Whilst Pavlov and Skinner used animals to research human behaviour, Bandura looked more specifically at human beings. His social learning theory states that most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling of cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences. A common example of this is in television commercials. Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular hair shampoo will make us popular and win the admiration of attractive people. The product being advertised is bought so that the behaviour being shown in the commercial can be modeled. If behaviour is imitated and personality is shaped mainly in the early years of life, the parents or primary care givers of a child play a crucial role as the child will copy their behavioural patterns.
One of the major elements of the behaviourist theory is the idea of reinforcement, which can be used to either increase or reduce the frequency of a behaviour. Positive reinforcement will increase the frequency of a behaviour by rewarding it, for example treating a child to some sweets for tidying their bedroom. Negative reinforcement leads to a reduction in the frequency of a behaviour by something unpleasant occurring, for example smacking a child when they have been naughty. Both types lead to an increase in frequency of the reinforced behaviour.
However, one must remember the ethical considerations when thinking about conditioning. The most popular example is Watson’s experiment of ‘Little Albert’, carried out in 1920. The small child Albert initially demonstrated no fear of a tame white rat. Watson, though, paired the white rat with a loud bang. Albert became extremely scared of this and the white rat began to elicit a fear response. After a few times of being subjected to this conditioning similar objects, such as a fur coat, also elicited anxious responses. This shows that classical conditioning underlies some phobias.
Perhaps the main criticism of the behaviourist perspective is that it does not take into consideration of mental processes. Behaviourist concepts have also been combined with more mentalist ideas in cognitive behavioural therapy and the broader cognitive-behavioural approach within clinical and health psychology.
With the rapid advances in science and technology in recent years, psychologists have been able to explore parts of the body, in particular the brain, in more detail to see how one’s personality is affected by biological factors. Methods of study in this field include biochemical monitoring, looking at chemical substances and vital processes occurring in living organisms; non-anaesthetised brain surgery, enabling doctors to see exactly which part of the brain controls the performing of certain tasks; and PET, CT and MRI scans which enable the viewing of exactly what is happening inside the parts of the body that can otherwise not be seen.
Biological psychologists believe that behaviour is determined by genetic, physiological, biochemical and neurological factors. Whilst the entire central nervous system is important in this, the brain plays a crucial role. Psychological ‘normality’ is when hormones and neurotransmitters are at their correct levels and there is no pathology present in the nervous system; so it is functioning correctly. Development and changes in personality and behaviour are though to be based on genetically determined changes in brain growth. These changes occur through maturation and ageing of the organism. Changes in hormone and neurotransmitter levels also cause psychological changes.
The main cause of abnormal behaviour is said to be caused primarily by genetic disorders. There is evidence to support this theory, especially when looking at the behavioural patterns of twins. There have been many cases where monozygotic twins of criminal parents were separated at birth and placed in two very differing environments and brought up in two very different lifestyles. Later in life it was found that both twins participated in criminal behaviour. Whilst this could be a coincidence, repeated results of this variety indicate that genetics do have a factor in certain behaviours. Other biological causes of abnormal behaviour can be damage or disease to the brain, an imbalance of chemicals such as hormones and neurotransmitters within the body and even food or other allergies. Whilst the causes are biological, the symptoms will be displayed as a behavioural or cognitive abnormalities.
Biological treatments for personality abnormalities include gene therapy or gene screening, neurological ablations and sometimes physical treatments. These treatments can reduce the symptoms of the problem and, in some cases, actually reverse the main root of the illness.
As with all psychological perspectives, there can be some criticisms made about the biological perspective. Some people argue that it is too simplistic and does not take into account any environmental factors. Also, whilst scientific and technological advances have increased the study on humans in recent times, a large amount of the research is still carried on animals. Some argue that it is wrong to assume that humans and animals will behave in exactly the same way as each other.
The final psychological perspective that will be looked at is the psychodynamic perspective. The psychodynamic theory states that all of our actions are motivated, although we are often unaware of the real reasons for our behaviour; Freud said that there is no such thing as an accidental behaviour. He also suggested that experiences in the first 5 years of life are crucial in shaping the development of our personality – the kind of adult we become. This means, as in the behaviourist perspective, the role of the parents or primary care giver is crucial – and possibly even more important.
The psychodynamic theory works under the assumption that there are three levels of consciousness. The Id, which has the innate drive and instincts, conflicts with the Super Ego, which contains all the rules and the norms and is the source of the conscience. The final level, the Ego, tries to resolve the conflict and it is how this conflict is resolved that shapes the personality.
Erik Erikson later developed Freud’s theory of personality development. He suggested that the resolution of certain events or psychosocial crisis influence personality development. These crisis occur throughout a person’s lifetime and as each one is resolved they determine a person’s attitude towards a certain psychosocial virtue. For example, the resolution of the psychosocial crisis between trust and mis-trust will determine how strongly their hope and faith virtues develop. Erikson also suggested that one cannot move on to resolve a new psychosocial crisis until the previous one has been resolved. Therefore, we all develop our personality traits in the same order, but at different speeds from one another..
The criticisms of the psychodynamic theory include that there are a very small number of case studies compared to other strands of psychology which means that there is a lack of substantial evidence for certain theories. There also seems to be a gender bias towards males as well as a bias towards western culture.
All three of the psychological perspectives discussed in this have differing theories on the development of the personality. Rather than say that one is correct and the others are false, I believe that each perspective has parts of it that are accurate. So some behaviour will be learned through conditioning and modelling, as stated in the behaviourist theory; and certain personality traits will be determined genetically, as biological psychologists believe. The human personality is extremely complex and rather than one single factor effecting how it develops, it is the combination of multiple processes and causes that shape a person’s unique personality.
1625 words
References
-
Glassman. W.E., (1995). Approaches to Psychology. Buckingham: Open University Press.
-
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.
-
Glassman, W.E. (1995). Approaches to Psychology. Bucking: Open University Press.
-
Meg Barker (2003). Introductory Psychology: History, Themes and Perspectives. Middlesex: Open University Press.
Perspectives in Psychology, Student Number: 03971610 Page of
