Biological Perspective
Description
The biological perspective is built on the assumption that an individual’s genetic pattern and brain contribute to their behavior. Scientists believe that evoking various biological disturbances can lead to significant changes in human behavior. When genes are moved from one processor to another, they bring genetic codes linked to neural and anatomical thought patterns (Cherry, 2023). This makes children behave in ways that are similar to their parents. In addition, the children’s DNA may copy their ancestors, hence inheriting various illnesses and medical conditions (King, 2022).
Charles Darwin‘s Theory
The first person to link behavior to the genetics and evolution of human beings was Charles Darwin, who stated that “organisms produce more offspring than are able to survive in their environment. Those that are better physically equipped to survive, grow to maturity, and reproduce” (National Geographic Society, 2022). This leads to fighting for limited resources available in the environment, and only the strong survive. Biologists used Darwin’s knowledge to connect natural selection and evolution by observing that genetic drift makes people evolve.
The biological psychology perspective of the reductionist perspective has been empirically reviewed. According to this perspective, for a person to describe human behavior, they must break it into various elements (Walinga, 2014). Various lab experiments and approaches have proved that the biological perspective is connected to various reductionist perspectives to identify the cause and effect. This is why different psychological problems can be solved using drugs because each drug addresses a specific need (King, 2022).
The reductionist theory has been empirically proven effective in a person’s mental healthcare system (Walinga, 2014). It relies on evaluating psychological problems by analyzing and breaking them down to the neurons, brain, and genes until the cause of a problem is found. Medications have been found to play a significant role in treating mental disorders. Lab experimentation has been widely used to validate this perspective, using controlled conditions to see how medications will influence various mental issues. For instance, mood stabilizers such as Lithium have been tested under lab experiments and found to be effective in treating bipolar disorders.
Strengths
The main strength of the reductionist theory is that it analyzes behavior by breaking it up. It evaluates the neurons, hormones, neurotransmitters, and brain structure to understand it. This is beneficial in the mental health field because it helps to find the underlying cause of behavior in the person’s body (Hutmacher & Mayrhofer, 2022).
Weaknesses
However, the weaknesses of this method include not considering other environmental factors that influence a certain behavior. Some scientists argue that the environment significantly shapes an individual’s behavior (Hutmacher & Mayrhofer, 2022). For instance, some behavior, such as crime, may be influenced by the physical location of individuals rather than their internal stimuli.
A person living in a crime-prone location is likely to engage in this behavior because of their surrounding environment. This has created a rift in researchers’ perspectives on the theory, whereby some argue that using the biological perspective of reductionists cannot explain an individual’s behavior (Hutmacher & Mayrhofer, 2022). However, biological psychologists have argued that although the environment has a role in a person’s behavior, the best way to change behavior is by using the reductionist theory to understand why the body responds to a certain behavior.
Cognitive Perspective
Description
The cognitive perspective is a theory based on the assumption that the brain is essential in shaping human behavior. According to this perspective, to understand a person’s behavior, one must first understand their brain activity (Eysenck, 2001). This is because all the information a person receives is processed in the brain. However, it is worth noting that not all people will process information similarly, hence the diversity in behaviors. Therefore, to predict how a person will respond to specific information, it is important to understand how they process it.
Ulric Neisser‘s Theory
Ulric Neisser, a German psychologist and advocate for ecological approaches to cognitive behavior, introduced this theory in the 1950s and 1960s (Eysenck, 2001). Instead of changing the behaviorism theory, which existed before and was based on the external causes of behavior, he developed a new perspective that allowed researchers to study the internal factors influencing behavior (King, 2022). Other theorists who supported this theory are Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Noam Chomsky.
Jean Piaget’s Theory
One empirically proven theory concerning this perspective is Jean Piaget’s developmental theory. This theory states that children undergo four stages of growth: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. According to Piaget, “Learning is a process whereby children play the role of scientists and discover things by experimenting” (Demetriou et al., 2022).
