Psychology movements
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Psychology movements
There are three main theories in psychology; humanistic, cognitive, and positive psychology. Humanistic psychology is founded on the premise that all human beings have their own unique aspects that psychologists should address accordingly. The humanistic movement stresses the concepts of free will, conscious behavior and analyzing personality in its entirety (Clay, 2002). This psychology was a new approach to studying human nature; an approach that would focus on studying neglected aspects of human nature.
Positive psychology is concerned with the good life or eudemonia. It emphasizes the positive aspects of the human experience that make life good living at the individual and societal level. Positive psychology is built on three pillars of positive individual traits, positive experiences, and positive institutions (Compton & Hoffman, 2019).
Cognitive psychology is concerned with the “scientific study of human mental activities involved in the acquisition, storage, retrieval and utilization of information”. It studies mental processes such as creativity, problem-solving, memory, perception, and attention (Solso et al. 2005). Some of the modern disciplines that are rooted in cognitive psychology include abnormal psychology, educational psychology, and personality psychology.
Positive and humanistic psychology have similar concerns in regards to human minds and better lives (flourishing). The three movements are geared towards improving the lives of human beings by bettering their lives and providing solutions to problems. For example, positive psychology boosts social and emotional well-being.
I believe positive psychology has the most lasting impact on psychology in the 20th century. This is because people are concerned more about being happy and flourishing. Everyone aspires to have a good life and being happy, which are the tenets of positive psychology. People need positive psychology to be optimistic, manage stress, and solve issues like workplace issues.
References
Clay, R. A. (2002). A renaissance for humanistic psychology. Monitor on Psychology, 33(8), 42-43.
Compton, W. C., & Hoffman, E. (2019). Positive psychology. SAGE Publications.
Solso, R. L., MacLin, M. K., & MacLin, O. H. (2005). Cognitive psychology. Pearson Education New Zealand.