Objective 2: Identify the major theoretical and professional perspectives in psychology and their basic assumptions.

In psychologys emerging new science, there have been a variety of new perspectives of researchers ideas about psychology. In an attempt to explain how the human species has adapted over time, and how we have developed into the creatures that we are, some people turn to evolutionary psychology. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin helps support evolutionary psychologists theories by the process of natural selection, more commonly coined as survival of the fittest. These psychologists research traits that best enabled an organism to survive and reproduce, allowing the human race to survive. An example of this can be shown by how most humans sleep at night, when most of their predators are asleep or when physical abilities li e sight are at a minimum. Americas first psychologists, !ohn ". #atson and ".$. % inner assumed and redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior. Their argument that science is rooted in behavior, and they argued that you could not observe a persons thoughts, but you could observe their actions. "ehaviorists li e % inner and #atson, have carried out numerous experiments that were measured by observable behavior, li e the &ittle Albert experiment, which exhibited a trained conditioning in small children by clanging an iron rod while presenting a rat, and observing the responses of the child. $reudian psychology, based upon the ideals of one of the greatest psychologists, %igmund $reud, emphasi'ed the importance of our unconscious thought process and our emotional responses to childhood experiences. $reud was one of the first psychologists to use psychoanalytical therapies. (e believed that by examining our subconscious, it

would give insight to events of our past that may have been affecting our behavior. %igmund also placed a heavy emphasis on our unconscious sexual conflicts, which we must repress bac down again, or we may )ust act out on them. (is * stages of psychosexual development have been heavily scrutini'ed over the years, but he must be doing something right if people are still examining his wor today. The budding new field of cognitive neuroscience is exploring the way we perceive, process, and remember information. It is an interdisciplinary study that helps us understand the biology and psychology of our brains. #ith tools such as f+,Is and -.T scans, researchers are learning more and more about how our brains wor . #ith these ama'ing technological advances, the cognitive neuroscientists have mapped out our brains, determined their functions, and have helped other psychologists learn how to treat mental disorders li e depression. http/00en.wi ipedia.org0wi i0.volutionary1psychology http/00en.wi ipedia.org0wi i0!ohn1".1#atson http/00en.wi ipedia.org0wi i0-sychoanalysis I used the three articles above as articles for facts and information to help explain the varying distinctions between .volutionary -sychology2 "ehaviorism2 and -sychoanalysis0$reudian -sychology.