In analyzing as well as comparing the humanistic and biological approaches to personality one can result to difference in opinions. Abraham Maslow did study the development of personalities based on the human needs. His needs hierarchy portrays the influence of human needs to formations of peoples’ unique and individual personalities. There are some biological factors which does influence formation of one’s personality which usually plays a major role. Through reviewing the relationships that are there between Maslow’s theory and biological factors we will be in a position to see some focused similarities as well as its upcoming.
Behaviourists want results, by which they can check measure and observe on the stimulus and the reacted response. McLeod, (2007) suggests humanistic, humanism and humanist are terms in psychology relating to an approach which studies the whole person, and the uniqueness of each individual. Essentially, these terms refer the same approach in psychology. This relates to the belief on genetics and the experiences we go through in life are different from each other. Through ‘ethics’
Physiology: how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, how changes in structure and/or function can affect behavior. For example, we could ask how prescribed drugs to treat depression affect behavior through their interaction with the nervous system. 3. Investigation of inheritance: what an animal inherits from its parents, mechanisms of inheritance (genetics). For example, we might want to know whether high intelligence is inherited from one generation to the next.
Within humans many adaptations have happened through Darwin’s theory of natural selection, one of these adaptations is called Theory of Mind. Byrne and Whiten defined the 'Theory of mind' as the psychological characteristic that allows humans to interact effectively with each other. This can be defined in terms of the ability to know or intuit what another person may think, or how another may act or feel, in order to adjust their own actions (Phoenix, 2007 p.133). Considering this theory from an evolutionary point of view, the adaptive function results in individuals enhancing the
Personality is influenced by genetic factors through temperament. For example, genetics influence individual differences based on how individuals respond and react to their environment. The contribution of genetics to psychological differences has been studied in research focused on behavioral genetics (e.g., Plomin, 2000). The second biological influence is the brain structure and neurotransmitters. As Pinel (2003) explains, gene expression determines how cells may develop and how it can function at personal maturity.
Firstly the Comparative method different species of animal can be studied and compared. Secondly physiology “how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, how changes in structure or function can affect behaviour” (McLeod, S. 2007). Thirdly Investigation of inheritance, what an animal inherits from its parents, mechanisms of inheritance (genetics). For example one might want to know whether high intelligence is inherited from one generation to the next. Biological brought scientist like James Olds, with the help of Hess's technique for probing the brain and Skinner's for measuring motivation, have a series of experiments.
As a result there are a variety of theories of personality which try to describe the cause and effect of the human personality. This essay will briefly compare and contrast two of these theories which include the psychoanalytic and humanistic theories of personality. It is important to have an in-depth understanding of the various types of theories with respect to personality because such a discourse enables psychologists to discover more about social behaviours in daily life (Fiske et al, 2010; 365). Both theoretical viewpoints, while being substantially different from each other, do share some common comparisons as we shall examine below. Psychoanalytical theories of personality stress the individual’s unconscious motivations which can be identified through dreams, slips of the tongue and fantasies (McCrae & Costa, 2003; 21).
These theories will influence how professionals approach the person who is demonstrating unusual behavior that may or may not be a result of some disorder that can be diagnosed by the DSM-IV which is broken down into V Axis. As mentioned in the first paragraph of this paper there are six basic theories from which maladaptive behavior can be approached. The first is from the Biological Perspective. With Biological Perspective the Psychologist would consider what role a person's genes, DNA, or other physical defects play in the display of maladaptive behavior. Is a person exhibiting maladaptive behavior due to something genetic; or is it something neurological; something gone awry in the brain cells?
How does social learning theory explain the development of offending behaviour and how useful is this explanation? It is possible to explain the development of offending behaviour in several ways. The two major approaches including, first, genetic explanations which posit that aggressive or antisocial behaviours are an outcome of markers of a certain genetic makeup, passed down from parents (Braungart-Riekerm et al, 1995). While, the behaviourist approach argues that the development of offending behaviour is a consequence of conditioning or social learning (Patterson, 1982). Although each of these explanations has merit, genetic explanations have been criticised for its failure to clearly show how disparate behaviours can be seen as expressions of a single genotype and that existing evidence suggests there are more complex issues involved than is implied by a person’s genetic makeup (Renken et al, 1989).
In general to researchers, it’s the study of relationships between behavior and any other body functioning; a link between behavior and the brain or even behavior and the mind. It looks at the influence of hormones, genes, the brain, and the central nervous system which ultimately explains the way we think, feel, and behave. When we speak of “Nature vs. Nurture, biological psychology teams up with “nature”. Foremost, biological psychology uses the “nature approach and applies it to the understanding of the psychological bases for learning and memory, emotionality, and mental and behavior disorders. This is how scientist have been able to come up with medication to treat mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.