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Perspectives

Biological, Behaviourist, Cognitive, Psychoanalytic, and Humanistic Perspectives

Biological perspective

• Assupmtions of the biological approach. The role of the central and autonomic nervous system in behaviour. Genetic basis of behaviour. Strengths and limitations of the biological approach.

Behaviouristic perspective and Social Learning Theory

• Assumptions of the behaviourist approach and key concepts including stimulus, response and reinforcement. Basic principles of classic and operant conditioning.
• Social learning theory/observational and imitative learning. Strengths and limitations of the behaviourist approach.
• Strengths and limitations of the behaviourist and social learning approaches.

Cognitive perspective

• Assupmtions of the cognitive approach, including the idea that thoughts and beliefs influence behaviour. Mediational processes (stimulus-organism-response). Information processing and how this applies to human behaviour and thought. Use of computer analogies in understanding behaviour. Strengths and limitations of the cognitive approach.

Psychoanalytic perspective

• Assumptions of the psychoanalytic approach. Freud's approach to personality structure and dynamics (id, ego, superego and defence mechanisms). Unconcious mental processes. Psycho-sexual stages of development. Freud's use of case studies to highlight concepts. Awareness of post-Freudian theories including Erikson and at least one other. Strengths and limitations of the psychoanalytic approach.

Humanistic perspective

• Assumptions of the humanistic approach. The person centered approach of Rogers and Maslow and their rejection of the traditional scientific experimental approach. The importance within humanistic psychology of valuing individual experience, promoting personal growth, the concepts of freewill and holism. Strengths and limitations of the humanistic approach.

Comparisons of perspectives

• Comparison of biological, behaviourist, cognitive, psychoanalytic and humanistic perspectives. The extent to which different perspectives overlap and complement each other. The value of an eclectic aproach.