Human Behaviour 1, Explain the various approaches to psychology and the people who pioneered them

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Task 1 - Explain the various approaches to psychology and the people who pioneered them

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and it's activities, both normal and abnormal. (Collins Dictionary)

There are four main approaches to psychology. These are:

1. Behaviourist

2. Psychoanalytic

3. Humanistic

4. Cognitive

The behaviourist approach

This approach is said to have been started by Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), J.B. Watson (1878-1958), and B.F. Skinner (1904-1990). This theory argues that all human behaviour is caused by something else. This means that 'behaviour is just a response to a stimulus'. They also believe that behaviour can be scientifically tested under reproduced conditions. This was the first ever serious attempt to make psychology into a proper science.

Behaviourism does not concern the mind, consciousness or thoughts. It is only concerned with actions. Below are famous studies that impacted on the behaviourist approach and who pioneered them.

Pavlov

Pavlov discovered Classic conditioning. During his research he discovered that the presence of the lab technician that fed the dogs (he experimented on animals) that the dogs salivated more, even when the technician wasn't going to feed