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Hi, need to submit a 1000 words essay on the topic Behaviorist, Humanistic, and Psychodynamic Perspectives of Psychology.Download file to see previous pages... This essay explores three early perspect

Hi, need to submit a 1000 words essay on the topic Behaviorist, Humanistic, and Psychodynamic Perspectives of Psychology.

Download file to see previous pages...

This essay explores three early perspectives of psychology: Behaviorism, Psychodynamic, and Humanism. They will be described and compared to one another using their claims regarding human nature and personality, as well as what psychology should study as a scientific discpline. The psychodynamic perspective of psychology asserts that human behavior is significantly a product of the unconscious. The psychological processes inside a person define and drive human conduct (Coon &amp. Mitterer, 2010, p.27). Psychodynamic theories developed from Sigmund Freud’s work on the unconscious and mental processes (Weiten, Dunn, &amp. Hammer, 2012, p.35). Freud argued that the unconscious is a reservoir of primitive aggressive and sexual drives, and that these drives shape human behavior (Nevid, 2009, p.9). He also believed that childhood experiences determine human personality throughout their adulthood (Nevid, 2009, p.9). He stressed that abnormal behaviors come from childhood conflicts that were not properly resolved (Nevid, 2009, p.9). He discussed defense mechanisms that people use to deal with anxiety and guilt (Weiten et al., 2012, p.38). An example is rationalization, where people provide false but possible excuses to explain inappropriate behavior. Many of Freud’s concepts and processes are still applied today through modern psychoanalytic therapies (Weiten, 2011, p.6). Dream analysis and talk therapy are mainstays in clinical settings. Many psychologists continue to analyze their clients’ dreams, in order to unearth their underlying causes of anxiety. The idea of the unconscious also helps explains numerous behaviors, such as phobias and problematic behaviors. Furthermore, defense mechanisms help people and psychologists understand the many healthy and unhealthy ways that people do to avoid knowing the causes of their problems (Weiten, 2011, p.6). They signify that unresolved conflicts have to be exposed and discussed in the open, so that proper resolutions are determined and applied (Weiten, 2011, p.6). Behaviorism asserts that scientific psychology should study only those behaviors that can be observed. John Watson proposed that the study of the unconscious should be discarded, because people cannot observe the states of the human mind (Weiten, 2011, p.7). B.F. Skinner supported Watson, where he stressed that if a dog eats food after seeing it, observable behavior says that he is hungry. Psychologists need not be concerned then of the underlying unconscious causes of this feeling of hunger. Skinner provided a simple explanation for behavior. He said that organisms repeat behaviors that produce positive outcomes and do not repeat behaviors that result in negative effects (Weiten, 2011, p.8). By working with rats and pigeons, for instance, he showed that he can influence behavior through conditioning responses (Weiten, 2011, p.8). Behaviorism is now combined with other perspectives to change deviant behaviors and to promote positive actions. Some cognitive-behavioral therapies, for instance, use reinforcement strategies to promote positive behaviors and to remove negative ones, such as drug addiction and alcoholism. An example is linking illegal drugs to negative emotions, so that addicts will stop feeling that taking drugs is a pleasurable experience.

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