What is Psychology?

What is Psychology?

One thing that I love about psychology is that there are lots of approaches to look at an issue.  I'm not really a black and white type of gal.  I definitely feel comfortable in the gray area.  I don't like rules.  I like guidelines, so if a guideline doesn't seem to "fit" I can "bend" it.  I don't like making decisions about WHAT specifically caused someone to do something.  In psychology there aren't a lot of absolutes... It addresses problems by looking at ALL sides of an issue and what factors MAY HAVE contributed to those issues.  

I caught this story a few months ago: it was a mother who was driving herself, and her three kids into the ocean.  (And it was caught on tape!).  I was thinking to myself "what in the #$%^&* heck would make someone do that?"  So, let's say we were trying to figure that question out using approaches to psychology.  It might look something like this:

1.  Neuroscience approach:  Maybe she had a head injury that made her make some really horrible decisions.  Perhaps she had a stroke and lost control of the car and it veered off the road and towards the ocean.  Perhaps her hormones were off sorts and caused her to be in a not-quite-right frame of mind (post-partum depression) or maybe she was on drugs and that clouded her judgment.

2.  Behavioral approach:  Perhaps there was some sort of 'reward' motivation for her behavior.  Maybe she wanted to get caught and get some help she obviously needed.  Maybe she wanted to be infamous.  Maybe she was mad at her partner and wanted to show them just how mad she really was.  

3.  Psychodynamic approach:  Perhaps she didn't feel loved by her parents or subconsciously didn't feel deserving of being a mother.

4.  Humanistic approach:  Perhaps she felt overwhelmed and not supported by her community.  Maybe she could be a good mother, if given some support.  

5.  Cognitive approach:  Maybe she got some bad news (fired from her job, not able to pay the bills) and simply struggled to put that into perspective, so it might just be easier to take herself, and her children out.  Obviously, there was a breakdown in her decision-making abilities.  

6.  Evolutionary approach:  Okay, bare with me here...  This may boil down to survival of the fittest.  If she's not capable of making good decisions, then she may just not be 'fit' enough to survive.  She wasn't equipped to adapt to her environment.

7. The Sociocultural approach:  Our society is tough!  Are there enough resources out there to help people who are struggling mentally, emotionally, and financially?  It isn't really acceptable to say "Hey!  I'm struggling and thinking about hurting myself and my children".  Was something wrong with her, or did we fail as a community because we couldn't stop something like this happening?  

While I don't know why this woman would drive her kids into the ocean, I suspect several factors mentioned above could be contributors.  My point is, that each of these approaches bring a new dynamic to the table to consider.  Each approach has pros and cons.  

With psychology we don't have to be 'all in' on a particular theory.  We can look at situations from lots of different view points to consider many different factors. It's important to remember that these perspectives aren't in competition with each other, but often work best when integrated together.