Question

Cacioppo and Freberg (2013, pg. 33) stated “By merging our seven perspectives of mind, we stand a much better chance of tackling the remarkable problem of understanding the human mind”. Do you support an integrative approach? Why or why not?

Answer 1

An integrative approach, through the merger of the seven perspectives, to understanding the human mind is very appropriate a way to deal with and understand Human Behavior more accurately. Any particular tendency or trait of a brain may not necessarily be caused by a single factor. It may be due to more and mostly it is linked to all the seven perspectives i.e.,

• Biological Approach. The bodily structure and built that signifies the mind and its logical processing comprising of the nervous system, sensation and sleep pattern.
• Cognitive Approach. The mind's approach to something, its cognitive ability.
• Psychodynamic Approach. The interaction of the unconscious energy i.e., drives and forces within the person.
• Humanistic Approach. The self-esteem and self-actualization. The development of the ideas of an ideal self and a real self, based on experiences.
• Behavioral Approach. The actions and reactions of the person with respect to environmental stimuli.
• Sociocultural Approach. The shaping-up of a person and the way he sees the world by the society and the culture that he lives in.
• Socio-Biological Approach. The untrained biological approach to things that are inherited hereditarily without being told and also by seeing people around react to the same.

It is quite evident and reasonable to say that all of these approaches make a person's Mind what it is. These can also be seen as ingredients to the platter of the Mind, so ignoring any of the above-mentioned approaches would not do justice to the overall identity of the Mind. Hence, tasting all the ingredients i.e., taking all the perspectives into consideration while tackling with the Human Mind makes it easier, better and more accurate a process in understanding and finding solutions to a person's Mind.