General Introduction to Psychology :)
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Some of the major perspectives in Psychology and how they attempt to explain human behaviors.
Biological perspective: Explain human behaviors in term of evolution factors especially sociobiology. But recently the shift is toward complex interactions between biological factors and external factors, e.g. social context, etc.
Humanistic/ Experiential Perspective: Believes that humans as agent of change are responsible for our own actions. The focus is on exploring ways to improve our psychological growth, well-being, e.g. motivation theories, etc.
Social/ Critical Perspective: Believes that our actions are constraint/ influence by the norms, cultures, etc of our society. In order to understand human behaviours we need to focus on the social context. (Unlike humanistic perspective, which focus on personal meanings)
Psychodynamic Perspective: Believes that most of our behaviours are driven by our unconscious mind. Stress the importance of Parent-Child relationship during childhood. (Humanistic Perspective focuses on the conscious mind)
Others: Experimental Perspective, Developmental Psychology, Behaviourism, Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Psychology, etc.
Too many to list liao.
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By the way just to share, I am more towards Humanistic Perspective.
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I subscribe to the Humanistic and Social perspectives. Between the two, they cover most situations you can think of.
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What about Psychodynamic Perspective?Originally posted by Gedanken:I subscribe to the Humanistic and Social perspectives. Between the two, they cover most situations you can think of.
Actually I find it very interesting. Some of the concepts like defence mechanisms, unconscious dynamic, etc are quite useful.
But Oedipus complex is a different story lah.
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I think most practitioners mix everything up like rojak bah.. haha..
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Good point. It is quite impractical to focus on one single perspective. The question here is ‘To what extent?'Originally posted by Ito_^:I think most practitioners mix everything up like rojak bah.. haha.. -
dat reminds me, how does the practitioner determine between 2 conflicting theories to apply? i remember i read a paper over a year ago on the treatment of an indian farmer on pesticide phobia using controlled exposure on the person's behaviours.. slowly incrementing exposure to pesticide.. etc etc. how does the psychiatrist determine which should be the proper direction to follow?Originally posted by DeadPoet:Good point. It is quite impractical to focus on one single perspective. The question here is ‘To what extent?' -
they r, at best, still theories....u won't know what nature has under its sleeve
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Okay I am no psychiatrist. But usually phobia is the result of conditioning. We may or may not be aware of the particular incident that led to our fear of an object/action. Especially so if that incident happened during our childhood or when we were very young. It is also possible that we unconsciously suppress it to avoid anxiety.Originally posted by Ito_^:dat reminds me, how does the practitioner determine between 2 conflicting theories to apply? i remember i read a paper over a year ago on the treatment of an indian farmer on pesticide phobia using controlled exposure on the person's behaviours.. slowly incrementing exposure to pesticide.. etc etc. how does the psychiatrist determine which should be the proper direction to follow?
In the case of the poor farmer, I think the psychiatrist is trying to de-condition him.
As for applying two conflicting theories, hmmÂ… okay let us look at Psychodynamic Perspective and Experiential Perspective. Psychodynamic Perspective focuses on the dynamic of the unconscious mind and believes that most of our behaviours are motivated by our unconscious needs. It also tend to talk about past experiences, i.e. childhood memories, etc. (Look backward)
On the other hand, Experiential Perspective focuses on conscious behaviours. It is interested to know what we are feeling now and believes that we are able to access our true feeling. Thus they tend to focus on now and the future.
Although both theories may not see eye-to-eye, but I believe an experienced psychiatrist will know how to tap on the knowledge of these two theories and uses them appropriately. -
interesting.. actually i find psychology v int...
but i not qualified.. nvr study enuff to even go near it..keke..
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It is not too late. I have classmate who are 40 plus years old.Originally posted by BabyLover:interesting.. actually i find psychology v int...
but i not qualified.. nvr study enuff to even go near it..keke.. -
huh really?! but no lah im too lazzyyy...Originally posted by DeadPoet:It is not too late. I have classmate who are 40 plus years old.
and i will hv a long wayyyy to go... hehehe -
Okay. I will try to share what I've learnt in school here with you.Originally posted by BabyLover:huh really?! but no lah im too lazzyyy...
and i will hv a long wayyyy to go... hehehe
~Hope there is no SIM staff reading this post~
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thanks in advance then...Originally posted by DeadPoet:Okay. I will try to share what I've learnt in school here with you.
~Hope there is no SIM staff reading this post~ 
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No problem.Originally posted by BabyLover:thanks in advance then...