Question

provide a definition for psychology. Identify and define 4 perspectives or fields of research within psychology include 2 questions each perspective/field is attempting to answer.

Answer 1

Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.

Some of the major perspectives or fields of research within psychology are:

1. Behaviorism: A school of psychology that posits that psychology is the study of only behavior. Behaviorists saw every behavior as being a product of learning. The proponents of the field were Pavlov, Watson and Skinner.

2. Psychoanalysis: Psychanalysis was founded by Freud. He believed that a large part of our behavior is motivated by unconscious mind of which we are unaware of. Psychoanalysis emphasized on the role of the unconscious mind and its impulses in motivating behavior.

3. Cognitive perspective: It focused on the study of the human mind. The human mind was compared to the computer that encodes, stores and retrieves information. It focuses on the mind as an information processing sytem.

4. Humanistic perspective: Humanism focused on the uniqueness of each individual. Humanists believe that behavior is inherently goal directed. This perspective focuses on human strengths. They believe that all people are born with an innate need to reac their fullest potential.

Two questions that each perspective aims to answer:

1. What should constitute the subject matter of psychology?

2. How is it to be investigated?