ipl-logo

Cognitive Psychology Vs Evolutionary Psychology

869 Words4 Pages

Psychology is defined by Google as, “the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context.” To me, psychology is not as simple as that. After my many readings and eye opening self-discussions, I have come to realize psychology is a lot like a tree. In its beginnings, it’s definition was short and sweet, but as it grew and people discovered more about the mind it began to branch out into many different sub-sciences. Giving psychology a definition is as easy as defining poetry. On the outside and with very little thought it may seem simple to do. Although once one has written it many begin to see many different and complex sides to poetry that cannot be included in a simple statement. …show more content…

Evolutionary psychologists believe that almost all of our behavior can be explained by internal instincts. The major difference between cognitive psychology and evolutionary psychology is that evolutionary believes that these instincts are adaptations. That they are part of natural selection. Almost like the mind is a finely tuned computer that has been upgraded over time. They believe that things like how most men are attracted to the “hourglass figure”, which was originally seen as a healthy mate, or how a lot of people are scared of snakes was an instinct created out of survival. Just as many scientists study a mutation of an animal such as beginning of what looks like legs, evolutionary psychologists study the hard drive of a person to see what instincts became survival traits and made life as many know it today. Many evolutionary psychologists believe that the brain is modularly structured, which is again a result of Natural …show more content…

They believe that the brain has a conscious and unconscious functioning system at all times. They believe that people and animals are born with instincts. The half of the brain that is unconscious holds things like desires and instincts, or feelings, things that are difficult to change or things that come naturally. They study the growth and development of the psychosexual aspect of the brain. Things like desire and pleasure points throughout growth. While this is important to study to help further explain the brain’s functions I see little here to be used in my definition of

Show More
Related
395 Words | 2 Pages

Audrey Nunez 21 July 2015 Psychology 2301 Dr. Alvarado Chapter 1 1. What is psychology? Psychology is not only the study of behavior and of the mind. It is also the scientific study of the brain and of why we do certain things. 2.

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

1) Define psychology and trace its historical development. Psychology is the scientific research of the study of the human and animal behavior and mentalities. So in general the study is about how, what and why the human brain functions the way they do. As well as why mental illnesses exist.

Read More
201 Words | 1 Pages

What exactly is psychology? While it may seem like a very basic question, it is one of the most common questions asked by students new to the study of psychology. During your first lecture of an introductory psychology class, your instructor might spend some time going around the room asking students to explain what they think psychology involves. During my first psychology class, one girl made a dramatic point of waving her fingers over another student's head and pretending to read his thoughts. Unfortunately, such misconceptions about psychology abound and part of the confusion stems from stereotyped portrayals of psychologists in popular media as well as the diverse careers paths of those holding psychology degrees.

Read More
535 Words | 3 Pages

According to Dictionary.com (2017), the definition of psychology is: “The scientific study of mental processes and behaviour. The behavioural and cognitive characteristics of a specific individual, group, activity, or circumstance.” Psychology studies human mental functioning and behaviour by the use of systematic, scientific study known as the scientific method. The scientific method is a standardised way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions and interpreting results. Courses.lumenlearning.com (2017) stated that the scientific method is based on the following process: 1.Ask a question.

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

Biological psychology deals with studying the mechanisms of the brain and nervous system from the standpoint of how they evolved and effect our behaviors. Naturalist believe that over time as we evolved we adapted to our current environment. An example of a Naturalist’s way of thinking would include the idea that a certain aspect of a species evolved over millions of years because it adapted itself for the survival of the species. A Naturalist’s view leaves no room for the possibility that God devised the whole universe and made everything as He saw fit.

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

There is only one approach in psychology that studies thoughts, feelings and behaviour. The biological approach believes that the way we are is due to our genetics and physiology. They believe that the activity going on our nervous system’s is what affects the way we think, feel and behave (Sammons, 2009). The physiology in the biological approach looks into how the brain functions. The brain is a very complicated machine as such, the brain is what controls our every move, every feeling and every action.

