2024 a level pscyh 2 Flashcards
describe the ego and superego for the psychodynamic approach
- the ego: rational, balancing the id and superego, reference to ‘reality principle’, formed between
18mths–3yrs. - the superego: reference to ‘morality principle’, acts as the conscience or moral guide, represents the
ego ideal/ideal self, based on parental and societal values, formed between 3–6yrs.
Outline Wundt’s method of introspection
- the process of analysing one’s own conscious awareness/experience
- Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object and look inwards noticing sensations and
feelings and images - focus on being objective
- systematic reporting of an experience of an object
- breaking thoughts about an object down into separate elements
- reflection on sensations, feelings and images/verbal reporting of own inner thoughts
- participants were presented with standardised sensory events like a ticking metronome and asked to
report their reactions.
Outline one example of how neurochemistry influences behaviour.
- reference to specific neurochemicals and their effects, eg dopamine regulates motor behaviour/plays a
role in brain’s reward system; serotonin regulates appetite/sleep/memory/mood/muscle contraction - imbalances of neurochemicals have been linked to abnormal behaviour/mental illnesses, eg low
serotonin and OCD, high or low dopamine and schizophrenia - the mode of action of psychoactive drugs, eg SSRIs to reduce anxiety and thereby reduce compulsive
behaviour.
Explain why a humanistic psychologist would suggest that Karishma is not displaying
congruence.
- there is a (big) gap between Karishma’s concept of self and her ideal self
- she does not think she is clever but wants to go to university/to be a lawyer
Explain how a humanistic psychologist might help Karishma to achieve congruence
- the psychologist would create a therapeutic atmosphere by offering unconditional positive regard,
empathy and warmth to raise Karishma’s self-esteem - the psychologist would use counselling/client-centred therapy with Karishma by reflecting back in a
way that enables Karishma to determine the changes she needs to make in order to feel she is worthy
of a place at university/would cope with a law degree - the psychologist should help Karishma to improve her feelings of self-worth, eg by asking her about
the good GCSE grades she achieved - the psychologist might ask Karishma to complete a Q-sort at intervals to demonstrate any change in
congruence; congruence will be achieved once Karishma develops a healthier view of herself/believes
that she is worthy of a place at university/is good enough to study law.
Outline how behaviourists explain learning through the process of operant conditioning.
Compare operant conditioning with social learning.
- learning is shaped (and maintained) by its consequences/determined by association between
response and consequences - types of reinforcement (positive/negative) and their role in increasing the likelihood of a behaviour
being repeated - role of punishment in extinguishing behaviour
- Skinner’s research.
Possible comparisons: - direct/indirect reinforcement – in operant conditioning these processes are direct but in social learning
these are vicarious/indirect and can occur through observation and imitation - both assume that human development is a consequence of nurture; babies are born as ‘blank slates
upon which experience writes’; both suggest that behaviour is a result of learned associations and
reinforcement/punishment; social learning involves mediational processes (cognition) and operant
conditioning does not - operant conditioning assumes a hard determinism position, that all behaviour is environmentally
determined by external influences that we are unable to control (environmental determinism); social
learning assumes a soft determinism position, that as well as being influenced by our environment
cognitive factors can mediate learning, we also exert some influence upon it through the behaviours
we choose to perform (reciprocal determinism) - operant conditioning takes a reductionist approach to the study of behaviour by breaking complex
actions into the simplest observable actions of the stimulus and the response; social learning is less
reductionist because it allows for cognitive factors to mediate this learning - both are nomothetic, believing we have shared processes for learning behaviour and using
generalisation to develop general principles or laws of human behaviour - both assume that all aspects of behaviour can be investigated scientifically and use laboratory
experiments
What are hormones? Give an example of a hormone other than adrenaline and outline
its function
A chemical messenger that circulates in the blood and controls how cells/organs work/influences
behaviour or mood.
- thyroxine: increases metabolic rates and affects growth
0 9 Briefly explain one ethical issue the psychologist would need to consider in this study.
.sensitive information may be revealed about the patient’s sleeping habits (if their name was used)
* the patient might not agree to take part in the study if they were aware they would be asked personal
questions about their sleeping habits
* the patient may decide they no longer want to continue to participate in the study as they are
struggling to sleep
* the psychologist may distress the patient and make them more anxious about sleeping
10 Discuss research into the effects of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers on
the sleep/wake cycle
- knowledge of sleep/wake cycle
- knowledge of the role of the SCN, pineal gland and/or melatonin in sleep/wake cycle
- knowledge of the role of light and/or social cues on sleep/wake cycle
- description of the role of endogenous pacemakers and/or exogenous zeitgebers on sleep/wake cycle
- description of research into the effects of endogenous pacemakers and/or exogenous zeitgebers on
sleep/wake cycle, eg Decoursey et al. (2000), Ralph et al. (1990), Campbell & Murphy (1998) - research evidence used to support the effects of endogenous pacemakers and/or exogenous
zeitgebers on sleep/wake cycle, eg Decoursey et al. (2000), Ralph et al. (1990), Morgan (1995),
Campbell & Murphy (1998), Siffre’s cave study, Aschoff & Wever (1976), Folkard et al. (1985) - application of research to understanding of changing the sleep/wake cycle, eg jet lag, shifting the
school day - discussion of individual differences in the sleep/wake cycle, eg owls and larks
- discussion of an interactionist system
- methodological critique of evidence – issues of generalisation from case studies and animal studies;
correlation-causation issue in correlational studies; ethical issues of animal studies.
what is primary data
. because the data was collected by the psychologist specifically for investigating children’s play
* because the results came (directly) from the parents.
Explain how the researcher could have used content analysis to analyse the
parents’ diaries.
- the researcher could have begun by reading through some of the parents’ diaries to identify potential
categories which emerged from the data of the different types of play the parents engaged in with their
children - such categories might include: hide and seek, board games, video games, sports, role-play, going to
the park - the researcher would then have read the diaries again and counted the number of examples which fell
into each category to provide quantitative data
How might the researcher have assessed the reliability of the content analysis in
this study?
- second person could (independently) perform a content analysis on the same diaries (inter-
observer/rater reliability) - repeat content analysis on a second occasion using the same diaries (test-retest reliability)
- use the existing categories
- they could compare their tally charts looking for agreement/calculate the correlation between the two
sets of data - researchers generally accept 0.8 correlation (accept 0.7–0.9) between the two sets of data.
Explain why the data collected from the interview might have improved upon the data
collected from the diaries
- the interviewer could have asked follow-up questions to gain greater insight into some of the
comments in the diary - the interviewer may have gained rapport with the participant so they felt comfortable revealing more
personal/sensitive information face-to-face
Identify one limitation of qualitative data.
- difficult to analyse
- analysis may be subjective.
Explain how the researcher could have obtained informed consent from the parents for
this study
- write to the parents/ring the parents/invite them in for a meeting
- tell them all the study details (aims, procedures, data use) so that they are fully informed what will
happen and why, eg that the study was investigating age-related play differences, the children would
be observed for 15 minutes while playing at nursery, the child would have three types of toy to choose
from: building blocks, a sandpit or a slide - ask for agreement/signed consent
