Psychology Theories

Theories in Psychology

There are many theories in psychology, some favored more than others. I am going to discuss a few of the main ones in psychology. They all have a purpose in explaining and understanding people's thoughts and behaviors.

The psychodynamic theory is one that deals with peoples unconscious behaviors relating to past experiences in one's child hood, and that every behavior has a determined cause. This was developed by Sigmund Freud. He used a collection of theories based on his patients during therapy. This is my favorite theory because I believe everyone can relate to it. Many don't realize it, but you can always find something in the past that makes you have an unconscious behavior towards something. When I was a child I had the flu and ate chicken noodle soup and made me throw up terribly. Now today I can't even think of eating it.

The humanistic approach is that it focuses on the personal inner feelings of themselves. Basically what you think of yourself and how that relates to your personal success and growth. This theory focuses on the present rather than digging up the past. It is also reality based so one should take responsibility for their actions positive or negative. This means one can only truly be happy through self-growth and achievement. The two biggest contributors to this theory were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers. Maslow created a pyramid for one's personal needs for success. It starts at the bottom with basic need for food, and water and goes to the top with the need to realize full personal success. Rodgers was more of a therapist and used this idea because he wanted it to focus on the individual. He believed in using a positive, non-judgmental attitude towards his patient.

The behavioral theory, also known as behaviorism, focuses on one's behavior. This theory simply states that one's behavior is altered by environment. This idea is studied by an observable status and has no emphasis on the subject's mental state. John Watson was the first to study this theory; it is now the basis for the learning theory. I don't like this theory because it does use any mental thoughts. I believe your mental state interacts with your environment, and together they modify your behavior. I think you see this many times in high school teens. There is always that group of kids that you want to be like them. So you dress like them, pick up on their habits, and act like they do, so they will want you to be their friend.

The cognitive theory studies one mental process. This means how one thinks, acquires, and learns information. George Kelly was the first to use this theory. He saw differences in perception of information from one individual to another. Many that use this theory believe if you can change your thought, you can change your mood. You can use this to quit bad habits. I chew gum to keep my mind off chewing