What Characterizes Contemporary Psychology?

Characteristics of Contemporary Psychology

Contemporary Psychology, or 21st-century psychology, can be described in 3 ways:

1. Understanding psychological phenomena at both psychological and biological levels

   Before, psychologists are somewhat forced to adopt and maintain their stance according to the theory they support. This attitude severely limited the understanding and even the application of any psychological research. Furthermore, it incorrectly assumes the simplicity of the human psyche. One such thing is Reductionism, or the tendency to reduce psychological notions to biological ones. Such practice is vain because psychological concepts, principles, and research direct biological research; and, biolog acts in concert with psychological events, like past experiences and current circumstances. For example, the following research topics in psychology have been studied at both the psychological and biological levels.

   • Word and Spatial Discrimination (word and shape identification)
     Psychological: principles of discrimination
     Biological: hemispheric specialization, using the left hemisphere of the brain to process words and the right hemisphere to process shapes
   • Learning a Motor Skill (e.g., biking)
     Psychological: slow to learn, but hard to undo
     Biological: brain processes that work slowly but permanently alter connections between neurons
   • Obesity
     Psychological: learning bad eating habits, reactions toward cultural pressure for thinness
     Biological: genetic predisposition to gain weight
   • Working or Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory
     Psychological: conceptual differentiation
     Biological: different brain regions and neuronal connections
2. The Use of a Psychological Perspective

   A psychological perspective is an approach or way of looking at topics within psychology. It is how psychologists attempt to explain the "hows" and "whys" of behaviors and mental processes. While contemporary psychologists are encouraged to adopt a certain perspective when conducting research, they are not, in any way, limited to just one perspective; and, they do not, in any manner, imply that a psychological phenomenon can only be understood using a single perspective. Research on a certain psychological phenomenon using different perspectives enriches, and does not dilute, the understanding of it. Each perspective is discussed in length below.

3. Interdisciplinary Approach to Research

   Contemporary psychologists are also encouraged to stretch their reach beyond the field, and collaborate, or integrate research data with the other sciences, be it physical or social. Below is a discussion on the major subfields of psychology and how these subfields morphed to integrate the other sciences.

Contemporary Psychological Perspectives

As previously mentioned, 21st-century psychology is characterized with the use of a psychological perspective. Below are the 5 perspectives currently being adopted in psychology. They are the biological, behavioral, cognitive, psychoanalytic, and subjectivist perspectives.

1. Biological Perspective

   Psychologists who adopt the biological perspective aims to specify the neurobiological processes that underlie behavior and mental processes. With this perspective, psychologists have found out that:

   • The brain is made of 10 billion nerve cells, and an almost infinite number of interconnections between these cells.
   • Depression is characterized by abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain.
   • Prosopagnosia occurs because of hemispheric specialization, that is, facial recognition is mainly located in the right brain hemisphere.
   • Childhood amnesia may be due to an immature hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in consolidating memories, and which fully develops between 1 to 2 years old.
2. Behavioral Perspective

   Psychologists who adopt the behavioral perspective focuses on observable stimuli and responses. The style of analysis is upon conditioning and reinforcement. For example, they analyze our social lives by understanding the dynamics of social stimuli (the people we interact with), and the social responses of the person being studied and the people he/she interacts with (whether such responses are rewarding, punishing, or neutral). Because of this, psychologists who adopt the behavioral perspective are often criticized of ignoring mental processes. Nevertheless, research using this perspective found that:

   • Obesity can be prevented, and weight can be reduced, by avoiding certain stimuli (e.g., watching TV) that can lead to a specific response, such as overeating.
   • Children become more aggressive when the object of aggression, or another child, withdraws from a fight, which may be rewarding, than when the child counters, which is punishing.
3. Cognitive Perspective

   The cognitive perspective originated in the 19th century from Wilhelm Wundt's introspection, and then developed in the early 20th century in response to the narrowness of John B. Watson's behaviorism. Psychologists who adopt the cognitive perspective aim to understand the nature of mental processes. Some examples of mental processes are perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and problem-solving. They attempt to interpret specific behaviors in terms of the underlying mental processes. For example, research using this perspective found that childhood amnesia could be the result of an immature linguistic ability, which develops at age 3. Because language is a tool we use to organize and subsequently store memory, children below 3 years old may not have the resource to store memory of events in the long term.

4. Psychoanalytic Perspective

   The psychoanalytic perspective assumes that behavior comes from the unconscious. It originated from Physiology with its idea on instinct, and Gestalt psychology with its concept of cognition. It was developed by Sigmund Freud.

   Psychologists who adopt the psychoanalytic perspective aim to uncover the dynamics of the unconscious, and how they manifest as behaviors. According to this perspective, the basic instincts of both humans and animals are sex and aggression, and when these impulses are forbidden, they manifest negatively as emotional problems or mental illnesses, and positively, like in sports, arts, and literature.

