The word psychology comes from two Greek words "Circo" and "Logo". Circo means the soul of the mind while logo means study. When psychology is metioned, the first thing that comes to the minds of so many people is mad people but psychology goes beyond helping mad people. Psychology is the systematic study of behavior and mental process. The approaches to understanding psychology are:
1.THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH.
Researchers who use the biological approach are also called psychobiologist and they use a number of different research method including computerized photos of the brains. Psychologist have shown that genetic factors influence a wide range of human behaviours. The genes use a chemical alphabet to write instructions for the development of the brains and body and manufacture of chemicals that affects everything we do such as health, learning, emotions, and personality trait. For example researchers find that austistic patient or children share a genetic in regulating a chemical (Serotonin) that has an individual role in Brain function. This finding is an example of using biological approach to find answers questions by looking for defect in genes.
2.THE COGNITIVE APPROACH.
This approach focuses on how we process, store and use information and how how this information influences what we attend to, perceive, learn remember, achieve and feel. For example, when listening to conversation, 95% of right-handers use primarily the left side of their brains and very little of the right side to process verbal information. In Contrast, researchers find that autistic individual use primarily the right side of having difficulties in processing verbal information may have problems acquiring cognitive language and communication skills.
3.THE BEHAVIORAL APPROACH.
The behavioral approach analyses how organisms learn new behaviours or modifies existing ones depending on whether events in their environment rewards or punishes these behaviours.
4.PSYCHO-ANALYTIC APPROACH.
This is the basis on the believe of childhood experience greatly influence the development of later personality trait and psychological problems and also stresses the interest of unconscious fears, desires, and motivation of the taught and behaviours. The father of this approach is called "Feud Sigmus".
5.THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH.
This approach emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing his or her future. They also have a large capacity for achieving personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth and enormous potential for self fulfilment.
6.THE CROSS-CULTURAL APPROACH.
This approach believes that behaviours exhibited by individual are dependent on their cultural background.