FOUNDATION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Foundation of Human Behavior

Foundation of Human Behavior

Introduction

Psychology is the technical study of demeanor and mental processes. Psychology grew from its roots in philosophy to where it is today. Throughout history psychology has changed from one paradigm to another and created different sets of beliefs about the origin and function of human behaviors. There are many different schools of thought or ways of looking at or studying and understanding behavior among the psychological community that seeks to understand psychological events. Each of these schools of thought has its own paradigm or broad set of ideas on how behavior and mental processes are understood. The psychodynamic, behaviorist, cognitive and evolutionary perspectives all have unique beliefs about why and how people do the things they do. Psychology also has foundations in the biological perspective.

The Psychodynamic Perspective

The psychodynamic perspective was made popular by the well known Sigmund Freud who believed that conscious thoughts and behaviors are largely the result of various unconscious activities (Ellis-Christensen, 2010). The psychodynamic perspective seeks to interpret meanings from behaviors and conscious thoughts. The prevailing psychodynamic assumption is that people show their wishes and desires in everything that they do whether they are conscious of it or not (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Freud believed that our behavior is guided by unconscious forces and by examining our thoughts and behavior we can discover our true selves. Psychoanalysts will gather thoughts, feelings and behaviors which serve as the data for analysis of the personality.

The Behaviorist Perspective

The behaviorist perspective focuses on the relationship between observable behaviors and environmental events. Behaviorists like John Watson and B.F Skinner tried to understand the way that external stimuli in the environment can control human and animal behavior (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Behaviorists believe that it is scientifically impossible to study the mind or mental processes, so they rely on observable behaviors or actions. Skinner thought that behavior could be controlled by either rewards (reinforcement) or punishments (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Behaviorists will manipulate the environment within an experiment with the intent to predict and control behavior (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Reinforcements are given so that the human or animal learns the desired behavior.

The Cognitive Perspective

Cognitive psychologists focus on the way people perceive process and retrieve information. The cognitive perspective sees thinking as a form of information processing, much like computers process information (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Gathering stimuli from the environment is like imputing data in a computer, and then mental processing occurs and delivers some form of output such as a command to muscles (actions) or conscious thoughts. Cognitive psychologists also study the way people form categories, abstract concepts, memory and decision making.

The Evolutionary Perspective

The evolutionary perspective of psychology was built on Charles Darwins principles of natural selection (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Humans' natural behaviors have evolutionary and adaptive significance. Evolutionary psychologists believe that our human behavior evolved in order to help us adapt and survive in an ever-changing environment. Understanding the evolution of a species will give insights into the species ...