Cognitive Approach- Insight is how we organize a problem situation.  Each problem has an appropriate schema or mental set.  Information processing helps understand a person's behavior. We can sense everything around us because of perception. The things we see, feel, smell, hear and taste  are familiar to us because of cognition.  Everyday we learn new things. Learning is gathering new information while memory retains the gathered information.  These two must co-exist because there is no use in learning if it will be forgotten. We can retrieve information by recall. We can familiarize with things by recognition. We can can remember forgotten information by relearning. Problem solving is also emphasized in this approach because by solving problems, memory can be accessed.  It is a skill and it must be done properly. A divergent problem is a problem with different solutions, example, a problem concerning the family can be solved in many ways. A convergent problem has only one solution, example, 1+1=2. Gestalt theory is synonymous to being whole or being complete.


Psycho-dynamic approach- Psychoanalysis was the first psycho-dynamic theory it has assumptions such as motivation and personality. personality is the effect o motivation. This approach emphasizes the role of motivation in our personalities and behavior. 
 Freud's theory of consciousness- He stated that we are conscious if we are aware of our feelings and thoughts. subconsciousness has two levels- preconscious and unconscious. Dreaming is an issue in psychoanalysis. Freud assumed that the mind is aware when it is asleep or awake. Dreams are said to be caused by wish fulfillment.  Freud also stated that a person's personality has 3 parts- id, ego and superego.  Some people has problems distinguishing his personality. They have split personalities. Freud also stated that a person's development has different stages-oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Some people are fixated in one of these stages so this results to regression. 

summaries of the 4 approaches

biological approach assumes that the mind is the product of or brain. this refers to the term "materialism". the brain and the mind can be compared to the hardware and software of a computer. no one really knows how the mind and brain are connected. there are particular factors that affects our behavior which will eventually affect our mind and body. they are drugs and the split brain. psycho pharmacology is the study of psychoactive drugs where both psychology and medicine are involved. psychoactive drugs were already used since ancient times. they can be found in plants and even on our bodies.by taking drugs, it will affect our body and also our minds. there are different types of drugs that give different effects. they can be beneficial or hazardous to our health. another factor is the split brain which was speculated by Gustav fechner. then roger Sperry and Philip Vogel performed the cutting of the fibers of the corpus callosum which separates the two hemispheres of the brain. they were able to identify the parts of the brain that functions at a particular situation.still, the split brain was not able to fully identify the functions of the various parts of brain. 


behaviorism/ Behaviorist approach - Israel Goldman stated that behavior is based on the environment of the person. Learning is emphasized n this approach. Response and stimuli are also stated.  A stimulus can be found in the environment while the receiver of this stimulus is the respondent.  Persimony is a principle where every event must have even the simplest explanation. Everything that happens has a reason.  Edwin Lynn Thorndike's Law of effect made the behaviorist  approach clearer and acceptable. It focuses on behavior caused by satisfaction. John Watson was the founder of behaviorism. It emphasizes mental processes. Reflexes are responses that are unlearned. An example of reflex is when a boy touches the flame of the candle and quickly withdraws his hand. Sometimes reflex can also be learned, some people are trained for combat and fighting can be considered as a reflex to them.  Reinforcer and reinforcement must co-exist. Reinforcer is a stimulus while a reinforcement is a process that may increase the possibility of a response.