Main Stream Approaches on Critical Psychology - Essay Example

Running Head: Main stream approaches on critical psychology Main stream approaches on critical psychology s Mainstream approaches on critical psychology Critical psychology is term which has theoretical approaches. Critical psychological thoughts do not approve experimental and statistical mainstream psychology. This branch of psychology which talks about programmatic importance on the active subject is increasing making a place itself in academic discussions. It can be seen everywhere and in all aspects of life, such as movies we watch, our costumes or reaction of people to conflicts. Critical psychology, in fact, is a method to apply psychology in a progressive way. The values and concerns of mainstream psychology are different from those of critical psychology that has focus on welfare and social justice. Critical psychology recognizes a connection between the individual and societal perspective as objective of research in psychology. The mainstream psychology is no more considered as social science, takes interest only in the reactive side of human existence. In many psychology departments of different universities across the world there do exist subconscious critical in critical psychology that line up themselves with, for instance, constructivism or action theory (Brandtstädter 2001). In many communities, critical psychology is not bounded only to two lines of thinking. We can see a complete series of practical approaches. All these pragmatic approaches have a connection with previous traditions. This approach is completely different from the ideas of the psychological mainstream. A number of psychological theories are the results of philosophical thoughts and ideas. For understanding critical psychology we need to focus on the works of people who contributed in making its shape. For example, essential tendency of living of Sigmund Freud included a position on the characters, the sources of punishment and guiltiness and also the tool of defence whereby instincts are satisfied while punishment and guilt are avoided. Mechanism is a hypothesis that all natural phenomena can be described on physical grounds. It can be compared with vitalism, the philosophical thought that fundamental forces act as living organisms so that life cannot exclusively be linked with mechanism. The mechanism movement explained that main beliefs of natural science could clarify not only the behaviour of physical things, but human thinking and behaviour as well (Gay, 1998). Brucke had different view. He contradicted argument for vitalism, only philosophy that humans are energetic physiological systems whose functioning adheres completely to fundamental physical and chemical principles, for instance, the principle of preservation of energy. “This teaching was a foundation for the dynamic view of personality Freud developed later in life” (Sulloway, 1979, p.69) Mainstream psychologys conventional study practices can often advance critical psychologys goals. In many branches of psychology, thinkers looking for qualitative methods must satisfy cynical funding sources. Freud urged people to recognize that they are often illogical and impulsive and that they can be categorized by conflicts of a sexual and destructive nature. This thought of Freud was a “shock to many scholars in the humanistic tradition of western thought, which emphasized rationality and the virtues of ethical conduct, to learn that human beings are often irrational and that they continuously engage in internal struggles to keep their sexual and aggressive impulses in check” (Ryckman, 1993, p.23) Humanism is fundamentally believed as abilities of humans to understand right and wrong with the help of universal human qualities, mainly rationality. This theory contrasted with Freud’s statement. Freud had a perceptive pressure on some French philosophers following the ‘return to Freud’ of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. “Today Freud’s influence is worldwide” (Ryckman, 1993) Many different academic areas use Freudian ideas including philosophers and sociologists in their analyses of issues tackling modern society. Critical psychology provides great help in understanding behaviourism. An individual and the society play a significant role when it comes to behaviour. Carl Jung, a student of Freud and a well-known psychologist had clear thoughts on the subject. He is also a psychodynamic psychologist which means he also comes from the conventional point of view. Jung was of the view that man is bad and society is good. Jung, in fact, challenged some ideas of Freud. His theories were influenced by the Darwins theory of Evolution. Jung was of the view that we evolved behaviourally which has allowed us to thrive and move forward in order to keep up with society. “Constructivist epistemology is an epistemological perspective in philosophy about the nature of scientific knowledge