Psychology for Dummies Read Free Page B

more of these grand theories. When a psychologist finds a behavior or mental process she’s interested in researching, she typically begins to work from within one of these theories.
    Biological: Focuses on the biological underpinnings of behavior and the effects of evolution and genetics. The premise is that behavior and mental processes can be explained by understanding human physiology and anatomy. Biological psychologists focus mostly on the brain and the nervous system. (For more on biological psychology, see Chapter 3.)
    We’ve all seen people act differently when they’re under the influence of alcohol. Holiday office parties are good laboratories for applying the biological perspective. Imagine walking into a party and seeing Bob, the relatively quiet guy from accounting, burning up the cubicles like some kind of disco inferno that could make John Travolta sweat. He’s the lady’s man. He’s funny. He’s drunk. Do you think Bob will remember?
    Psychoanalytic: Emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes and early child-development issues as they relate to childish impulses, childish wishes, immature desires, and the demands of the reality that we live in. Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis, and since then, hundreds of theorists have added to his work. The newer theories are typically labeled
psychodynamic
because they emphasize the dynamic interplay between various components of personality. (For more on psychoanalysis, see Chapters 10, 11, and 19.)
    I once read an article about the significance of a child beating his or her parent at either a game or a sports activity. Should parents let their children win? Psychoanalysts largely believe that competition is inherent between parent and child and that the eventual acceptance of that competition is essential to the child’s healthy psychological adjustment in life.
    Behaviorism: Emphasizes the role of previous learning experiences in shaping behavior. Behaviorists don’t traditionally focus on mental pro-cesses because they believe that mental processes are too difficult to observe and measure objectively.
    One of the most powerful behavioral influences on our behavior comes from watching other people. Monkey see — monkey do! Psychologists call this process
observational learning.
In recent years, a lot of controversy has arisen about the influence of television and videogame violence on children. The research has been pretty consistent. Children who view violent television and play violent videogames are more likely to engage in violent behavior.
    Cognitive: Focuses on the mental processing of information, including the specific functions of reasoning, problem solving, and memory. Cognitive psychologists are interested in the mental plans and thoughts that guide and cause behavior.
    Whenever someone tells me to look at the bright side, they’re coming from a cognitive perspective. When something bad happens to me, I can feel better if the problem gets solved or the issue is resolved. But how should I feel if nothing changes? If my circumstances don’t change, do I have to feel bad forever? Of course not — I can change the way I think about the situation. I can look on the bright side!
    Humanistic and existential: Emphasizes the uniqueness of each individual person and our ability and responsibility to make choices in our lives. I’m not a victim of circumstance! I have choices in my life. Human-ists believe that a person’s free choice, free will, and understanding of the meaning of events and his or her life are the most important things to study.
    Have you ever felt like just another nameless face in the crowd? Has your life ever seemed as if it were controlled by the winds of chance? How did it feel? Probably not very good. Feeling like we have choices and making good choices give us a sense of true being and affirm our existence.
    Sociocultural: Focuses on the social and cultural factors that affect our behavior.
    Never underestimate