Different approaches to the Study of Psychology

This theme discusses different set aboutes to the carry of psychology and shows their relevance to the fellow feeling of offending behaviour. A gener onlyy acceptable definition of psychology is that it is the science of the behaviour of living organisms with an emphasis upon human beings. With roots in the Greek psyche (life or self) and logos (logic), psychology is the scientific study of evident behaviour that we rout out observe directly or time with instruments (Baucum, 1999).Therefore, in general, psychology means the study of behaviour, and it follows that if we learn to represent the air people SHOULD be h venerable back by a mannerical, logical study, by the like manner we should gain honest about insight and understanding into why some deviants behave the way that they do.Cognitive psychology is one of the major approaches within psychology and throw out be contrasted with the behavioral view (a heighten on observable behavior), a psychoanalytic view (a fo cus on the unconscious), a humanistic view (a focus on psycheal growth and interpersonal relationships) and a social cognitive view (a focus on the social surround as it imp human actions personal qualities such as thinking and feeling. ) An important greenback between the behavioral and cognitive or humanistic views is the importance of feedback.For behaviorists, the to the highest degree important feedback comes in the form of the application of consequences from the environment. The cognitive, as well humanistic, would focus on the importance of internal feedback. The social cognitive view considers twain types. (Huitt, 2006) Of course the term offending behaviour does not relate just to criminal activities but to any type of behaviour which bottomland be seen as deviant. There is no doubt that the use of psychology can be very useful and effective in criminology, one of the around obvious examples of offending behaviour.If this work is not done correctly, however, the eff ect can be frustrating and can slow down the entire procedure. It is hence very important to do this kind of work systematically and effectively (Victoroff, 2005) According to David Lester in his book entitled Theories of Personality (1995), there ar three major approaches to the explanation of human behaviour. He lists these as intrapsychic explanations, physiologic theories and simple learning theories. He explains intrapsychic explanations in the following manner They ar explanations that use concepts based upon psychological processes and structures within the understanding.These processes whitethorn focus on the contents of the mind such as particular desires, emotions or thoughts (Lester, 1995). Loosely, psychologists employing this mode to understand, perhaps, why pedophiles act in the way that they do, or what would cause a man to want to rape. It may also lead to the understanding of self image, and what would cause, for example, a person with a low self image (in his mind the fault of his mother) to want to take revenge upon all women. It typically defines and utilizes more complicated mechanisms such as defense mechanisms, complexes and system principles (Lester, 1995)The second method listed by Lester also focuses on the individual but as contradictory to using mental processes to explain human behaviour, it relies upon the physiology of the brain. This is the Physiological theories approach William Sheldon and Hans Eysneck have proposed classic physiologic theories of personality and recent advances in biological abnormal psychology look as if they may form the basis for modern, improved physiological theories of personality (Lester, 1995).One can see that this type of approach may be very useful in the study of a variety of neurological disorders, including perhaps schizophrenia it may allow heightened understanding of why the forbearing has split personalities or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or even disorders which bl oodline into the depression category such as Bipolar Disorder. The third approach given by Lister focuses upon the environment (or the situation) of the individual as the extension of explanations for human behavior.Social Learning Theory takes into account the fact that humans argon more complex than lower animals, and introduces a limited number of intrapsychic processes (mainly cognitive elements) in order to provide a more complete understanding of the behaviour of human beings. (Lister, 1995). There definitely seems to be truth in this. Take for example a woman who is ordinarily of a festive disposition. Her friends may notice that for a few months she has been moody, lethargic, withdrawn, and generally not elicit in anything.This is believably indicative of something being wrong, and further exploration may reveal to the friends that the reason for this offending behaviour is that she is under severe fiscal stress, for example. Lister also says that while all of the above pose a variety of answers to the understanding of human behaviour, the truest is probably a combination of all of the above (Lister, 1995). Take the example of a well known person who is known to have exhibited offending behaviour Robert Thompson, who as a 10 yr old participated with Jon Venables in the killing of 3 yr old Jamie Bulger.All of the approaches described above can be used in the digest of the following information. Born of an abusive father and an alcoholic mother, he had cardinal older brothers who assaulted him. His father left the family after viciously assaulting his mother. Reminiscent of William Goldings novel The Lord of the Flies, the older brothers bullied the junior into submission. Robert did try to be a good son and would help his mother in the kitchen and babysitting the younger ones, trying to provide support.Robert was not aggressive as much as sly. He skipped school, but when he did attend he was not considered a troublemaker. Teachers thought he was shy and quiet, yet manipulative of others, and didnt impart much from him. Other kids avoided him. (Courtroom Television Network, 2005) Sometimes he talked tough, trying to act the role of a Thompson, but he was not considered violent or aggressive. He roamed the streets of Walton at 1 a. m. His mother Ann sometimes hid his shoes to mention him home.Unfortunately, Roberts abuse at the hands of his older brothers began to repeat in his treatment of his younger brother. He intimidated his younger brother, but they divided up a strange bond. At night, they would lie in bed together, sucking one anothers thumb. (During the course of Roberts trial Ryan began exhibiting pitiful behavior. He wet his bed regularly, set fires in his room, and gained weight. He seemed suspicious of the attention Robert received and his mother was fearful that he would do something equally horrible to get the same treatment.)Using the approaches listed above we can begin to understand the mind of Robert Bulger, and use this information to prevent further like crimes from occurring. This paper has discussed different approaches to the study of psychology and shown their relevance to the understanding of offending behaviour. We can see that using a combination of the different approaches to psychology is probably the best way to get at the truth.