Great psychological perspectives

Behaviorist Psychology: The Study of the Observable

Behaviorism, pioneered by psychologists such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, redefined psychology as the scientific study of behavior that is directly observable.

This perspective held that since science must be based on observation, one cannot objectively study sensations, feelings, or thoughts.

Behaviorists therefore dismissed introspection and focused instead on recording and analyzing people's behavior as they responded and learned in different situations.

Their view proposed that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes that could not be seen.

This school of thought became one of the two major forces that dominated psychology well into the 1960s, focusing on conditioned responses.

Psychodynamic Psychology: The Approach Freudian

The other major force influencing psychology during this time was Freudian psychology, which focused on very different aspects of human experience.

This approach, originated by Sigmund Freud, emphasized how our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our adult behavior.

Freud's theories included his views on unconscious sexual conflicts and the complex defense mechanisms the mind uses against its own impulses.

The psychodynamic perspective became a vital tool for exploring the deeper layers of the psyche, searching for the origins of behavior in the past.

Humanistic Psychology: Human Potential

In the 1960s, a new group of humanistic psychologists, led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, found the Freudian and behaviorist views to be too narrow.

Instead of focusing on conditioned responses or memories of childhood, humanistic psychologists focused on people's growth potential.

This new perspective emphasized our fundamental human needs for love and acceptance, as well as the environments that nurture our personal development.

Humanism offered a more optimistic view, seeing individuals not as controlled by their past or environment, but as active agents in their own self-realization.

The Cognitive Revolution: A Return to Mind

Also in the 1960s, psychology underwent a "cognitive revolution," which returned the discipline to its original interest in the mind.

This new trend focused on the scientific exploration of how our minds process, retain, and remember information from the world around us.

Today's cognitive psychology continues to study how we perceive and process information, and how our thinking and emotions interact with each other.

This perspective is especially important for understanding disorders such as anxiety and depression, where interaction between thought and emotion is a key factor.