For instance, if a child touches a hot surface and it burns their hand, they will learn that the surface is always hot and will avoid it because of the outcome. Piaget relied on naturalistic observation to develop his theory on explaining children’s development. This method was effective for this study because it evaluated how children interact with various environmental factors and how they react. According to Piaget, children had lower thinking quantity and quality than adults because they had not done enough experiments (Demetriou et al., 2022). However, he believed that the only way to understand a child’s thinking was to think from their perspective.
Strengths
One of Piaget’s main strengths is that it provides a better understanding of the thinking process. In addition, his theory helped to understand children’s learning process and enhance educational programs (Andersen et al., 2022).
Weaknesses
However, there has been much criticism citing the weakness of his work, with some researchers stating that not all children undergo the four developmental stages. Children may bypass some of the stages during their development, which shows that the theory is not universally applicable to everyone. The other weakness is that Piaget based his entire research on observing a few children, which cannot be used to justify the whole population (Andersen et al., 2022). Piaget’s theory was not found to factor in the cultural and social development factors that influence a child’s behavior. However, the cognitive perspective currently holds that although the theory cannot be applied to all children when integrated with other theories that explore external factors, it has proven to be effective in shaping behavior.
Social-Cultural Perspective
Description
According to the social-cultural perspective, individuals interact differently within their social groups, and these social groups significantly influence how they behave. Individuals may belong to a wide range of groups, including religion, racial groups, gender groups, social class groups, and so on (Zittoun & Baucal, 2021). This is because the groups have their morals and beliefs, which guide the behavior of their members. For instance, in childhood, the family is a very influential group, but as a person ages, peer groups become more influential than the family
Lev Vygotsky‘s Theory
The social-cultural perspective was introduced by Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist (1836-1934) who explained how children develop into adults (Zittoun & Baucal, 2021). According to Vygotsky, “children are born with varying beliefs in their mind, but they are subject to interpretation by the various groups to which they belong” (Zittoun & Baucal, 2021). For instance, if a child is brought up in a Catholic family and never misses their Sunday service, they will likely continue attending church because Catholicism, a social group, influences them.
Lev Vygotsky’s theory has been empirically evaluated and has proven that social and cultural behavior is essential in shaping behavior and development. The researchers used comparative analysis to evaluate his theory against other theories to determine its feasibility (Chirkov, 2019). This theory proved that an individual’s development is more based on their social interactions than an independent journey of discovery. This perspective promotes comparative analysis because it is easier to determine if a person has grown based on social interactions or independent research.
Strengths
One of the main strengths of this theory is that this theory does not try to make all children fit under a few developmental stages. This theory allows diversity in reasoning and is capable of explaining diverse behaviors (King, 2022). It mainly focuses on a child’s social and environmental interactions and language (Grossen et al., 2022).
Weaknesses
However, on the contrary, the theory is considered too unrealistic because it does not offer a scientific approach and ignores the biological perspective. The standing of the sociocultural approach is that this theory, although diverse, needs to be incorporated with other methods, such as biological and cognitive reasoning.
References
Andersen, M. M., Kiverstein, J., Miller, M., & Roepstorff, A. (2022). Play in predictive minds: A cognitive theory of play. Psychological Review. Web.
Chirkov, V. (2019). An introduction to the theory of sociocultural models. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 23(2), 143–162. Web.
Demetriou, A., Spanoudis, G. C., Greiff, S., Makris, N., Panaoura, R., & Kazi, S. (2022). Changing priorities in the development of cognitive competence and school learning: A general theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. Web.
Eysenck, M. W. (2001). Principles of cognitive psychology. Psychology Press.
Grossen, M., Zittoun, T., & Baucal, A. (2022). Learning and developing over the life-course: A sociocultural approach.Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 37, 100478. Web.
Hutmacher, F., & Mayrhofer, R. (2022). Psychology as a historical science? Theoretical assumptions, methodological considerations, and potential pitfalls. Current Psychology. Web.
Zittoun, T., & Baucal, A. (2021). The relevance of a sociocultural perspective for understanding learning and development in older age. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 28, 100453. Web.
King, L. A. (2022). Experience psychology (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Walinga, J. (2014). Introduction to psychology. Web.
National Geographic Society. (2022). Theory of evolution | National Geographic Society. Web.
Cherry, K. (2023). The Role of Biological Perspective in Psychology. Verywell Mind. Web.