PL1S128 Theoretical Approaches to Psychology Assignment Sample

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Introduction

Psychology is defined as the study which emphasises analysing the behaviour and mind of a person about particular knowledge or any kind of activity. For students seeking help writing assignments, psychological approaches offer essential frameworks. Compliance with psychological approaches needs to be implemented for a better understanding of the behaviours of others. By following the various psychological approaches, companies and workplaces can try to identify and analyse the behaviour of the employees and accordingly make the policies and procedures to satisfy their own needs. There are different types of approaches, and the major includes psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive perspectives relating to psychology. The psychodynamic approach emphasises the fact that the behaviour of the person is influenced by the unconscious forces within the person and how it impacts their behaviour. Against this, the behaviourist approach emphasises the fact that people tend to learn with the help of association, environment and reinforcement with the environment. At the same time, the cognitive approach is the one which emphasises the way how the person tends to think and process all the information. All three approaches are different from each other, and as a result of this, they provide a wide range of perspectives on the way how people think. The current essay will evaluate all these three approaches in detail, and ultimately, how they influence the behaviour of the employees while working will be highlighted.

Main Body

The behaviourist approach

Definition and assumption

The behaviourist approach is a type of theory which emphasises the fact that humans learn from the interactions and conditions they face within the environment. This is particularly because of the reason that the behaviour is affected by the major stimuli, which is the environment. The psychology of the person is determined by the environment in which they live and the people with whom they interact. The main assumption of this theory is that human behaviour and learning are impacted by the environment the most (Koutroubas and Galanakis 2022). The behaviour of the person is the result of the stimulus-response association, and it guides the thinking capability of the person greatly. Also, this theory assumes that the behaviour of the persons can be assumed according to the conditions which they are facing within the environment.

Key theories

The most common theory under the behaviourist approach is classical conditioning, which emphasises learning through association. This theory was proposed by Ivan Pavlov, who experimented with dogs by ringing the bell every time they were fed (Behaviorism in Psychology, 2024). With time, the dog learned that whenever a neutral stimuli bell rings, then positive stimuli, such as food, are presented. Thus, the dog tried to associate that whenever the bell rang, food would be given to him to eat. So, Pavlov tried to link this finding with humans as well that when some stimuli are present, then automatically, their behaviour is changed according to the stimuli provided.

PL1S128 Theoretical Approaches to Psychology Assignment Sample

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In addition to this, another theory relates to operant conditioning, which is Skinner’s reinforcement theory. This theory emphasises the fact that the behaviour of the person is directed according to the consequences of the activity, which may be either punishment or reward. Within the case of operating conditioning, the behaviour of the person is either weakened or strengthened on the basis of the consequences of the working.

Application

Within the workplace, the behaviour of the employee needs to be monitored in case they are not happy and satisfied; then, they will not be able to work better. Thus, to understand the behaviour of the employees, the application of the behaviour therapies needs to be made. It is due to this reason that with the help of an effective understanding of the behaviour of employees, better working can be ensured. The application of the token economies is assistive in analysing the behaviour because it helps in understanding the behaviour of employees and accordingly tries to provide those tokens, and in exchange for this, the reinforcing reward is provided. For example, within the workplace, the use of reinforcement theory can be applied for motivating the employees well. It is due to the reason that when an effective type of motivation is provided, then it will improve the working capability well (Reis et al, 2024). For instance, for attaining a particular performance target, a bonus will be provided to the employees. Thus, as a result of this, for earning the bonus, employees will be trying hard to meet the performance targets well and will be motivated to perform much better so that good rewards can be earned. Another example of the application of this theory is compliance with training programs. This is another method which includes the fact that with the effective application of the training program, the company can motivate the employees to work better and learn new things better.

Evaluation

With the evaluation, it is clear that the strength of this approach is that it emphasises scientific methods of working. All the plans which are developed for motivating the employees are made on a scientific basis. For instance, the setting of the bonus has been done scientifically so that when the target is attained, only then does the bonus need to be given (Palmieri et al, 2022). Another benefit of using this theory is that it is measurable and assists in measuring the performance level of the employees. For example, the target is set to sell 80 units per month and above that, for every product, £10 will be given. Thus, if the employee sells 90 units for a month, then £100 will be given as a bonus. Thus, the performance is easily measurable, which helps in keeping a record of the performance as well.