held by many philosophers of science” (Routeledge, 2000). Laura S. Brown shows how authority and control in professional communications are held mainly by the psychologist. In the same way, decision-making procedures relating to ethics are managed by professions. Constructivists are of the view that scientific studies are constructed by scientists and not come from general public. It is the hypothesis of knowledge, the general definitions of which are centred on the vigorous contribution of the subject in constructing reality, rather than on reflecting or demonstrating reality. Individual build psychology is viewed as sharing a constructivist epistemology as witnessed by its philosophical supposition of constructive alternativism. The positive psychologies hypothesize about and investigate how humans make systems for significantly knowing their worlds and experiences. George Kelly, a cognitive psychologist from Kansas, was worried mainly about the epistemic role of the observer in interpreting reality. Kelly was of the view that humans are in fact the scientist, striving to know and interpret their own experiences in order to deal with them, “Mankind, whose progress in search of prediction and control of surrounding events stands out so clearly in the light of the centuries, comprises the men we see around us every day, the aspirations of the scientist are essentially the aspirations of all men” (Kelly, 1995, p.43). The basic supposition underlying Kelly’s thought was the philosophical posture of constructive alternativism. René Descartes presented two classes of behaviourism – voluntary and involuntary. The thought of voluntary behaviour is managed by the mind and involuntary being simply mechanical. Descartes believed that that human behaviour could be mechanical from watching the movements of mechanical statues that could be activated by the observer of the mechanism. He said that “if human behaviour could be simulated so well by these mechanical figures, then perhaps some of the principles on which the mechanisms operated also applied to the humans they were designed to imitate” (Rachlin, 1991). Involuntary behaviour invited the attention of many psychologists. Descartes believed psychology was mainly associated with the minds of people and the physical world, including the body was outside that dominion. Behaviourism is a thinking of psychology based on the theories that all things which organisms do should be regarded as behaviours. “During the 20th century, behaviourism was the predominant school of thought in scientific psychology” (Cervone & Pervin, 2008). Burrhus Frederick Skinner, a thoughtful psychologist, greatly contributed in explaining behaviourism. According to him, “behaviourism is not the science of human behaviour; it is the philosophy of that science” (Skinner, 1974). He further said that: “Behaviourism is a formulation which makes possible an effective experimental approach to human behaviour. It is a working hypothesis about the nature of subject matter.” (Skinner, 1970, p.18) In conclusion, we can say that critical psychology is fundamentally different from the traditional psychology. Critical psychology is intrinsically value-laden, not value-free. Psychologists have given various ideologies on the idea of behaviourism which they have derived from popular and often different philosophical suppositions. As psychologys main method, it is essential for a new branch of philosophy to differentiate between the many different schools of psychology that have arisen. References Aanstoos, C. Serlin, I., & Greening, T. (2000). History of Division 32 (Humanistic Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. In D. Dewsbury (Ed.), Unification through Division: Histories of the divisions of the American Psychological Association, Vol. V. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Brandtstätter, J. 2001. Entwicklung - Intentionalität - Handeln. Stuttgart: Kohhammer Brown, Laura. (1997) Ethics in Psychology: Cui Bono? Ferguson, K.E. & O’ Donohue, W. (2001). The Psychology of B.F. Skinner. California: SageGay, P. (1998). Freud: A life for our time. New York: Norton. Hjelle, A.L. & Ziegler, D.J. (1988). Personality Theories: Basic assumptions, research, and applications. Singapore: McGraw-HillKelly, G.A. (1995). The psychology of personal constructs. New York: Norton. Neimeyer, R. A. (1985). The development of personal construct psychology. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska press. Pervin, L.A. & Cervone, D. (2008). Personality: Theory and Research. New Jersey: Wiley & sons inc. Rachlin, H. (1991). Introduction to modern Behaviorism, 3rd ed. New York: Freeman &CompanyRoutledge (2000). Concise Routledge encyclopedia of PhilosophyRyckman, R.M. (1993). Theories of Personality. California: Brookes/ColeSkinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Press. Sulloway, F.J. (1979). Freud: Biologist of the mind. New York: Basic Books. Read More