Key Perspectives
This assignment will look at three different key perspectives in Psychology and evaluate their importance to the field. The three perspectives that I will look at will be Biological, Cognitive and Behaviourism. Discussed herein will be the fundamentals of each perspective followed by a key study that will help further elaborate on that specific field before analysis.
Biological
Psychologists from the biological approach infer that human behaviour and experiences are caused by activity in the chemical processes of the body. How people think and act are caused by events occurring within the brain. Many consider that behaviour may also be influenced by genetic factors. Furthermore, because the genes we inherit are the result …show more content…
In 1953 he was operated on by Mr Scoville, who removed his hippocampus. The result of this surgery left HM with anterograde amnesia (new memories) and partial retrograde amnesia (old memories). After extensive studies of which HM received up until his death in 2008 it was concluded that the hippocampus was an integral facet of memory formation. (Ogden, 1991)
The methods used give findings a high degree of reliability and validity. This is furthered by its focus on researchers objective observations instead of the subjective experiences of patients. Whilst many view this positively, critics argue that it disregards a persons experience, social and cultural influences. Some would further ague that it is difficult to conclude on what people do without reference to their integration within society and that the biological approach viewpoint on this is to the detriment of any findings. (Beech, no date)
It cannot be denied that the biological approach has contributed to the enhancement of psychology but it has also elicited research and results in other areas including medicine and surgery. This is evidenced by explanations for disorders such as schizophrenia and these findings have in turn preceded multiple drug therapies that are used to treat
This assignment will look at three different key perspectives in Psychology and evaluate their importance to the field. The three perspectives that I will look at will be Biological, Cognitive and Behaviourism. Discussed herein will be the fundamentals of each perspective followed by a key study that will help further elaborate on that specific field before analysis.
Biological
Psychologists from the biological approach infer that human behaviour and experiences are caused by activity in the chemical processes of the body. How people think and act are caused by events occurring within the brain. Many consider that behaviour may also be influenced by genetic factors. Furthermore, because the genes we inherit are the result …show more content…
In 1953 he was operated on by Mr Scoville, who removed his hippocampus. The result of this surgery left HM with anterograde amnesia (new memories) and partial retrograde amnesia (old memories). After extensive studies of which HM received up until his death in 2008 it was concluded that the hippocampus was an integral facet of memory formation. (Ogden, 1991)
The methods used give findings a high degree of reliability and validity. This is furthered by its focus on researchers objective observations instead of the subjective experiences of patients. Whilst many view this positively, critics argue that it disregards a persons experience, social and cultural influences. Some would further ague that it is difficult to conclude on what people do without reference to their integration within society and that the biological approach viewpoint on this is to the detriment of any findings. (Beech, no date)
It cannot be denied that the biological approach has contributed to the enhancement of psychology but it has also elicited research and results in other areas including medicine and surgery. This is evidenced by explanations for disorders such as schizophrenia and these findings have in turn preceded multiple drug therapies that are used to treat