On the other side, the limitation of this approach is that it does not include ethical practices, as the behaviour of every person is different. Thus, the same target can be attained by people in both ways, that is, in the correct way and by using incorrect methods as well. So here, the ultimate thing measured will be whether the end target has been attained or not. It ignores the process which is utilised for attaining the target, that is, whether it was based on ethical practices or unethical practices.

The psychodynamic approach

Definition and assumption

The psychodynamic approach is a theory or approach which states that the personality or the behaviour of a person through unconscious psychological processes. For instance, the wishes of the person or the fear of the person present in the subconscious mind of the person affects their behaviour to a great extent (Penda and Dineva, 2024). This approach states that the unconscious mind and the experiences made in childhood and previous working experiences guide the personality and behaviour of the person greatly.

Key theories

For understanding psychodynamic approaches, there are many different types of theories, and the most common is Freud. This theory has three different types of components, which are id, ego and superego. Within this, the id is the unconscious instinct that the person immediately strikes based on the need and desire (Hornung and Höge, 2021). Further, the ego is a part of the id, which is modified according to the direct influence of the outside working. At last, the superego is the moral component which represents the societal values and the moral righteousness while working.

Along with this, another concept under the psychodynamic approach is the defence mechanism, which works to protect from instinct. Within the subconscious mind, many different thoughts are going on while working (Cilliers and Henning, 2021). Thus, the defence mechanism includes many ways of dealing with this, and it includes ways like denial, repression, projection, regression, rationalisation, displacement, reaction formation and many other methods.

Application

With the evaluation of the theories relating to the psychodynamic approach, it is clear that for managing and maintaining a good workplace, the unconscious mind must be analysed. It is due to the reason that the working of the person is directed by their unconscious mind only. Hence, managers of the business must conduct free association with the employees. The compliance with free association will include the setting where the employees will be encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings in an informal session so that they can also share their unconscious feelings as well. Thus, this theory and practice will help business managers understand the mindset and thinking of the employees and make the working environment so that they are comfortable working there (Dong and Li, 2024). Moreover, in many situations, the employee might get depressed and have feelings of anxiety. Thus, in such a situation, compliance with the free association will be assistive and ultimately, the working will be improved. Along with this, there are large numbers of employees working, and there are many different unconscious factors which impact their minds and motivation to work. For instance, there is a workplace conflict with one of the employees, and after that, the working relations among them might be impacted as the unconscious mind has the feeling that the person is not supportive, and ultimately, the working relations will be hampered for longer (Sabbir and Taufique, 2022). Thus, to manage good working conditions, good motivation and leadership must be applied to practice. The reason underlying the fact is that when effective type of leadership and motivation are provided, then it will improve the unconscious mind well, and employees will be connected more with the company.

Evaluation

By evaluating the psychodynamic approach, it is clear that the major strength of this approach is that it focuses on understanding the early experience of the person. This is necessary because when the early experience is understood, then it is easier for the manager to assess the working capability of the employees, and accordingly, the environment will be created for them so that they can comfortably work there (Mayer and Oosthuizen, 2021). Along with this, another strength of this theory is that it assists in focusing on the individual needs and experiences for shaping their working environment. This is helpful for the reason that when the effective type of specific needs of the employees will be assessed, then it will be more helpful in effectively managing the work better, and ultimately, the efficiency will be improved.

On the other side, the limitation highlighted that by application of this theory, there is a lack of scientific support as this theory analyses the unconscious mind and the feelings of the person. Hence, as a result of this, the decisions are made considering the feelings of the employees and not the scientific elements (Baker, Baker and Burrell, 2021). Along with this, another limitation of using this theory is that there is overemphasis made on childhood and past experiences, which is not required in the current scenario. This is necessary for the reason that it is not necessary that the past things that happened will occur again, but the person in their unconscious mind has developed such feelings, and it affects the working greatly.

