Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Psychologists use a range of principles and theories, all of which view the person and the study of the person in very different ways. Theoretical Approaches in Psychology introduces and outlines the six main approaches and considers how each has helped psychologists understand human behaviour, thought and feeling.

The Routledge Modular Psychology series is a completely new approach to introductory level psychology, tailor-made for the new modular style of teaching. Each book covers a topic in more detail than any large textbook can, allowing teacher and student to select material exactly to suit any particular course or project.

Especially written for those students new to higher-level study, whether at school, college or university, the books include the following designed features to help with technique:

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of illustrations (p. xiii)
• Acknowledgements (p. xv)
• 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• Introduction: one psychology or many? (p. 1)
• Case examples and explanations (p. 2)
• Case example 1 (p. 3)
• Case example 2 (p. 4)
• Case example 3 (p. 5)
• The major features of each psychological approach (p. 7)
• Scientific and less scientific approaches (p. 8)
• Summary (p. 9)
• 2 Behavioural psychology (p. 11)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 11)
• Classical conditioning and early behavioural theory (p. 13)
• Evaluation of early behavioural theory (p. 16)
• Operant conditioning and later behavioural theory (p. 17)
• Operant conditioning (p. 17)
• Uncontrollable reinforcers (p. 19)
• Evaluation of radical behaviourism (p. 20)
• Social learning theory (p. 21)
• Evaluation of social learning theory (p. 23)
• Key application: behaviour change (p. 24)
• Aversion therapy (p. 24)
• Child-behaviour management (p. 25)
• Contemporary issue: the media violence debate (p. 26)
• Contributions and limitations of behavioural psychology (p. 28)
• Summary (p. 30)
• 3 Psychodynamic psychology (p. 31)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 31)
• Freud's theories (p. 33)
• The unconscious mind and personality (p. 34)
• The ego-defences (p. 36)
• Psychosexual development (p. 39)
• Dream theory (p. 43)
• Discussion of Freud's work (p. 45)
• Winnicott's theories (p. 48)
• The unconscious mind (p. 48)
• The first relationship (p. 48)
• Evaluation of Winnicott's theories (p. 49)
• Key application: mental health (p. 50)
• Early experience and later mental disorder (p. 50)
• Psychodynamic approaches to therapy (p. 51)
• Discussion of the psychodynamic approach to mental health (p. 51)
• Contemporary issue: why do we love monsters? (p. 53)
• Discussion (p. 54)
• Contributions and limitations of the psychodynamic approach (p. 55)
• Summary (p. 57)
• 4 Humanistic psychology (p. 59)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 59)
• Rogers' theories (p. 61)
• The actualising tendency (p. 62)
• Development of the self-concept (p. 62)
• The fully functioning person (p. 64)
• Discussion of Rogers' theory (p. 65)
• Maslow's theories (p. 66)
• The hierarchy of needs (p. 66)
• The self-actualised person (p. 67)
• Evaluation of Maslow's theories (p. 68)
• Key application: person-centred counselling (p. 69)
• Principles and techniques of person-centred counselling (p. 69)
• Discussion of person-centred counselling (p. 71)
• Contemporary issue: is there a place for spirituality in psychology? (p. 71)
• Discussion of spirituality in psychology (p. 72)
• Contributions and limitations of the humanistic approach (p. 73)
• Summary (p. 74)
• 5 Cognitive psychology (p. 77)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 77)
• The computer analogy (p. 79)
• Strands of cognitive psychology (p. 80)
• Memory (p. 80)
• Long- and short-term memory (p. 81)
• Working memory (p. 82)
• Evaluation of working memory (p. 84)
• Episodic and semantic memory (p. 84)
• Evaluation of the episodic/semantic distinction (p. 85)
