Introduction
Psychology theories had a great influence on modern society. They have been utilized to understand human behavior, as well as learn new behaviors. Moreover, these theories have been influential in helping parents, organizations, and governments, as well as psychologists, gain more information on human behavior. There are various types of theories as brought about by different schools of thought. These include behavioral, cognitive, developmental, humanistic personality as well as social psychology theories. These theories came about at different times in human history. The first of which being behavioral theory. This paper aims at exploring these theories, as well as establish their influence on the future of psychology (Aziz-Zadeh, Liew & Dandekar, 2012, p. 21).
Theories of Psychology
Different theories of psychology have been unveiled from the twentieth century. These include behavioral, cognitive, developmental, humanistic personality as well as social psychology theories. Behavioral psychology is derived from a school of thought which believes that all behaviors are acquired by conditioning. In this regard, theorists such as Skinner, among others, believed that irrespective of background, race, or talents, an infant could be trained into any type of specialization.
On the other hand, cognitive psychology studies how people perceive, remember, learn, or think. This relates it to other disciplines in science that study neuroscience, linguistics as well as psychology. Theorists such as Gustav Fencer, among others, advocated for cognitive theory. The other is the developmental theory, which was brought about by Sigmund Freud (Cherrry, 2012, p. 1).
Freud Developmental Theory
Freud believed that personality develops through stages that must be passed to avoid fixation. The theory postulates that psychosexual energies drive human behavior. Alternatively, there is Abraham Maslow’s humanistic theory which stresses self-actualization and growth.
Moreover, it is grounded on the fact that people are inherently good and deviation from this trend leads to social /mental problems. Besides, there is a personality theory, which studies behaviors, feelings, and patterns of thinking in individuals. Furthermore, it considers patterns that are inborn and consistent throughout one’s life. Lastly, there is Gordon Allport’s social psychology, which utilizes scientific methods to understand as well as explain people’s behaviors, thoughts and feelings when influenced by other individuals (Cherrry, 2012, p. 1).
Examples
The behavioral theory was widely used in the early 20th century. However, it was later criticized for being one-dimensional. Nevertheless, it is important to note that behaviorism theory is still used by parents, teachers, and animal trainers, among others to discourage new behaviors and teach new ones. These theories have therefore been influential in the modern world. The United States government has employed studies on social psychology theory to help understand and influence the citizens.
Psychosexual theory, on the other hand, has been met with huge controversy due to the energies Sigmund believed to drive behavior. Humanistic theory is inclined to the morals of humanity, as it believes that people are innately good. In essence, these theories are important in human development (Aziz-Zadeh, Liew & Dandekar, 2012, p. 21).
Interesting Theories
Behavioral Theory
From the theories above, it is important to note that a number of them have contributed greatly to human development. Theories of great interest include behavioral, humanistic, personality, and social psychology theories. For instance, the behavioral theory has been significant in learning environments. Moreover, it has extended to homes, schools, workplaces, and psychology. This is mainly because it promotes learning of new behaviors as well as discourage unwanted ones. Similarly, humanistic theory believes in humanity and one’s natural ability to be good. This is important as it strengthens human behavior and confidence in their ability to be responsible. No wonder, acts of atrocities are always referred to as being inhuman (Cherrry, 2012, p. 1).
Theories of Personality
Personality theories are also very important as they help psychologists understand the personality of individuals. This is very instrumental in enabling understanding and bonding. Besides, personality theories are important in identifying one’s personality. This is very instrumental in establishing the kind of profession in which an individual can best apply his/her skills. Social psychology theory is among the most dynamic theories. This is mainly because it helps foster group dynamics to improve productivity, cohesion, and unity, among others. For instance, the United States uses this theory to study their population as well as influence support. It helps one understand his/her surrounding (Cherrry, 2012, p. 1).
Disinteresting Theories
Cognitive Theory
Even though these theories are useful, some of them have been criticized for various reasons. For instance, developmental and cognitive theories have brought about sharp divisions, as well as controversies on their relevance. For instance, cognitive psychology, which studies how people perceive, remember, learn, or think, is related to other scientific disciplines such as neuroscience, linguistics, as well as psychology. This makes the human brain a core area of study, which makes studying human behavior more complex and restricted to scientists and other professionals. In that respect, it does not appeal to society and building of unity within a community (Cash, 2012, p. 1).
