1. Six Important Schools of Thought
in Psychology
By PresenterMedia.com

2. •Biopsychology
DESCRIPTION APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Behaviour is studied based • Is alcoholism a disease?
on the biological responses, • What role does heredity
physical changes that take play?
place • How does alcohol affect the
brain and behaviour?
Sample Research Question
Do genes affect your
intelligence and personality?

3. •Sociocultural Psychology
THEORY DESCRIPTION APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Behaviour is viewed as • How does alcoholism
being strongly influenced differ among cultures?
by the expectations of • What social pressures
social groups or cultures might cause alcohol
• Ethnicity, gender, culture, abuse?
and socioeconomic status
influence our behaviour • Research Question
• How do people of
different genders and
ethnicities interact with
one another?

4. •Cognitive Approach
DESCRIPTION APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Take information from • What thoughts lead up
environment to episodes of heavy
• Analyze it drinking?
• Come up with a solution • If analyzed can drinking
to the problem patterns be changed?
• Behaviour is a product of
internal sentences or • Research Question
thoughts • How does caffeine affect
memory?
• How we process, store,
and retrive information
influences our behaviour

5. •Humanism
DESCRIPTION APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Behaviour viewed as a • Do people drink because
reflection of internal growth they don’t feel a sense of
• Environment does not force worth? Does alcohol
us to become anything, it provide a false esteem?
acts as a background for our
internal growth • Research Question
• Individual or self-directed • Do I believe I can prepare
choices influence our for and pass the test?
behaviour

6. •Psychoanalysis
APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Is the heavy drinking
happening because of a
conflict raging in the
unconscious?
• Does drinking release
inhibitions allowing the
unconscious desires to
DESCRIPTION surface?
• Behaviour is viewed as a • Research
reflection of unconscious • How have the negative
aggressive and sexual childhood experiences
impulses. affected the way I
handle stressful
situations?

7. •Behaviorism
APPROACH TO STUDYING ALCOHOLISM
• Is alcoholism learned?
DESCRIPTION
• Can it be unlearned?
• Behaviour is viewed as a • Can new habits replace
product of learned drinking habits?
responses.
• Events in the environment • Research
(rewards and punishments) • Can good study habits be
influence our behaviour learned?

8. •Eclecticism  Synthesis
• Each theoretical outlook can explain behaviour
• Can combine them to make your own explanation
• Do handout
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL SOCIOCULTURAL
BIOPSYCHO PSYCHO-
HUMANISTIC
LOGICAL ANALYTICAL

9. •Michael Jackson
Analyze him:
• Psychoanalytic
• Behaviourism
• Humanism
• Sociocultural

10. •Michael Jackson
Analyze him:
• Psychoanalytic
• HIS ALLEGED MISBEHAVIOUR WITH YOUNG BOYS, OBSESSION VIS A VIS
PLASTIC SURGERY SUGGEST HIS PERSONALITY IS ID DRIVEN.
• His ego was not functioning as it should have.

11. •Michael Jackson
Analyze him:
• Behaviourism
• HIS INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR CONTINUES TO BE REWARDED WITH
EITHER GOOD OR BAD PUBLICITY. EITHER WORKS AS ATTENTION.
• HE CONTINUES TO BE REWARDED WITH CONTRACTS AND VARIOUS
MUSIC AWARDS
• EVEN THOUGH TWICE ACCUSED OF CHILD MOLESTATION, CONCERTS
ARE SOLD OUT
• Addiction to pain killer: he was able to sleep only with these pain
killers.
• Humanism
• HE IS COMPELLED TO SEEK LOVE FROM IMPERSONAL SOURCES AND
HAS NO ONE TO ASSIST HIM

12. •Michael Jackson
Analyze him:
• Humanism
• HE IS COMPELLED TO SEEK LOVE FROM IMPERSONAL SOURCES AND
HAS NO ONE TO ASSIST HIM
• Sociocultural
• HE LITERALLY CARVES AWAY ALL TRACES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN
FEATURES PERHAPS DUE TO THE LOWER ESTEEM IN WHICH AFRICAN
AMERICANS ARE HELD.

13. •Research Psychologists
• Study the causes of behaviour

14. •Charlie Sheen
• -Recently Mr.. Sheen has been in the news regarding his exploits
with drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, prostitutes, and
generally, erratic behavior. His family has intervened several
times and he has attended rehab centres on numerous
occasions.

15. •CHARLIE SHEEN
• Sheen's personal life has also made headlines, including reports
about alcohol and drug abuse and marital problems as well as
allegations of domestic violence. He was fired from his role on
Two and a Half Men by CBS and Warner Bros. on March 7, 2011.
Sheen subsequently announced a nationwide tour.[2]
• Based upon what you know about Sheen, indicate below how
each school of thought would assess his behavior.

16. •Applied Psychologists
Use research to solve problems

17. READ pages 9-13
DO Questions for Discussion Page 13
READ Pages 17-19
DO Questions for Discussion Page 19
Schools of Thought Handout