• Forgetting (p. 86)
• Cue-dependency (p. 86)
• Repression (p. 89)
• Key application: eyewitness testimony (p. 90)
• Contemporary issue: the reliability of children's memories (p. 93)
• Applying the cognitive approach to the rest of psychology (p. 95)
• Contributions and limitations of the cognitive approach (p. 96)
• Summary (p. 97)
• 6 Cognitive-developmental psychology (p. 99)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 99)
• Piaget's theory of cognitive development (p. 100)
• How children learn (p. 101)
• How children think (p. 102)
• Piaget's stage theory (p. 105)
• Later research on Piaget's ideas (p. 107)
• Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development (p. 109)
• The social and cultural basis of learning (p. 109)
• The zone of proximal development (p. 110)
• The role of language (p. 110)
• Discussion of Vygotsky (p. 111)
• Key application: applying psychology to teaching (p. 111)
• Historical background (p. 111)
• Implications of Piagetian theory for teaching style (p. 112)
• Implications of Vygotsky's theory for teaching style (p. 113)
• Contemporary issue: computer-aided learning (p. 116)
• Contributions and limitations of the cognitive-developmental approach (p. 118)
• Summary (p. 119)
• 7 Social psychology (p. 121)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 121)
• Obedience and agency (p. 123)
• Agency theory (p. 125)
• Evaluation of agency theory (p. 126)
• Prejudice and social identity (p. 127)
• How prejudiced are we? (p. 128)
• Social identity theory (p. 130)
• Evaluation of social identity theory (p. 131)
• Social constructionism (p. 132)
• A deliberately political and unscientific psychology? (p. 132)
• The importance of culture and language (p. 133)
• Discourse and discourse analysis (p. 133)
• Discourse and reality (p. 135)
• Evaluation of social constructionism (p. 136)
• Key application: tackling racism (p. 137)
• Common in-group identity model (p. 137)
• Racist discourse (p. 138)
• Contemporary issue: lesbian and gay psychology (p. 140)
• Contributions and limitations of social approaches (p. 142)
• Summary (p. 143)
• 8 Biological psychology 1: genetic influences on behaviour (p. 145)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 145)
• Behavioural genetics: the genetics of individual differences (p. 147)
• The origins of intelligence (p. 147)
• Twin studies (p. 148)
• Gene-environment interaction (p. 149)
• Molecular genetics and cognitive abilities (p. 151)
• Discussion of behavioural genetics (p. 154)
• Evolutionary psychology: the genetics of human similarity (p. 155)
• Innate behaviour and abilities in children (p. 156)
• Mate selection (p. 157)
• Discussion of evolutionary psychology (p. 158)
• Contemporary issue: does behavioural genetics pose a threat to other psychological approaches? (p. 159)
• Contributions and limitations of genetically based approaches (p. 160)
• Summary (p. 161)
• 9 Biological psychology 2: neurophysiology (p. 163)
• Key assumptions of the approach (p. 163)
• The brain (p. 164)
• Discussion of localisation of brain function (p. 167)
• Techniques for measuring brain function (p. 167)
• Imaging techniques (p. 167)
• EEG and MEG (p. 169)
• Lesioning studies (p. 171)
• Bodily rhythms and sleep (p. 171)
• The sleep cycle (p. 175)
• Theories of sleep (p. 175)
• Restoration theories (p. 175)
• Evolutionary theory (p. 177)
• Dreams (p. 178)
• Activation-synthesis theory of dreaming (p. 180)
• Key application: understanding the effects of shiftwork and jet lag (p. 182)
• Shiftwork (p. 182)
• Jet lag (p. 183)
• Contemporary issue: are gender differences due to biological factors? (p. 184)
• Contributions and limitations of biological approaches (p. 186)
• Summary (p. 187)
• 10 Study aids (p. 189)
• Improving your essay writing skills (p. 189)
• Practice essay (p. 190)
• Key research summary (p. 193)
• Glossary (p. 197)
• References (p. 205)
• Index (p. 219)

Author notes provided by Syndetics