Contemporary Approaches to Psychology Essay Example

the stimuli it is exposed to in its environment. Psychologists who study this way are known as Behavioralist. They believe that their form of study is necessary because it consists of observable facts. However, this method can contain problems. A problem included with this method is the fact that not everything in behavioral psychology is observable. Many aspects of psychology are mental not behavioral. The Humanistic approach to psychology is the approach that focuses on humans’ personal growth.

Humanists, or psychologists who use the humanistic method, believe that the stimuli a human is exposed to is just the background of their actions. The human’s internal growth drives his/her actions. A problem with this method is that it is impossible to quantify the emotions on how a person handles an experience. Cognitive psychology is the study of how a person comprehends and stores information. The researchers who study cognitive psychology are known as Cognitivists. These psychologists focus on the habits that subjects use to remember information and then later retrieve the information.

Using the scientific method, Cognitivists go through a series of steps to test our thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity. They then take the results of their studies and make conclusions on how information is processed, stored, and used. Problems associated with this method are the chance that subjects might have already learned the information earlier in life. Another viewpoint of psychologists is Biological psychology. This is a mix of psychology and biology. Psychobiologists who study this are more scientist than psychologist. They believe that genetics, the nervous system, the brain, and hormones affect our behavior.

This theory has been proven to be true. Psychology is a

science that must be put into scientific quantities. Therefore, adding biology to the equation makes it a more precise science. Nevertheless, there are some problems. One problem that is confronted with this method is the fact that there are no emotions involved. Sociocultural psychology is the newest approach to the field. This group of psychologists uses cultural, ethnic, and social characteristics to perform research. This method says that humans are influenced by the other people they are around.

Knowing how different races and cultures combine can help the world be a better place to live. The problem however, is that one must collect a lot of data from a large group to have accurate results. I believe the most important approach to psychology is biological psychology. Using this technique can be very accurate because of all the science involved. Having science to prove a point helps portray the point well. Knowing how to describe, explain, predict, and/or influence a subject’s behavior can help one gain much knowledge of how people think and/or behave. Psychologists use these methods today to gain this knowledge.