2.3 Psychology Schools of Thought Flashcards
Psychoanalytic theory
Sigmund Freud’s theory that all human behaviour is influenced by early childhood, and that childhood and the experiences influence the unconscious mind throughout life
Unconscious
information processing in our mind that we are not aware of; according to Freud, it holds our unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and memories; according to Jung, it includes patterns of memories, instincts, and experiences common to all
Cognition
the mental processes in the brain associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering
Conscious
information that we are always aware of; our conscious mind performs the thinking when we take in new information
Ego
Freud’s term for the rational part of the mind, which operates on the reality principle→ often suppresses the impulses of the id→ It’s challenging to balance the demands of the impulsive id and the moral superego.
Id
Freud’s term for the instinctual part of the mind, which operates on the pleasure principle→ instinctual part of the brain
Superego
Freud’s term for the moral centre of the mind → the moral centre/conscience
Defense mechanism
the ego’s way of distorting reality to deal with anxiety
Repression
the ego’s way of distorting/changing
reality to deal with anxiety
Denial
a defense mechanism where someone refuses to acknowledge something painful
Displacement
A shift in emotion from the original target to another object, person or situation
Free association
A psychoanalysis method where the patient relaxes and says whatever is on their mind
Projection
a defense mechanism where someone gives their own feelings onto someone else
What makes us human according to psychodynamic theory
- Believes that our human functioning is based upon the unconscious mind being the key to understanding human behaviour and relationships
- id, ego, superego
- Childhood experiences impact our behaviour/thoughts later in life
- Humans have an unconscious mind that influences our conscious feelings/actions, etc
- Our ability to have complex conflicts between id, ego, superego
Unconditioned response
the natural response to an unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned stimulus
a stimulus that naturally triggers a response
Conditioned stimulus
an originally neutral stimulus that comes to trigger a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditional stimulus
Conditioned response
the learned response to previously neutral stimulus
Classical conditioning
a type of learning where
a once neutral stimulus
comes to produce a
particular response after
pairings with a conditioned
stimulus
Operant conditioning
a type of learning that uses rewards and punishment to achieve a desired behavior
Extinction
In operant conditioning, it’s the fading of a learned response when it’s not reinforced
What makes us human according to behavioural psychology
- Human behaviour is learned
- We learn how to behave based on the responses we receive in our environment
- We learn how to behave based on observing how other’s (parent, peers, people in the media) behave
Self-actualization
reaching one’s full potential; occurs only after basic physical and psychological needs are met
Logotherapy
type of psychotherapy that helps patients find their life’s purpose and meaning, without focusing on mental health aspect
Client-centred therapy
a humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which the client plays an active role
What makes us human according to humanist psychology
- Inclination to seek meaning from life
- Desire to reach full potential
What makes us human according to cognitive psychology
- Learn behaviour based on interaction and imitation
- Mental processes are orderly, predictable
- We all learn and retain knowledge in similar structured ways
- Our internal mental processes have rules and patterns
Karen Horney
- Believed that development is lifelong and not fixed in childhood
- disagreed that personality is based on sexual conflicts in childhood and that his theories did not represent females well
- Founder of feminist psychology
- Argued that women were pushed by society and culture to depend on men for both love and status, since without a husband and children, they had little value in society
- Highlights the gender bias that exists in traditional psychological theories and offers alternative theories to counter those biases and promote new thinking
B.F. Skinner
- developed true behaviourism
- Concerned with only observable behaviours
- Used rats and pigeons - how the use of punishment and rewards can influence behavior→ became known as operant conditioning
Abraham Maslow
- Wanted to understand how people achieved the status of having reached their full potential
- Most known for his Hierarchy of Needs to describe his theory of motivation
- Based this theory on observing clients rather than on experimentation
- Explains that basic needs must be fulfilled before higher-order needs become important
Albert Bandura
- People learn behavior by watching and then imitating others
- Bobo doll experiment
- Children watched a video in which an adult acted aggressively towards a rubber Bobo doll by hitting, punching, kicking, and even striking it with a mallet
- Allowed the children, one at a time, to interact with the doll
- Other aggressive and non aggressive toys were also provided in the room
- Instead of their aggression being let out by watching the the adult, the children behaved just as aggressively
Sigmund Freud
- Developed concept of consciousness as consisting of id, ego, superego
- Believed that human personality results from the ego’s efforts to resolve conflict between the id, ego, and superego
ivan Pavlov
- Dog experiment. They drool when you put food in their mouth.
- Rang and bell and gave food
- Over time they would drool when they heard the bell
- His research has led to scientific belief that classical conditioning is one way that nearly all organisms learn to adapt to their environment
