Five Approaches to Psychology
QUESTION ONE
Name Five Approaches to Psychology
1. Social Psychology
Social psychology is about understanding individual behaviour in a social context. Baron, Byrne, and Suis (1989) defined social psychology as “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations”. It therefore looks at human behaviour as influenced by other people and the social context in which it occurs.
2. Comparative Psychology
This is a science which studies animal behaviour, although human behaviour is studied. There are several issues involved in the psychological study of animals; some of them resolvable by evidence and others more question whether to try to list the peculiarities of individual species. Cutting across this distinction is the question of whether to be satisfied with the outcomes or whether to look more deeply for explanations of known or as yet-known facts. In the twentieth century, several branches of comparative psychology have been influenced by the Darwin Theory of Evolution.
3. Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology is interested is discovery of the process of development from birth to old age. It is also known as child development. Children were often viewed as little adults and not much attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language usage and physical growth that occur during childhood and adolescence. Interest in the field finally began to emerge early in the twentieth century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behaviour. Eventually, researches became interested in other topics including typical development as well as the influences on development. An understanding of child development is essential allowing us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood.
4. Physiological Psychology
This focuses on the relationship between our biological make-up and our
Name Five Approaches to Psychology
1. Social Psychology
Social psychology is about understanding individual behaviour in a social context. Baron, Byrne, and Suis (1989) defined social psychology as “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations”. It therefore looks at human behaviour as influenced by other people and the social context in which it occurs.
2. Comparative Psychology
This is a science which studies animal behaviour, although human behaviour is studied. There are several issues involved in the psychological study of animals; some of them resolvable by evidence and others more question whether to try to list the peculiarities of individual species. Cutting across this distinction is the question of whether to be satisfied with the outcomes or whether to look more deeply for explanations of known or as yet-known facts. In the twentieth century, several branches of comparative psychology have been influenced by the Darwin Theory of Evolution.
3. Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology is interested is discovery of the process of development from birth to old age. It is also known as child development. Children were often viewed as little adults and not much attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language usage and physical growth that occur during childhood and adolescence. Interest in the field finally began to emerge early in the twentieth century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behaviour. Eventually, researches became interested in other topics including typical development as well as the influences on development. An understanding of child development is essential allowing us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood.
4. Physiological Psychology
This focuses on the relationship between our biological make-up and our