| Perspective | Main Idea | Questions Psychologists Ask |
| Psychoanalytic | Illustrates the underlying conflicts that influence behavior. | How do our unconscious conflicts affect our decisions and behavior? |
| Behavioral | Explores human behavior as learned primarily through associations, reinforcers, and observation. | How does learning shape our behavior? |
| Humanistic | Focuses on the positive and growth aspects of human nature. | How do choice and self-determination influence behavior? |
| Cognitive | Examines the mental processes that direct behavior. | How do thinking, memory, and language direct behavior? |
| Evolutionary | Examines characteristics in terms of how they influence adaptation to the environment and survival. | How does natural selection advance our behavioral predispositions? |
| Biological | Uses knowledge about underlying physiology to explore and explain behavior and mental processes. | How do biological factors, such as hormones, genes, anatomy, and brain structures, influence behavior and mental processes? |
| Sociocultural | Examines the influences of other people as well as the larger culture to help explain behavior and mental processes. | How do culture and environment shape our attitudes? |
| Biopsychosocial | Investigates the biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence behavior. | How do the interactions of biology, psychology, and culture influence behavior and mental processes? |
| Psychologists draw on a variety of theories in their research and practice. Listed above are the dominant theoretical perspectives, all of which reappear many times in this textbook. Human behaviors are often best understood when viewed through more than one theoretical lens. |