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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 3

Publication Date: March 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.83.9884.

Kopsov, I. (2021). A New Model of Unified Psychology. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(3) 363-384.

A New Model of Unified Psychology

Igor Kopsov

ABSTRACT

There exist several unassertive schools of unified psychology which

attempt to consolidate divided psychology perspectives by offering

equally contentious hypothetical constructs. At the same time, all

psychology doctrines are in essence based on an identical premise as

they all study human behavior. Accordingly, we approach the

unification of psychology through the lenses of the originally proposed

algorithm of human behavior, which is defined as a sequence of steps

and feedback mechanisms. The algorithm is assessed from the

standpoint of the six main psychology perspectives (behavioral,

biological, cognitive, humanistic, psychoanalytical, and social). The

primary attributes of the perspectives are projected onto the

schematics of the algorithm and paired with its elements. We postulate

that the algorithm reflects the fundamental premise of each of the

individual perspectives, and in doing so integrates them into a single

concept of human behavior. The model does not compromise the

integrity of various schools of thought, but rather provides a

framework uncovering their integrational potential and strengths. The

model – unlike typical narrative canon – is compact, analytic, and

adaptable to new data. Despite being based on formal logic it is able to

shed light on such fundamental issues as human nature, relation

between body and mind, relation between humans and nonhuman

animals, and unity of experience.

Keywords: human behavior, algorithm of behavior, unified psychology,

psychology perspectives, digital twin of mind, fundamental questions of

psychology

A NEW MODEL OF UNIFIED PSYCHOLOGY

We recently propositioned (Kopsov, 2020a) that “true progress in the field of psychology is

subject to tackling the following issues: moving away from a narrated and statistical description of

observations, and towards modeling human behavior; a shift away from “using words” to “using

numbers”; and a return back to “the basics” to address the “eternal questions” – what is the

purpose of life, what is happiness, and what is the right way to live?”

In this paper we attempt to address these issues by introducing a new model of unified

psychology, based on the following premise: the numerous contrasting psychology perspectives

are intrinsically interconnected through a common subject, which is the study of the human mind

and behavior. All schools of psychology attempt to approach analyses of human behavior in a

holistic way – but largely tend to emphasize certain specific sides of human psyche. Previously we

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 3, March-2021

developed an original behavioral algorithm consisting of steps and feedback mechanisms, and

defining a process or set of rules that are sequentially followed. We hypothesize that the primary

attributes of specific perspectives of psychology correlate with the components of the behavioral

algorithm. As the algorithm is a coherent system of intrinsically connected elements, discovery of

such a correlation would allow to place individual perspectives into a single framework of a model

of unified psychology. To implement this vision, we will summarize the leading psychology

perspectives, outline the algorithm, and attempt to establish such aforementioned correlations,

which in turn may pave a path to setting up a consolidated structure of unified psychology. From

this newly established vantage point we take a fresh view on the fundamental questions of human

nature.

PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES AND THEORIES OF UNIFIED PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology Perspectives

The domains listed below are commonly defined as the main perspectives of psychology. Their

primary attributes are summarized hereunder, to be applied later in the formulation of the

hypothesis of unified psychology.

• Behavioral psychology concerns the interrelation between stimulus and response, with

particular attention on environmental adaptation, behavioral conditioning, and

modification.

• Biological psychology looks at biological aspects of mental and behavioral processes, with

special attention to perception of sensations, neural side of mental processing, and

genetics. It also includes comparative psychology and neurophysiology.

• Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes underlying cognition, with emphasis on

perception, attention, thinking, problem solving, memory, learning, beliefs, and emotion.

• Humanistic psychology concentrates on relationships and emotional well-being, with

attention focused on need-gratification, love, creativity, the self, growth, spontaneity,

affection, objectivity, autonomy, responsibility, and meaning.

• Psychoanalysis studies the relationship between impulses/feelings, childhood

experiences, the conscious and unconscious mind, sexual desires, anxiety, and defenses,

with emphasis on perception of self, others, and interpersonal connections.

• Social psychology deals with how humans influence each other, through the primary lens of

social interactions, formation of beliefs, attitudes, and norms.

We acknowledge that the above categorization of psychological perspectives is far from

comprehensive, as there are many other schools of thought, including Evolutionary Psychology,

Family Systems Theory, Russian Activity Theory etc. Additionally, there are hybrid concepts, such

as Cognitive Behavioral Theory. In fact, modern schools of psychology display a great diversity, as

is reflected in the organization of the American Psychological Association (APA) which contains 54

separate divisions. The level of diversity is even greater in applied psychology; according to

professor John Norcross there exist at the least 500 different types of psychotherapies (Lilienfeld

& Arkowitz, 2012).

Within the context of development of a unified model we include in the analysis a sufficiently wide

range of basic concepts allowing to draw conclusions with a high level of comprehensiveness. We

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Kopsov, I. (2021). A New Model of Unified Psychology. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(3) 363-384.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.83.9884 365

note that the proposed method can be also applied to additional perspectives that have been left

outside the scope of this assessment for practical reasons.

Theories of Unified Psychology

The topic of establishing a unified theory of psychology is much broader than it may appear at

first. Rather than just being an attempt at creating ‘another theory’ – although we recognize this as

important –it is primarily an effort at establishing a paradigm of psychological studies; thus,

enabling their long overdue transformation into the ranks of a ‘proper science’. It concerns the

collective reputation of psychology, and the personal reputation of its practitioners and scholars.

We maintain that the concepts of unified psychology and paradigm of psychology are in reality one

and the same.

Hergenhahn (2008) in An Introduction to the History of Psychology suggests that the “closest

psychology ever came to being a single-paradigm discipline was during the Middle Ages, when

departures from the view of humans contained in church dogma were simply not tolerated”. He

lays out a timeline of quotes made by prominent scholars which allows to track the progress and

formation of the science of psychology through a period of more than 200 years.

In the 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant (1786) wrote the following regarding the place of

psychology within the domain of science:

I assert, however, that in every special doctrine of nature there is as much proper science as there

is mathematics ... the empirical psychology (doctrine of the soul) must remain even further from

the rank of a ... natural science ... .

Just over a hundred years later William James (1892) – the "father of American psychology" –

described psychology as:

A string of raw facts; a little gossip and a wrangle about opinions; a little classification and

generalization on the mere descriptive level; a strong prejudice that we have states of mind, and

that our brain conditions them: but not a single law in the same sense in which physics shows us

laws, not a single proposition from which any consequence can causally be deduced.... This is no

science, it is only the hope for a science.

In the mid-20th century American philosopher and psychologist Edna Frances Heidbreder (1933)

made the following reflection:

For psychology is a science that has not yet made its great discovery. It has found nothing that does

for it what atomic theory has done for chemistry, the principle of organic evolution for biology, the

laws of motion for physics. Nothing that gives it a unifying principle has yet been discovered or

recognized.

More recently psychologist and philosopher Sigmund Koch (1993) described the discipline as

psychological studies rather than as the science of psychology: