Schools of Thought |
 |
Donald Kates, Psychology |
Schools of Thought |
|
Donald Kates, Psychology |
This
page is currently under construction
The all encompassing
goal of psychology is to understand human behavior. One method of understanding
behavior is through an attempt to explain it. Although simply put, it is not
quite that simple. Human behavior is very difficult to fully explain due to the
highly subjective nature of interpretation of behavior. For every behavior,
there could be an infinite number of explanations as to why it occurred. Since
psychology is a human endeavor, it is subject to all the variations of human
interpretation.
These variations in
interpretation become evident to the beginning psychology student through the
study of schools of thought - sometimes referred to as psychological
orientations, personality theories etc... As a result of variations in
interpretation, elaborate theories have developed throughout the last 100+ years
in an attempt to achieve this major goal of psychology. Some of the most well
known names in psychology are directly linked to specific schools of thought -
generally credited as one of the major contributors or as the founder of a
particular school. But because of the subjective nature of interpretation, very
few, if any, of these theories fully agree on how to explain human behavior. As
a result, the beginning psychology student is faced with complex explanations of
human behavior that in many cases directly conflict with eachother. Students
are then asked to understand/explain certain human behaviors from several
different points of view (schools of thought) - a difficult request considering
some of the theorists are incapable (or unwilling) to see another's point of
view when explaning behavior.
However, it is important
that students be aware of these various schools of thought because, among other
things, these schools provide direction for achieving another goal of psychology
- control (or in practical terms - treatment.) By understanding and explaining
human behavior through a particular school of thought, you then have a framework
for treating certain behaviors that may be disturbing to the individual or, in
some cases, society in general. A solid theoretical grounding is imperative
when one attempts to "control" (treat) behaviors because these
theories, or schools, provide "roadmaps" as to how the behavior
developed and how it can be controlled. Without a theory to follow, a therapist
may "throw darts," "shoot in the dark," rely on common sense
or hunches as to how to treat a person's behavior.
This page is not meant
to be a full explanation of each school of thought. Students can refer back to
their textbook or other sources for a more complete explanation. Instead, this
page is meant to provide an online overview of the major orientations in
psychology today in preparation for the final class project. It may help
clarify information presented in class and ultimately give some additional
insights into the individual interviewed in the
community research project.
| Freudian/Psychoanalytic |
Not many people will argue about the impact that Sigmund Freud had on modern day psychology. Frequently called the "Father of Psycholanalysis," Freud introduced to the young field of psychology a theory about human behavior that would forever change the way psychologists think about people. Several aspects of Freud's theory or explanation about behaviors are very controversial today (as they were 100 years ago.) However, many of his concepts provided often elaborate and detailed explanations about the workings of the human mind - some of which are still accepted today. Although some concepts such as the "mind" and "unconscious" had been contemplated by early scholars and philosophers, none comprehensively explained these concepts and related them to human behavior as did Freud.
|
|
|
|
