Four Modern And Theoretical Perspectives In Psychology

Psychology is an inherently broad field that countless people have dedicated their lives to understanding and furthering. Psychologists may differ in their methods depending on their predominant theoretical or psychological perspective, or approach to conceptualizing problems people face.

In psychology there are many theoretical perspectives, four major ones are: The Psychodynamic Theory, Behavioral Theory, Cognitive Theory, and Biological Theory, which will be discussed in this article.

There are many other theoretical perspectives in sociology that you may wish to learn more about as well, including: social change theories, such as conflict theory (often involving race and ethnicity issues) and symbolic interactionism. Various social institutions offer an introduction to sociology courses providing details regarding these theories based on research.

The following are four major theories in modern psychology.

1. The psychodynamic theory Theory

The psychodynamic perspective, or psychodynamic theory, of psychology, maintains that human behavior and mental health concerns can be traced back to each person's childhood, interpersonal relationships, and unconscious thoughts. The activity and construct of the unconscious mind are considered very important in psychodynamic theory. This theory proposes that each person's mind is made up of an id, which acts on underlying urges and instincts; an ego, which is seen to be battling with the unrealistic or instinctual id; and a superego, which brings morals and ethics into the equation. One of the major goals of this theory is understanding the influences on conscious and unconscious motivation and how the two may conflict and influence our behaviors and decisions.

Often called psychoanalytic theory, this perspective was originated by Sigmund Freud in the early part of the 20th century. Though much of Freud’s thinking was controversial at the time, many perspectives in modern psychology have borrowed from psychodynamic theory. There are three core assumptions at the heart of psychodynamic theory:

Critical importance of early experiences

This is the idea that events that happen in our childhood, especially substantial or life-changing ones, can help mold us and our personalities.

Importance of the unconscious

One of Freud’s most well-known contributions is the notion of the unconscious and its role in our thoughts and behaviors. According to psychodynamic theory, many of our emotions and motivations come from the unconscious, which is shaped by our past experiences and plays a major role in driving our behavior.

Psychic causality

2. Behavioral theory

Behavioral theory, also called behaviorism, was initiated as a systematic approach to understanding behavior. One premise of this theory is that all behaviors are acquired by conditioning, or learning. Behaviorism dominated psychology during the first half of the 20th century. The information that was gained during the development of behaviorism on how and why we learn certain behaviors is still in use today to help people learn new skills and behaviors and extinguish unhelpful behaviors. Here is what the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has to say about behavioral theory:

“Wilfred Sellars (1912–89), the distinguished philosopher, noted that a person may qualify as a behaviorist, loosely or attitudinally speaking, if they insist on confirming ‘hypotheses about psychological events in terms of behavioral criteria’…. A behaviorist, so understood, is someone who demands behavioral evidence for any psychological hypothesis. For such a person, there is no knowable difference between two states of mind (beliefs, desires, etc.) unless there is a demonstrable difference in the behavior associated with each state. Consider the current belief of a person that it is raining. If there is no difference in his or her behavior between believing that it is raining and believing that it is not raining, there is no grounds for attributing the one belief rather than the other. The attribution is empirically empty or unconstrained.”

3. Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory deals with the various inner workings of the human mind. This includes language, memory, learning, thought processes, and problem-solving. The unseen processes of the mind and internal states like motivation and attention are explained by cognitive theory and cognitive psychology.

One central tenet of cognitive perspective is that thought precedes emotions and behavior. Therefore, some psychologists who follow a cognitive approach, or cognitive psychologists, focus on the importance of changing our thoughts in order to change our behaviors, emotions, and relationships. 

4. Biological Theory

The biological perspective of psychology stands out from other perspectives in that it is more materialistic, emphasizing the importance of the brain and genetics. Biological psychology deals, specifically, with how genetics and hereditary factors can influence or contribute to human behavior. The brain, nervous system, immune system, genetic factors, and more are regularly studied by psychologists to better understand behavior.

As a theory focused on the physical, biological theory is considered by some biological psychologists to exist at the intersection of psychology and the natural sciences. It offers methods for studying natural causes of mental health conditions and human behaviors. 

Other major perspectives in modern psychology

Outside of the four theories mentioned above, there are other major perspectives that psychologies may pull from when working with patients. Some of these different perspectives include: 

• Humanistic perspective – humanistic psychology focuses on the whole person, including childhood experiences, rather than focusing on one mental process. 
• Evolutionary perspective – psychologists use an evolutionary lens to view mental processes, for example, men may prefer mates with healthy appearances because it means they may produce healthy offspring. 
• Obedience psychology – scientists look at factors relating to obedience within our lives. 

Psychology and contributions to society

Psychology and each of the psychological perspectives have made tremendous contributions to society. Thanks in part to psychology, we understand more about people, the choices they make, and how various factors influence the way we develop as people. For example, obedience psychology will enable us to comprehend what obedience is and its role in our lives.

Therapy is one of many contributions to society that are supported by various psychology perspectives. The benefits of therapy are well documented in research. The challenges that people face in daily living, learning difficulties, addictions, and many other difficulties may be helped by certain types of therapy. 

Psychology has also contributed research that has helped create testing and evaluation tools, which provide therapists with insight into how their clients function and what problems they may be facing.

This study primarily looked at the possibility for innovation that online methods of psychological treatment can foster, in addition to the usefulness of online modalities when administering acceptance and commitment therapy and the most common form of therapy, online CBT. CBT aims to help individuals understand and reframe the negative thought patterns that may be underlying unwanted behaviors and feelings so that they can manage potentially triggering or difficult situations more easily.

Online counseling or talk therapy with licensed therapists who employ combinations of the theories in psychology discussed above may help you meet your goals, face challenges, and learn more about yourself. With BetterHelp, you can connect with a licensed therapist from the comfort of your own home (or wherever you have an internet connection). Also, you have the option of reaching out to your therapist outside of sessions. If you need to review a specific psychological topic, need any of the major perspectives explained, have a question about something, or just want to chat, you can send your counselor a message, and they will get back to you as soon as they are able. 

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