Outline the major elements of the mechanistic, psychoanalytic, and humanistic images of mankind. In your answer, please indicate the strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives.

... Question: Outline the major elements of the mechanistic, psychoanalytic, and humanistic images of mankind. In your answer, please indicate the strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives. Introduction Psychologists are interested in the study of human actions and behaviour. Different psychologists have fundamentally different assumptions about what human is like. This is due to the different basis of perception which form the background of use of concepts, details of research and explanation. Three images of mankind shall be explored below, namely mechanistic, psychoanalytic and humanistic. Each of the following aspects will be studied : concept, assumption, and methodology. Their strengths and weaknesses will also be discussed. Mechanistic Image of Mankind The development of the image of man as a machine followed after the French philosopher and mathematician, Descartes', publication of his view. Descartes regarded body as a machine obeying laws of physics. The body, the skeleton and its muscles worked as levers and pulleys. The

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