Key Perspectives on Psychology The term psychology has many meanings to different people, even those who work in the psychological field. The word psychology comes from two Greek roots; “psyche” refers to the “soul” or “mind,” and the logo refers to the “study of.” A more up-to-date definition of the word psychology can be found in Atkinson, et al (1991) “The scientific study of mental behaviors and processes”. However on Google Definitions the definition of psychology is “the mental characteristics and attitudes of a person” [accessed 16 September 2011], which gives some contradiction. In this assignment I will outline and evaluate four key psychological perspectives. The psychological perspectives I have chosen are the behavioral approach, the biological approach, the cognitive approach and the psychodynamic approach. The biological approach to psychology assumes that all behaviors are associated with changes in brain function and that psychopathology will be caused by a disorder within the brain's neuroanatomy. Many biological psychologists tend to assume that most behaviors, normal and disordered, involve a component inherited from biological parents. In theory this suggests that all behaviors can be linked to changes in brain activity. The biological approach examines the relationship between behaviors and the body's physiological systems, particularly the nervous system. Biological psychologists also believe that chemical processes within the brain influence behavior. Treatments for the biological approach to psychology include, as previously mentioned medication…… middle of paper…… pre-existing knowledge that when an individual recognizes specific situations they use their own opinions, beliefs, understanding and stereotypes to form a complete view or understanding . When evaluating the cognitive approach to psychology there are many strengths, for example the fact that the cognitive approach includes understanding the influence of mental processes on one's behavior, focusing on an individual's thought patterns and perception. This approach also refers to many known functions and operations that the human body performs, such as memory and problem solving. The behavioral perspective of psychology assumptions is that all behaviors are learned from the environment. The environment consists of many aspects such as housing, local services, financial stability and education, these influencing factors are known as environmental determinism.