The cognitive approach

Definition and assumption

Another theory for assessing the psychology of the person is the cognitive approach, which emphasises analysing and studying the mental process, which includes elements like perception, thinking, memory, attention and others. This theory states that the feelings and thoughts of the person affect their behaviour and emotions greatly. Further, the cognitive approach also states how the internal mental behaviour of the person can be controlled with the help of experiments and other types of elements (Tufano, 2024). This theory assumes that it assists in analysing and improving the mental process, which includes three different types of aspects that is memory, perception and thinking. When all these three elements are effective, then this helps manage and improve the working capability.

Key theories

There are different types of theories relating to cognitive psychology, and these need to be implemented within the workplace. The most common is the information processing theory, which is helpful in cognitive development. This theory emphasises the fact that how the human mind encodes information and stores and retrieves it for generating and developing knowledge. This theory states that the human mind aligns with the computer as it similarly analyses the information and processes it to gain some meaningful instances from the work. Further, another theory about the cognitive perspective is Loftus and Palmer's relation to reconstructive memory. This theory emphasises that memory is an active proof which helps in recreating learning from the past event and trying to learn better from the past event (Smith and Hewitt, 2024). There are many different types of learning which the person can develop from their past mistakes and experiences, and this will assist the company in managing the work better. Along with this, another theory is the working memory model by Baddeley and Hitch. According to this theory, the working memory has a very limited capacity to store and retain information. Thus, it includes a multi-component system including central executives, a visuospatial sketchpad, a phonological loop and the episodic buffer. So, this working memory helps in developing reasoning, comprehension and learning, which is assistive in managing working well.

Application

The application of the cognitive approach for understanding the psychology of the people working in the company includes complying with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). This CBT is a type of therapy which is applied in cases where the person is facing some of the anxiety, disorder or any trauma. Within the workplace, when there is too much pressure is created on the employees, then it might result in the development of a feeling of anxiety, depression or any related emotion. Thus, for this, CBT assists in making the situation better and improves the workplace working (Sabbir and Taufique, 2022). CBT requires individuals to communicate with one another effectively, and as a result of this, problem-solving skill is improved well. Eventually, it will assist and help the employees to communicate with one another and try to solve their problems well. Further, with the help of CBT, effective patterns are drawn, and according to the patterns identified, the strategies are developed, and as a result of this, the working capability is enhanced. Furthermore, with the help of the application of CBT, a much better and harmonious working environment is created, and ultimately, overall employee development takes place, and it helps in managing the working better.

Moreover, for the CBT, there are different initiatives as well that the business might try to implement to improve the working capability. This includes the undertaking of effective training programs (Junker, Pömmer and Traut-Mattausch, 2021). This is particularly because of the reason that with the good and effective training sessions organised the company can effectively try to attract and improve the working better. With compliance with good training sessions, the company is capable of managing and growing well. This is because of the reason that when effective types of training sessions are organised, then it will be assistive to the company in managing the work well and motivate the employees to work for the company for a longer. Along with this, overall compliance with CBT improves the decision-making of the company (Cognitive Approach in Psychology, 2024). The reason underlying the fact is that when the effective type of CBT is applied, then the mindset and processing of the employees’ mind is done accurately, and ultimately, the overall capability and mindset of the employee is improved, and they make better decisions.

Evaluation

Further, with the evaluation, the strength of the company while using the CBT is that this method of working is not scientific as all the decisions made are taken by using good rationale and other different bases. The cognitive approach emphasises assessing the mental capacity by way of evaluating the thinking process and the practical applications of the knowledge which is present among the employees and the company for managing the working well and trying to improve the working. On the other side, the limitation of this approach to psychology is that it overlooks emotions, which means that the emotional aspect is ignored while working (Chen et al, 2021). This is not appropriate as the person cannot always ignore the emotional values, and rather, they have to consider it as the emotional aspect might support the working of the company and better decisions could have been attained. For instance, rather than making decisions based on the facts, the emotional values of the employees are also attached then, which will assist the company in creating better decisions. These decisions will help the company in managing and improving the thinking process among the employees, and ultimately, the cognitive approach will be effectively applied, which will help the business manage its performance effectively and more efficiently.

