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Paper Topic:

Compare and contrast major theories of Psychology: Psychoanalytic, Behavioral, Humanistic, and Cognitive


Comparison and Contrasting of Major Theories in Psychology

Major Theories of Psychology

Psychology is described as the science of life with aim to unravel the complications of human behavior . Through more than 150 years of sustained research and studies in numerous aspects of `why ' and `how ' of human approach , psychology has developed a number of theories to account for and explain the myriad traits and conflicting aspects of human behavior it countered . This presents a comparison and analysis of some of the major theories of psychology . The theories

of psychology that it aims to compare and contrast are 1 . Psychoanalytic 2 .Behavioral , 3 .Humanistic , 4 . Cognitive

Psychoanalytic theory : Psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud 's contribution to psychology where unconscious mental activities are considered vital to understand human behavior and motivation (Hartmann , 1959 , 1 . Psychology is the theory of object relations , self , personality , interaction and development (Langs , 1992 , 4 . Psychoanalysis is both a method of exploring behavior through studying mental processes that appear dormant generally as well a therapeutic method where unconscious self of patient is analyzed by therapist . As the foundation of psychoanalysis rests on subconscious mental activities and processes , its important to understand them to gain an insight in the philosophy and approach of psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis believes that a person 's subconscious or unconscious mental process chiefly consists of events , incidences and experiences through the life history that have not been explained , understood or considered important in development of the person 's behavior . According to psychoanalytic theory understanding of these obscure aspects of human mind holds the key to unravel the mysteries of a people 's attitude behavior and application of personality (Hartmann , 1959 ,1 . Jelliffe (1944 , 13 ) describes the relation between conscious and subconscious mind in terms of numerator and denominator in a mathematical fraction where subconscious mind acts as a denominator with considerably large value . Causes play very important role in development of a person 's personality and Freud developed this analytic theory particularly to understand the causes that affect the mental processes of individuals In this context psychoanalysis places considerable importance on childhood experience and conflict within a person in attempts to evolve theories of inner self that can provide appropriate contextual explanation of various psychological as well physiological complexities .In the psychoanalytic studies , thought plays the key component in determining human behavior and even their outcomes . People , acting through their wishes , dreams , repressed thoughts and unstated frustrations , develop mental approaches that act as motivations throughout their life (ibid . Thus , this approach states that diseases accidents , diss and complexities of human life are not sudden and unaccountable rather they are manifestation of suppressed human wish and desire for them to take place (Jelliffe , 1944 , 14

Psychoanalysis explains the mental state of a person in form of id , ego and superego , all of which are subsystem of an individual 's personality (Hartmann , 1959 , 9 . Id is defined as the instinct of a person , a function that an individual is predisposed to perform . Ego is...
