Unit 11: psychological perspectives
Moving forward – a therapeutic approach
P1- explain how psychological perspectives are applied to the
understanding of specific human behaviours
Behaviourist perspective
The behaviourist approach looks at behaviour as a result of a person's
environment focusing on the effects of stimuli in the environment on the
development of different human behaviours. The main way people learn
from their environment is through the process of conditioning.
Conditioning is the changing in behaviour in response to a stimulus. The
two types of conditioning are classical conditioning and operant
conditioning.
‘Classical conditioning is learning through association’ (Mcleod. S, 2023).
This is demonstrated through psychologist Ivan Pavlov's dog experiment
where he conditioned dogs to salivate when hearing a bell ring. He did
this with the use of stimuli and response. The unconditioned response
would be the dogs natural reflex to salivate when presented with food, the
food the unconditioned stimulus, and through the use of a neutral stimuli,
the bell, the dog will develop the conditioned response to salivate when
earing the bell without food being present. By the bell being rung when
the dog is given food, the dog will then associate the noise with food
causing the natural reflex to salivate. The dog has learnt through
association. ‘Operant conditioning is learning through consequences’
(Mcleod. S, 2023). B.F. Skinner believed that behaviour can be understood
by looking at a person's reasoning behind their behaviour therefore
behaviour can be changed using positive and negative reinforcement and
punishment.
Humanistic perspective
The humanistic perspective explains behaviour by looking at a person's
unique experiences and potential. This approach emphasises the
importance of empathy when it comes to the understanding and treatment
of specific behaviours. It also highlights the importance of taking
responsibility for these behaviours and making your own choices.
Cognitive perspective
The cognitive psychological perspective focuses on the role of cognitive
processes including thinking, perceiving and memory and how these
processes shape human behaviour. This approach explains how people's
thoughts and how they perceive their environment will affect the beliefs
about themselves and their surroundings and in turn influencing their
behaviour.
psychodynamic perspective
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