Different Approaches in Studying Behavior - Essay Example

Running head: DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN STUDYING BEHAVIOR Different Approaches in Studying Behavior [Insert [Insert [Insert Instructor's Name] [Insert Subject] Different Approaches in Studying Behavior Human behavior is a very complex matter that has been studied by experts for centuries and still continues to be a subject of interest for psychologists. Throughout the years, different perspectives and approaches in studying human behavior have been developed by various experts in the field. Among these approaches are Psychodynamic, Behavioral, and Humanistic approaches. Each of these approaches has its own way of looking at human behavior. They all consider different factors as possible major influences for of humans. Psychodynamic Approach The psychodynamic approach towards human behavior puts emphasis on the interactions between the unconscious and conscious aspects of one's personality and on the early childhood experiences of a person ("Psychodynamic Theory", 2005). One of the main theorists for this approach, and perhaps one of the most famous persons in the history of Psychology, is Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud's main emphasis was on the unconscious mental processes which, he claims, is the main cause of mental illness (Venekamp, 2006a). According to Freud, the human mind consists of three components: the id, which is the unconscious component that deals with a person's desires and needs; the superego, which is the subconscious component that holds a person's morals and standards; and the ego, which is the conscious component that acts as a moderator between the id and the superego (Venekamp, 2006a). The ego will try to satisfy the person's desires as dictated by the id in a manner that is acceptable according to the standards and morals as dictated by the person's superego. The interactions between these three components determine a person's behavior in a given situation. When the ego is not able to cope with a certain situation, a person tends to resort to what is termed as defense mechanisms. Anna Freud Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud's daughter, was known for her works in child psychoanalysis and her expansion of her father's idea of defense mechanisms (Venekamp, 2006a). Defense mechanisms are normal and perhaps necessary in some situations. There are different kinds of defense mechanisms; some are more functional and adaptive than others and there are defense mechanisms that may be destructive more than they are helpful (Embree, 2008). Although defense mechanisms are sometimes necessary, a person who overuses these mechanisms or who uses the destructive defense mechanisms may be suffering from a clinical syndrome (Embree, 2008). This agrees with Freud's idea that mental illnesses are mostly caused by unconscious processes since defense mechanisms are mostly unconscious and involuntary. Behavioral Approach While the psychodynamic approach focuses on the unconscious psychological processes and believes that behavior is mainly governed by the interactions between the aspects of a person's mind, the behavioral approach believes that environmental factors and external stimuli are the major forces in the creation and modification of human behavior (Venekamp, 2006b). The two major theorists who developed the behavioral approach were Ivan Pavlov and B. F. Skinner. Ivan Pavlov Ivan Pavlov developed the concept of Classical Conditioning. According to Pavlov, the behavior of a person is mainly a response to an external stimulus and he believed that behavior can be controlled by associating other stimuli to the original one. Classical conditioning starts with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response. The behavior is controlled by constantly presenting a neutral stimulus with the unconditional stimulus. In time, the subject will learn to associate this neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus and would tend to elicit the same response towards the supposedly neutral stimulus even without the unconditioned stimulus. In classical conditioning, the subject doesn't learn a new behavior, he/she merely learns a new association between otherwise unrelated stimuli and responses (Huitt & Hummel, 1997). B. F. Skinner Unlike Pavlov's classical conditioning where the stimulus comes before the response, in B. F. Skinner's operant conditioning, behavior is controlled by its consequences (Venekamp, 2006b). To increase the occurrence of desired behaviors, a behavior is reinforced, that is, it is rewarded and, conversely, to decrease the occurrence of behaviors, the behavior is punished (Venekamp, 2006b). This is a model which is very evident in everyday life. For instance, working on one's job is a behavior that is reinforced by money earned after doing the job. In B. F. Skinner's model, a reward is termed as a positive reinforcer while a punishment is termed as a negative reinforcer. Humanistic Approach Whereas the psychodynamic and behavioral approaches have generally been looking at human behavior through an impartial observer, the humanistic approach focuses on the ability of a person to understand his/her own behavior (Glassman, 2007). Although the humanistic approach also recognizes that the mind, and consequently the behavior, of a person can be influenced by environmental factors and forces in the unconscious like the behavioral and psychodynamic approaches do, it gives emphasis on the idea that humans are dignified creatures who are capable of determining their own actions and behavior ("Humanistic Psychology Overview", 2001). Carl Rogers One of the main ideas in Rogers' theory is that humans tend to see a congruence between who they are right now and their ideal self (Glassman, 2007). The greater the degree of congruence, the healthier a person is, in terms of behavior and mental health. One would likely feel good about himself if he feels that he is close to his ideal self and conversely, person would most likely feel depressed when he feels that he is very far from his ideal self. Abraham Maslow Maslow's concept of a hierarchy of needs points out that some needs take higher priority than others (Boeree, 2006). A person goes about fulfilling his/her needs level by level, and once all the needs of that person have been satisfied, one reaches self-actualization. Maslow views mental illnesses as a result of past unsatisfied needs that tend to affect the person's present behavior even though his other needs have already been satisfied. For instance, if a person's parents divorced when he was younger, he might get overly worried that his wife is going to leave him even though there doesn't seem to be any logical reason for him to do so (Boeree, 2006). Each of the abovementioned approaches has its own idea about how to look at human behavior. While psychodynamic focuses on the unconscious, the behavioral approach focuses on the outside stimuli, while the humanistic approach gives emphasis on the person's ability to understand and control his own behavior. An approach may more easily explain a certain aspect of human behavior than another, but all of these approaches are certainly valid and they all provide a way towards a better understanding of the complex subject that is human behavior. References Association for Humanistic Psychology. (2001). Humanistic psychology overview: Kindred spirits on the edge. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from http://www.ahpweb.org/aboutahp/ whatis.html Boeree, C. G. (2006). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from the Shippensburg University Web site: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html Depression-Guide. (2005). Psychodynamic theory. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from http://www.depression-guide.com/psychodynamic-theory.htm Embree, M. C. (2008). Defense mechanisms and coping strategies. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from University of Wisconsin Marathon County Web site: http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/ psychology/defense_mechanisms.htm Glassman, W. E. (2007). The Humanistic Approach. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from Ryerson University Web site: http://www.ryerson.ca/glassman/humanist.html Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (1997). An introduction to classical (respondent) conditioning. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/behsys/classcnd.html Venekamp, L. (2006a). Psychodynamic theory. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from Dakota State University Web site: http://courses.dsu.edu/epsy330/theorists/psychodynami.htm Venekamp, L. (2006b). Behavioral models of development. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from Dakota State University Web site: http://courses.dsu.edu/epsy330/theorists/behavior.htm Read More