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

Psy20150 Essay. Name: Clodagh Finnerty Student Number: 13362386 ‘It has been argued that two events led to the development of the modern discipline of Psychology: the foundation of Wilhelm Wundt’s Institute of Experimental Psychology, and the introduction of a new theory of evolution, described in Darwin’s Origin of Species. Critically assess the impact of these events on Psychology and society.’

Read More
1231 Words | 5 Pages

Each perspective with their good and bad sides, there are many perspective ranging from: Behavioural Approach; Biological Approach; Clinical Approach; Cognitive Approach; developmental approach; evolutionary Approach, Forensic; et al. BEHAVIOUR APPROACH PERSEPCTIVE Behaviourism is different from the environment because people are viewed as being controlled by their environment and that humans are a products of what they learn from the environment (Saul McLeod 2007). It is a perspective that focuses on learned behaviour more of a man is a product of his environment that the genes has no influence on the way a human behaves, it focused solely on observable behaviours. For a long time in the 50s, this psychological thought was dominating until the early twentieth

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

When it comes to the science of psychology psychologist are looking deeper into what affects ones behavior and mental health. Looking at the environment, health issues, cognitive, learning, and etc… How does everything affect the overall mental health of a person? 2. Distinguish between a theory, a hypothesis, and an operational definition.

Read More
1407 Words | 6 Pages

Rachel Danzig AP Psychology Dr. Eisen August 20, 2015 I. Psychology’s History A. Psychology’s Roots 1. Prescientific Psychology a. Socrates and his student Plato stated that the human mind is separate from the body and our knowledge is born within us b. Aristotle, Plato’s student, disagreed, concluding that knowledge can not be preexisting and we grow it from our experiences within our memories c. In the 1600s Rene Descartes believed that the mind can survive the body’s death and our brain holds animal spirits in its fluid and flow from the brain through nerves enabling reflexes d. In 1620 Francis Bacon established that humans functioned around order and patterns e. Adding to Bacon’s ideas was John

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

Mather’s paper encompasses four distinct arguments contradicting Calheart’s discussion. Contrary to Calheart who believes brain activity does not indicate cognitive operation performance, the first argument offers insight about location of brain activity and correlation with cognitive processes taking place. Mather et al. argues that the fusiform face area of the brain responds selectively to specific categories. I believe Calheart would indicate that just because brain activity takes place in the fusiform face area of the brain, it by no means indicates that no other processes within the brain are taking place—it is not an all or non

Read More
1382 Words | 6 Pages

The Traditional Western approach to modern psychology considers psychology as a science. The knowledge obtained needs to be free of values or predispositions as this could impact the theory or research completely. Our personal feelings need to be set aside to ensure accurate results. Psychology needs

Read More
1338 Words | 6 Pages

Both of them fall into a category of biological approaches and attempt to explain how biology, in terms of physiology or evolution, is linked to personality. In spite of them being indeed good and valuable explanations of some behaviours, they also have their limitations. Physiological properties can easily be influenced by internal and external factors and confound the results. Next, most research test for correlations so the implication is that no causality can be defined. For evolutionary approach, a weakness is that a lot of research involves bias and hypothetical situations, and consequently, results might not be adequate to real-life situations.

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

Being a health and fitness enthusiast I have always been interested in learning about how the mind works physically and emotionally, and in what ways the body reacts to various mental states is very intriguing. That is why I want to explore the mind and the essence of the human condition. We all question or try to make sense of our life; I believe that through its many perspectives, psychology has those answers. Psychology is accessible because not only is it a scientific study of thought and behaviour, it is also an art that can be applied by the individual to everyday life. I also believe we are all psychologists attempting to understand other people and ourselves.

Read More
1306 Words | 6 Pages

Psychology definition: Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior. (Nordqvist, 1) III. Origin and beginning of psychology. a.) Wilhelm Wundt b.) 1879 c.)

Read More

More about Cognitive Psychology Vs Evolutionary Psychology

Related Topics

Open Document