Perspectives in Psychology

Psychology is a field with many different approaches. Psychology seeks to answer difficult questions, such as:

1. What best explains why people develop unique personalities?
   
2. How do you learn to interact with the environment and with other people?
   
3. What causes psychological disorders, and how can they best be treated?
   

As you can see, these are very complex questions. Each perspective in psychology contains a different set of assumptions about life experiences, and each can help you to better understand yourself and others. While you will explore many psychological perspectives later in the course, this topic will provide a foundation.

Essential Questions

• What are some of the key perspectives of psychology?
  
• What are the advantages and limitations of each perspective?
  
• How can different psychological perspectives be applied to improve people's lives?