Major Psychological Theories and Concepts
Structuralism
This trend suggests that the human being is a being who works consciously and is composed of structures.
Functionalism
Functionalism posits that psychology should concern itself with human behavior, which forms habits, to retrieve the subject of consciousness but focused on the consideration of human adaptation, the result of the interaction of the organism with the environment in terms of ideas.
Behaviorism
Broadly, behaviorism posits that the human being is an answer to environmental agency, a kind of tabula rasa that can be guided and constructed in social interaction tasks. It is not interested in the processes of consciousness; in fact, it denies it as a study of psychology and develops a strong line of research that accounts for the way we learn and react by focusing on what is obvious and directly observable: behavior.
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is part of the cognitive paradigm, which in turn brings together philosophy, cognitive linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and artificial intelligence models, which seek to understand the functioning of the cognitive system.
Humanism
Named as the third force, humanism states that the human being is not determined by the environment (behavior) nor by intra-psychic processes (psychoanalysis) but is self-determining and building itself. It rescues the idea of will and personal development as central elements that define the individual, emphasizes experience on the behavioral aspects of goals, and gives a relational context and the search for meaning to humanity. It seeks to return decisions to the hands of those who make them.
Systemic Flow
Systemic flow focuses on the idea that man is a system embedded in other systems; hence, it is not possible to focus only on one element, but one must understand the interaction of each agency with others. This theoretical current continues to develop today.
Psychoanalysis
A current theory is a perspective, a look, an explanatory model about a particular object. In the case of psychology, the theoretical trends are explanatory models of how humans behave, what they are, and ultimately what their nature is.
The Structure of Personality
- The conscious contains everything about what is being aware, which is known, and is easily accessible.
- The preconscious contains what is common memory; its contents are not consciously activated, but you can access them if you want.
- The unconscious is not directly accessible to consciousness; it is all that is saved as feelings and anxieties. Pains are very strong; hold on to the conscious and preconscious. This content is hidden but exerts a continuous influence on the behavior of the individual without his being aware of it effectively.
Defense Mechanisms
- Repression: A suppression and unconscious process that keeps impulses or threatening elements out of conscience. It is not always complete.
- Denial: Refusing to believe that the event occurred or exists.
- Projection: Reduces anxiety by attributing to another his own unacceptable impulses or desires.
- Reaction formation: The defense of momentum is represented by an action contrary to the original impulse. (e.g., I envy, but I say that it is nice).
- Rationalization: Reduces anxiety by finding a rational explanation (excuse) for what was done (e.g., lying to not hurt).
Constructivism and Social Constructionism
This current goes beyond classic scientific positions; rather, it operates from the phenomenological model, which states that reality is not given out there, dropped to meet her, but rather that reality is created by the human being.
Humanist Theory
Humanist theory is a holistic principle, and you cannot compartmentalize it. It provides an overview of the different areas (intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual) as opposed to the dichotomous mind-body vision of other disciplines. It considers man as endowed with all potentialities and resources needed for their development.
Systemic Movement
The central concept of the systemic approach is that each individual is part of a system. They do not act alone but are in constant interaction with other systems. A classic example of what they are working on in a theoretical and practical way is “the family.”
Linking Psychology with the Social Sciences from a Biopsychosocial Approach
The first thing to understand is that the social sciences study the “Human Being.” Although this seems obvious, it is essential to understand that the human being is a biopsychosocial entity.
Sensation
Sensation is the process built and guided by where you enter information from the environment, and it is transformed into electrical chemical impulses. Your information has no meaning. The feeling is the basic interaction with a medium body and is defined as the experience of sensory stimulation (Morris, 1995).
Perception
Perception is the integration, organization, and interpretation of information coming from the senses and previous experience.
Imagination
Imagination is the process of creation and representation of items that are not in reality. They are built into the creative process of human beings. There is integration, which gives unexpected and new results.
Memory
Memory is a complex cognitive process, even when it is studied as a basic process. It should also be understood as the link with higher cognitive processes. Moreover, to bring the concept of memory, we not only contextualize it as a warehouse but also with the ability of interaction between who we are and the environment.
Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory is understood as the brain’s ability to retain and store the contents of everyday life, what it has learned.
- Episodic Memory: Relates to all specific events or situations that we have lived, for example, my partner’s birthday or the day I left fourth grade.
- Semantic Memory: Verbal means, i.e., the acquisition of language and its meanings (the bulk purchase was made almost without realizing it).
- Procedural Memory: Saves the learning of ways to do things that involve motor skills, like riding a bike or how to use a video.
- Emotional Memory: As the name implies, affection is relevant to the concept of emotional intelligence. If we consider the structure of our brain, emotional memory acts at the somatic level in the physiological experience of emotion; it also acts on the feelings and processes what we are experiencing as an affective process; therefore, it also implies a cognitive memory of affection. If we think about this, we can understand that emotional memory can operate at different levels, at the somatic level, as a memory of the impression that a situation caused me affection, or simply allowed to continue loving someone and not forget the feeling.