Imagine you are watching the news with four psychologists, each of whom takes a different approach to psychology (biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, cognitive). After the lead story ends, you ask, "What would make someone do something horrible and violent like that?" How would each psychologist respond to your question?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The biological psychologist: "The violent behavior is most likely the result of a hormonal imbalance. It's also possible that the person inherited genes that may give the person violent tendencies."The behavioral psychologist: "The person learned to be violent. The person most likely grew up in an environment where violence was common or an environment where violence typically resulted in people getting what they wanted."The psychodynamic psychologist: "We all have violent urges buried deep in our minds. This individual's internal conflicts were so great that the urges could not be kept unconscious."The cognitive psychologist: "The individual most likely perceived a threat, determined the cause of the threat, and then decided that the violent response was the appropriate solution to resolve the threatening situation."