Conclusion

The above study highlighted that while dealing with people, their psychology must be understood well. In case psychology, which is the study of the behaviour of people, is not made effective, then it will improve the overall working to a great extent. With the above study, it was clear that all three approaches, which are behaviourist, cognitive and psychodynamic approaches, are assistive in understanding the behaviour and thinking capability of people well. Within the workplace context, complying with all these three theories needs to be applied well so that a better understanding can be developed. The behaviourist theory states that the person learns according to the changes taking place in the external environment. Whereas the cognitive approach always states that the behaviour of the person is assessed based on the thinking process. On the other side, the psychodynamic approach emphasises the fact that the unconscious mind always impacts the working and behaviour of the employees working within the company. But all these three therapies complement one another and support the workplace in understanding the working better. Thus, it helps the company and workplace in managing and improving the working better as with the help of the application of these theories, a better understanding of human behaviour is analysed. So it is assistive to the company in making the policies by understanding the behaviour of the employees. Further, when effective policies are developed, then it is assistive in managing a better environment, and as a result of this, the overall capability of the company improves.

References

Books and Journals

• Baker, F. R., Baker, K. L., & Burrell, J. (2021). Introducing the skills‐based model of personal resilience: Drawing on content and process factors to build resilience in the workplace. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(2), 458-481.
• Chen, S., Jiang, W., Li, X., & Gao, H. (2021). Effect of employees’ perceived green HRM on their workplace green behaviours in oil and mining industries: Based on cognitive-affective system theory. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4056.
• Cilliers, F., & Henning, S. (2021). A systems psychodynamic description of clinical psychologists' role transition towards becoming organisational development consultants. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 47(1), 1-10.
• Dong, R. K., & Li, X. (2024). Psychological safety and psychosocial safety climate in the workplace: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review towards a research agenda. Journal of Safety Research, 91, 1-19.
• Hornung, S., & Höge, T. (2021). Analysing power and control in work organisations: Assimilating a critical socio-psychodynamic perspective. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 9(1), 355-371.
• Junker, S., Pömmer, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2021). The impact of cognitive-behavioural stress management coaching on changes in cognitive appraisal and the stress response: A field experiment. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 14(2), 184-201.
• Koutroubas, V., & Galanakis, M. (2022). Bandura’s social learning theory and its importance in the organisational psychology context. Psychology, 12(6), 315-322.
• Mayer, C. H., & Oosthuizen, R. M. (2021). Anxiety and excitement in the fourth industrial revolution: A systems-psychodynamic perspective. SA Journal of industrial psychology, 47, 1813.
• Palmieri, A., Fernandez, K. C., Cariolato, Y., Kleinbub, J. R., Salvatore, S., & Gross, J. J. (2022). Emotion regulation in psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural therapy: An integrative perspective. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 19(2), 103.
• Penda, V., & Dineva, S. (2024). Racial diversity at work: a psychodynamic perspective. Psychodynamic Practice, 1-26.
• Reis, D., Hart, A., Krautter, K., Prestele, E., Lehr, D., & Friese, M. (2024). Mindfulness and cognitive–behavioural strategies for psychological detachment: Comparing effectiveness and mechanisms of change. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 29(4), 258.
• Sabbir, M. M., & Taufique, K. M. R. (2022). Sustainable employee green behaviour in the workplace: Integrating cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in corporate environmental policy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1), 110-128.
• Smith, M. M., & Hewitt, P. L. (2024). The equivalence of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy for depressive disorders in adults: A meta‐analytic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 80(5), 945-967.
• Tufano, R. (2024). Occupational therapy theory is used in the process of evaluation and intervention. In Occupational Therapy Essentials for clinical competence (pp. 217-231). Routledge.

Online

• Behaviorism in Psychology. 2024. Online. Available through: <https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html>
• Cognitive Approach in Psychology. 2024. Online. Available through: <https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html>