Psychology entails several areas of study. World-renowned psychologists shaped the development of how individuals study the behavior and minds of others. Several psychologists that have significantly contributed to the study of psychology include Wilhelm Wundt, Sigmund Freud, Mary Calkins, and Jean Piaget. The contributions of these individuals are still relevant today. This writing seeks to study the history of psychology.
The influential figure selected for this study is Sigmund Freud. He is most known for psychoanalysis. Sigmond Freud developed therapeutic methods centered on talk therapy that entailed using methods like free association, transference, and dream interpretation. Psychoanalysis became dominant during the early years of psychology and is still famous today. Besides his influence on psychology, his ideas have filled popular concepts and culture like the unconscious, Freudian ships, wish fulfillment, and the ego. Freud’s work supported the opinion that not all mental diseases are caused by physiology. He recognized that cultural differences impact behavior and psychology. His writings and work contributed to comprehending clinical psychology, abnormal personality psychology, and human development.
Psychological perspectives include cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, and cognitive. The behavioral perspective states that individuals are controlled by their environment. Individuals’ actions are influenced by their environment. This perspective proposes two processes whereby individuals learn from their surroundings: operant conditioning and classical conditioning. Classical conditioning entails learning by association, while operant conditioning entails learning from the consequences of behavior. Freud developed the psychodynamic perspective. Freud believed that events during an individual’s childhood affected their behavior during adulthood (Licht, Hull & Ballantyne, 2022). This perspective is both therapy and theory. The humanistic perspective entails the study of the whole individual. The perspective that I agree with is the psychodynamic perspective. I believe that the character of individuals is affected by their environment. Individuals do not make choices, but their actions are determined by where they live and how people in that area behave.
The goals of psychological research include describing, explaining, predicting, and changing. The purpose of describing entails describing the behavior of an individual. The researchers begin by observing one’s behavior and then highlighting an issue. Through comprehending what is happening, the researchers work on learning about the individual. The researchers also explain the behavior. They explain why individuals act in a particular way and the factors contributing to their actions (Licht et al., 2022). Besides, prediction is another goal that entails predicting what one thinks and actions. Once all these is understood, the information can be employed in making predictions about how, why, and when this might happen again. Also, the researchers strive to influence and change behavior. This is vital to make constructive changes in the lives of individuals.
The topic of interest is suicide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the country. Suicide may occur due to substance use or an individual undergoing depression. The research question will be, “is substance use the major cause of the increase in the suicide rate in the United States?” My hypothesis will be substance use addicts are likely to commit suicide. This study will be vital to help prevent suicide and formulate ways of assisting individuals who are addicted to drugs.
In conclusion, this writing has discussed the history of psychology. One of the influential figures in psychology is Sigmond Freud. The psychodynamic perspective is an interesting perspective that I agree with. The characters of individuals are influenced by their environment. Therefore, it is vital to study one’s environment when trying to understand their behavior.
Licht, D., Hull, M., & Ballantyne, C. (2022). Presenting Psychology (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.