Applied Psychology
Psychology is the science that seeks to understand behavior and the mental process and those methods is applied in the service of human welfare. Psychology can be defined as the study of the mind and behavior that embraces all aspects of human experience from the functions in the brain. Psychology plays an important role to humanity because it acknowledges human development and the process of understanding how the mind and body functions. The field of psychology can be used to positively change the world because each theory positively understands the cause of problems or consequences of human behavior, attitude and interactions. Psychology can change the world by helping adolescents or juvenile victims to receive treatment. This will change the world because therapy can understand the conditions of mental health disorders and find answers towards juveniles who suffer from disorders. My experience with AP Psychology has taught me the concepts of each theory and how it connects with human experiences. For instance, each method is entitled to specific understanding through the eyes of the patient, individual and to the perception of the world.
Evolutionary Approach
The Evolutionary Approach applies to children and adolescents in the juvenile justice system because they inherit the instincts to survive in environmental setting of a prison. For instance, according to Charles Darwin “genes result in characteristics and behaviors that are adaptive and useful to in a certain environment will enable and inherit survival” Bernstein, D., Penner, L., Stewart, A. C., & Roy, E. (2003). The evolutionary approach applies to one of the root causes because it implies “survival of the fittest” juveniles use this approach as a form of protection and need to survive. Prison and juvenile centers are known to be a cruel and harsh environment; therefore juveniles mentally and physically adapt and learn how to protect themselves in order to survive.
Biological Approach
The Biological Approach applies to the juvenile justice system because it emphasizes human behavior by what they learned from rewards and punishment. This approach is used in the juvenile justice system to can change problematic behaviors. For instance, punishment is used to de-socialize behavior and covert “troubled” juveniles to civilian members of society. Punishment can involve discipline, mistreatment or solitary confinement. The approach of punishment can also lead to bad behavior such as juveniles rejecting to follow rules or conform to societal norms. A reward is also used to reinforce positive behavior, such as reducing their sentence due to good behavior. This approach can condition juvenile to change their behavior from punishment or rewards. Cognitive- behavior therapy is a learning treatment to help understand the way juveniles think and the way they behave. This treatment can help understand what positive or negative reinforcement does to juvenile behavior.
Humanistic Approach
The Humanistic Approach applies to the juvenile justice system because society intends to label juvenile as criminals. This plays an effect towards juvenile behavior because society has a negative perception towards them, and this reflects back to their action. Society labels them, therefore juvenile fall back to the stigma of their behavior due to the perception of others. Society expects juveniles to fail by not succeeding and to fall back to their original habits. This shows that labeling and being prejudice can have major effects towards behavior and mental process. Cognitive therapy can help solve the issue with juvenile justice system by understanding the client’s thoughts from the world’s perspective. This process can reduce negative self expression and encourage adaptive ways of thinking and new ways of behaving.