One perspective of psychology is the Psychodynamic theory. This theory states that a person’s problems are caused by things that they are not even aware of. If a person has a fear failing, it could be due to the way he or she was treated as a child. If this person was told that nothing less than an “A” in school is good enough, that person might have problems accepting failure at any level. Using the Psychodynamic theory, a psychologist can help them by showing them the link that exists between the past and the present. Psychodynamic psychologists also look at everything going on with the patient’s life. Everything that person does can be linked to something in that person’s unconscious, this way the psychologist can help to find ways to deal with the problems that the patient is suffering from (Kowalski, Western, 2009).
Behaviorism is another Psychological perspective. This theory states that everything is caused by the environment, specifically when we learn. People can have adverse affects to many things but it is only when these effects cause lasting problems that is needs to be addressed. A child who loves fruity cereal might get sick after eating them and from that moment on the child associates fruity cereal with being ill. Fruity cereals are no longer his favorite; he has learned to dislike something because of one event. Psychologists who follow this theory are Behaviorists. They try to find the problem and then teach the patient to get... [continues]
Foundations of Psychology
Psychology can fit into a few major categories. These categories tell us what a psychologist believes the most. Is the cause of a person’s mental state due to childhood inadequacies or from something in their current life? All of the categories have something to offer the world of psychology, yet all of them are very different.
When an average person thinks of the word “psychology” their minds automatically think of psychologists like Sigmund Freud. One perspective of psychology is the Psychodynamic theory. This theory states that a person’s problems are caused by things that they are not even aware of. If a person has a fear failing, it could be due to the way he or she was treated as a child. If this person was told that nothing less than an “A” in school is good enough, that person might have problems accepting failure at any level. Using the Psychodynamic theory, a psychologist can help them by showing them the link that exists between the past and the present. Psychodynamic psychologists also look at everything going on with the patient’s life. Everything that person does can be linked to something in that person’s unconscious, this way the psychologist can help to find ways to deal with the problems that the patient is suffering from (Kowalski, Western, 2009).
Behaviorism is another Psychological perspective. This theory states that everything is caused by the environment, specifically when we learn. People can have adverse affects to many things but it is only when these effects cause lasting problems that is needs to be addressed. A child who loves fruity cereal might get sick after eating them and from that moment on the child associates fruity cereal with being ill. Fruity cereals are no longer his favorite; he has learned to dislike something because of one event. Psychologists who follow this theory are Behaviorists. They try to find the problem and then teach the patient to get... [continues]
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