Developmental Theory
Similarly, the other theory is Sigmund Freud’s developmental theory, which postulates that personality develops through stages that must be passed to avoid fixation. The theory continues that psychosexual energies drive human behavior. This theory is quite controversial as it pegs people’s behavior on drives and emotions. As much as this may be true, it is not reflective of all factors that influence behavior such as environment, individual characteristics, among others. Moreover, it has been proven that some people do not complete these theories but live healthy lives. In this regard, the theory may be true to some extent; however, this does not reflect the behaviors of all humans. For instance, communities with sophisticated cultural backgrounds would not follow it to gain maturity (Aziz-Zadeh, Liew & Dandekar, 2012, p. 21).
Explanation
These theories are all significant. However, they apply to various areas of development. This ensures that they are important to a given group of people at different levels. For instance, even though behavioral theories are considered to be obsolete, they are still used in learning institutions to acquire wanted behaviors. Moreover, they are instrumental in homes as well as in animal training. This makes them more influential to society than cognitive, which is a reserve for professionals. This can also be said about humanistic, personal, and social psychology, which are aimed at fostering unity in groups of people and communities. This cannot be said about developmental theory, which is quite controversial in its application (Cash, 2012, p. 1).
Influence on the Future of Psychology
These theories have great importance to the future of psychology. For instance, in the early 20th century, psychological studies began with behavioral theory. However, this had been changed as further advancements were made to include cognitive, developmental, humanistic personality, as well as social psychology theories. This shows that studies are in progress and more advancement are yet to be unveiled, especially considering those theories focused on cognitive, developmental, personality, and social psychology theories.
This is mainly because the theories help explain human behavior, development, and thoughts. This is very important for psychology as it enables better interaction and capacity development for individuals. Moreover, these theories provide a basis for coming with research in psychology. Also, they are dynamic and this will be helpful for discoveries (Aziz-Zadeh, Liew & Dandekar, 2012, p. 21).
New Methods That Can Be Applied in Psychology
Several methods have been brought about in the research of psychology. These include experimental research, among others. Experimental research is important in psychology as it enables one to apply leaned theories in practice before giving results. For instance, social psychology provides an important subject for experimental research in which the behavior of a given population can be studied during a given period. This can then be used to provide a conclusive analysis of their behavior. In this research, the hypothesis can be formulated and tested based on results from the given research. Moreover, group dynamics can also be monitored and researched for future application and improvement (Reiss, 2010, p. 1).
Effect on Worldview
Information in this presentation is very instrumental in identifying the best techniques for attaining good behavior from children and adults. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to study the impacts of these theories on behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Also, this presentation helps one to understand his/her environment, society, and the world at large. It also helps one to identify with some theories, which may be helpful in his /her line of thought. For instance, humanistic theory helps one to understand that atrocities are not human nature and are outside human nature as a result of problems. This helps one to associate freely with everyone, as well as learn his or her culture to reinforce unity (Cash, 2012, p. 1).
Conclusion
The theories mentioned above are important to society as they provide ways of understanding one another. Moreover, they help individuals motivate one another, as well as choose good career paths that are satisfying. To come up with a good presentation, one needs to examine the theories critically. Moreover, he/she needs to assess his/her position in all arguments to give a standpoint. Besides, creativity is very important in providing useful presentations as it draws more attention to the audience. Presentations should also be easy to understand, as some audiences may not have the necessary skills to interpret some terms and inclusions (Reiss, 2010, p. 1).
Reference List
Aziz-Zadeh, L. Liew, S. L., & Dandekar, F. (2012). Exploring the Neural Correlates of Visual Creativity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Web.
Cash, A. (2012). Analyzing Theories of Psychology. Web.
Cherrry, K. (2012). Psychology Theories. Web.
Reiss, S. (2010). Who We Are: New Ways of Thinking About People. Web.