5. Subjectivist Perspective

   Psychologists who adopt the subjectivist perspective attempt to understand psychological phenomena in the field of social and personality psychology by analyzing their structure: the objective world, one's perception of it, and one's behavioral response in accordance with his/her perception of the objective world. The reason for the term "subjectivist" is its emphasis on the subjectivity of one's perception and choice of behavioral response , which are independent from the objective reality. Research using this perspective found that:

   • People tend to consider their perception as reality, a phenomenon known as naïve realism. For example, poor children tend to overestimate the size of valuable coins.
   • People tend to judge other people's personality traits according to their behavior only, ignoring situational factors possibly at play, like when a person is often judged as charitable or generous when he/she was only pressured to give because of the presence of acquaintances. This phenomenon is called the Fundamental Attribution Error, and may be borne out of Western emphasis on personal agency, and the subsequent failure to recognize the influence of immediate or long-term situational factors.
   • Habitual consumption of violent media instills and strengthens aggressive ideas (as schemas and scripts) that can be utilized in subsequent interpersonal encounters.

Major Subfields in Psychology

Within the field of psychology, psychologists can focus on a specific subfield to specialize. Among them are:

• Biological Psychology

  Psychologists who specialize in biological psychology are called biological or physiological psychologists. Their research focus on the relationship between biological processes and behavior.

• Experimental Psychology

  Psychologists who specialize in experimental psychology are called experimental psychologists. Their research mainly involves conducting experiments of psychological phenomena derived from the behavioral and cognitive perspectives.

• Developmental Psychology

  Psychologists who specialize in developmental psychology are called developmental psychologists. Their research focus on human development, from birth, to old age, and death. They may focus on a particular ability, like language development, or a specific period of life, like infancy.

• Social and Personality Psychology

  The main interest in social and personality psychology is to uncover individual differences in people. Psychologists who specialize in social psychology are called social psychologists. Their research focus on social relationships, group behavior, the perception and interpretation of the social world, and the influence of real or imagined presence of others to one's beliefs, emotions, and behaviors. Psychologists who specialize in personality psychology are called personality psychologists. Their research focus on personality traits.

• Clinical and Counseling Psychology

  The main interest in clinical and counseling psychology is to understand and treat emotional and behavioral problems. Psychologists who specialize in counseling psychology are called counseling psychologists or counselors. They deal with the emotional and behavioral problems of high school and university students. Psychologists who specialize in clinical psychology are called clinical psychologists. They apply psychological principles to diagnose and treat mental illness, and marital and family conflict.

• School and Educational Psychology

  Psychologists who specialize in school and educational psychology undergo training involving a combination of courses in child development, education, and clinical psychology. School psychologists evaluate learning progress and emotional problems in children. Educational psychologists conduct research on teaching methods, aand develop programs in training teachers.

• Organizational and Engineering Psychology

  The goal of organizational and engineering psychology is to provide assistance for business operations. Psychologists who specialize in organizational psychology are called industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists. They work in the Human Resources department of an organization, conducting employee selection, and facilitating teamwork and collaboration. Psychologists who specialize in engineering psychology are called Human Factors Engineers. Their research focus on the relationship between humans and machines. They aim to develop machineries that execute safely and efficiently.

Interdisciplinary Subfields in Psychology

As mentioned earlier, one of the features of 21st-century psychology is an interdisciplinary approach to research. Because of this, interdisciplinary subfields, the subfields that combined together, arose in the field of psychology. Some of them are listed below.

Cognitive Neuroscience developed from the collaboration of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscientists study the manifestation of mental processes in the brain.

Affective Neuroscience developed from the collaboration of affective psychology and neuroscience. Affective neuroscientists study the manifestation of emotions in the brain.

Social Cognitive Neuroscience developed from the collaboration of social psychology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. Social cognitive neuroscientists study the manifestation of social phenomena, such as stereotyping, attitudes, perception, and self-awareness, in the brain.

Evolutionary Psychology developed from the collaboration of biology, anthropology, psychiatry, and psychology. Evolutionary psychologists study the genetic origin of psychological mechanisms. For example, they have found out that our "sweet tooth" may be due to the fact that fruits, when they are most ripe, provide the highest nutritional value to our bodies. They also found that overeating may be an adaptive mechanism for future food scarcity.

Cultural Psychology developed from the collaboration of psychology and other social sciences. Cultural psychologists study the influence of cultural factors, such as traditions, language and philosophy, on behaviors and mental processes. One popular research is on Individualism and Collectivism. Individualism is often associated in western philosophy, and manifests in psychological phenomena, like the fundamental attribution error. On the other hand, collectivism is often associated with eastern philosophy, and manifests in psychological phenomena, like the overjustification effect. Not only that they permeate psychology and philosophy, they also appear to have influence on education: Asian students tend to engage in group study more than European students, and they also view positive interaction with their teachers as a possible factor for student performance.

Positive Psychology developed from the collaboration of humanistic psychology and clinical psychology. Positive psychologists focus on mental health. They analyze mental health in terms of positive experiences (e.g., happiness and optimism), positive traits (e.g., courage and wisdom), and positive institutions (e.g., schools and churches). One popular research focus on positive emotions, which lead to the development of the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. According to the theory, positive emotions emerge from the the combination of positive experiences and positive traits. Positive emotions broaden people's mindsets. For example, joy leads to an urge to play, and interest leads to an urge to explore. Positive emotions, therefore, improve our physical, intellectual, social, and psychological resources. It fuels the growth of more positive traits, like resilience.