Six Major Schools of Thought in Psychology
Functionalism
Functionalism has the most influence of any theory in contemporary psychology. Psychological
functionalism attempts to describe thoughts and what they do without asking how they do it. For
functionalists, the mind resembles a computer, and to understand its processes, you need to look at
the software -- what it does -- without having to understand the hardware -- the why and how
underlying it.
Gestalt Psychology
According to Gestalt psychologists, the human mind works by interpreting data through various laws,
rules or organizing principles, turning partial information into a whole. For example, your mind might
interpret a series of lines as a square, even though it has no complete lines; your mind fills in the gaps.
Gestalt psychotherapists apply this logic to problem-solving to help patients.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic theory, which originated with Sigmund Freud, explains human behavior by looking at
the subconscious mind. Freud suggested that the instinct to pursue pleasure, which he described as
sexual in nature, lies at the root of human development. To Freud, even the development of children
hinged on key stages in discovering this pleasure, through acts such as feeding at the mother's breast
and defecating, and he treated abnormal behavior in adults by addressing these stages.
Behaviorism
In the 1950s, B.F. Skinner carried out experiments with animals, such as rats and pigeons,
demonstrating that they repeated certain behaviors if they associated them with rewards in the form
of food. Behaviorists believe that observing behavior, rather than attempting to analyze the inner
workings of the mind itself, provides the key to psychology. This makes psychology open to
experimental methods with results that can be replicated in the same way as any scientific
experiment.
Humanistic Psychology
Humanist psychologists teach that to understand psychology, we must look at individuals and their
motivations. Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" exemplifies this approach: a system of needs,
such as food, love and self-esteem, determines a person's behavior to various extents. Meeting these
needs leads to a sense of self-satisfaction and solves psychological problems.
Cognitivism
Cognitive psychology follows behaviorism by understanding the mind through scientific
experimentation, but it differs from it by accepting that psychologists can study and understand the
internal workings of the mind and mental processes. It rejects psychoanalysis, as it regards
psychoanalytic theories about the subconscious mind as subjective and not open to scientific analysis.
Branches of Psychology
Behavioral Psychology
As the name indicates, its the study of behavioral science such as mental process and human
behavioral patterns. Behavioral Psychology is based on study of the functions of brain cells.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical Psychology is a treatment oriented branch of psychology which deals with scientific ways of
handling psychological problems. It is also called counseling psychology. This includes prevention,
understanding and cure of psychological issues by counseling and psychotherapy.
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with the abnormalities in a persons
behavior and psyche. This is a branch of study which is commonly found in Human Resources
Management courses and Criminal Law courses.
Educational Psychology
Educational Psychology is often taught in educational institutions like schools and colleges. This field of
study basically focuses on student life. It deals with shyness, learning disorders, adolescence, sex
education in children and so on. These studies and awareness comes in handy in the different
developmental stages of children.
Developmental Psychology
As the name suggests, Developmental Psychology deals with the changes that occurs in a human
being over course of time. It deals with early childhood developmental stages. This helps in identifying
the causes, treatment and effects of any psychological disorders better.
Personality Psychology
Personality Psychology is that branch of psychology which deals with the IQ and personality of an
individual. Different IQ tests and personality tests allow individuals to gauge themselves for better
understanding. These are commonly found in interview tests and performance analysis.
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology deals with the study of psychological stimuli in human beings. psychological
stimuli include ability for developing linguistic skills, identifying a persons state of mind, recognizing a
kin from another and so on. We have noticed that babies, however small they are, easily get the cue of
the above mentioned psychological stimuli.
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology deals with the mental processes like thoughts, memory and problem solving. It
basically deals with the perception and problem solving capability of the brain.
Legal Psychology
Legal Psychology is almost similar to cognitive and clinical psychology. Its just that it has got a legal
point of view. The legal psychologist assists the crime investigation by assessing the testimonies and
statements of the witnesses and the victims.
Community Psychology
Community Psychology is the study of the psychological aspects of the individuals in a community. This
is based on characteristics like interdependence, adaptation, diplomacy and so on.
