Diverse Nature of Psychology

Diverse Nature of Psychology

Brenda Willis

PSY 490

January 11, 2016

Corey Vigdor

Diverse Nature of Psychology

One of the most interesting topics of study in this time and age is that of psychology, due to the diversity there is to offer. There are at least five different topics of psychology in which to study and under those topics there are numerous subtopics in which to choose from and learn. There are also the influencing factors of diversity, as well as how the sub-disciplines of motivation and cognition interact with other disciplines of psychology. These other disciplines can allow for others to learn how to grow with the contemporary changes of society and learn newer techniques in theoretical perspectives of different psychological contributions.

Major Concepts

There are five major concepts to consider in psychology and these include biological, behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic/psychoanalytical, and social/sociocultural. The biological concept is a comparative method where an individual inherits physiological functions through genetics to explain reasons for behavior (McLeod, 2007). Behavioral concepts look at the associations of nature versus nurture in an individual’s actions and reactions to situations. The cognitive concepts decipher how an individual’s mental processes work in memory, learning, language, reasoning, decision making, and critical thinking to influence behavior (McLeod, 2007). Psychodynamic concepts, also known as psychoanalytical concepts, deal with behaviors of the subconscious and unconscious thought processes (McLeod, 2007). The social or sociocultural concepts deal with how culture, peers, and social situations influence an individual’s personality and behavior. Each of these concepts has an influence on the diversity of psychology.

Influence of Diversity

Diversity in psychology comes from a variety of influencing factors. Such factors include culture, race, religion, gender, age, and environment...