Behaviorism and cognitivism are the two significant perspectives within modern psychology that have great influence in its application and upon the subsequent methods of philosophy. Behaviorism is a psychological perspective based on the different observations of human behavior and the relationship between the environment and the subject. The behaviorist perspective was developed in an attempt to define psychology scientifically and rigorously (Pettigrew 963). Conversely, cognitivism is a psychological approach that focuses on mental processes such as how individuals solve problems, perceive the environments around them, think, and how they exercise memory. Hence, cognitivism contracts the behaviorism theory because researchers often perceive it as a similar process to how computers process information based on specific rules or order. Additionally, cognitivism has influenced major fields of human life such as education and literature.
Other approaches of modern psychology including but not limited to the psychodynamic approach, which states that human impulses are driven by sexual desires (Shrout, Patrick, and Rodgers 488). Regarding the humanistic approach, psychologists believe that humans are motivated by good to realize their full potential in fulfilling their life goals and desires, thereby emphasizing the individual empowerment theory. Another modern perspective is the biological approach, which focuses on the genetic makeup, the nervous system, and individual hormones that affect human behavior. Although psychology is currently employed in various sectors of the economy such as education and marketing, psychology in the health and related sciences has seen notable development in recent times. Health psychology is primarily focused on the prevention and treatment of disease and the promotion and maintenance of health. Social psychology focuses on the social perception of people’s feelings or thoughts that are influenced by leadership styles and political views.
Works Cited
Pettigrew, Thomas F. “The Emergence of Contextual Social Psychology.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 44.7 (2018): 963-971.
Shrout, Patrick E., and Joseph L. Rodgers. “Psychology, Science, and Knowledge Construction: Broadening Perspectives from the Replication Crisis.” Annual Review of Psychology 69 (2018): 487-510.