Approaches Flashcards
What are the named psychologists for approaches?
Wundt, Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Maslow
Why is Wundt regarded as the ‘father of experimental psychology’?
He set up the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology.
He published one of the first books on psychology
What did Wundt’s work represent?
The point at which psychology became separated from philosophy and biology
Wundt initially wanted to only study certain aspects of behaviour, which aspects?
Those that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions
What was Wundt’s aim?
To study the structure of mental processes
What did Wundt call the study of the structure of mental processes?
Structuralism
What did Wundt think the best way of studying the structure of mental processes is?
Break down processes into constituent parts (like an anatomist)
What process did Wundt develop?
Introspection
What was the aim of introspection?
To learn more about the nature of the mental processes involved in conscious awareness
What did Wundt eventually realise about higher mental processes?
They could not be studied in a highly controlled manner
What does ‘higher mental processes’ include? (Wundt)
Emotions, language, learning
What does introspection mean?
‘Looking inside’ the self
What do people learn from performing the process of introspection?
Gain knowledge about their inner mind
What is the process of introspection?
Examining conscious thoughts and sensations
How did Wundt study perception?
Participants presented with different sounds, images, objects and asked to report how they were perceiving it and any inner processes they were experiencing.
Responses divided into 3 categories: thoughts, sensations, images
How were Wundt’s procedures scientific?
Participants trained on ‘mental set’, controlled, same instructions, stimuli, time. This was repeated many times - replicable
Who used introspection? (apart from Wundt)
Griffiths
What was Griffiths’ study?
The thought processes of gamblers vs non-gamblers, asked to ‘think aloud’ playing a fruit machine, gamblers thought more irrationally
How was Wundt’s work not scientific?
Based on inferences, unobservable, the responses varied - unreliable, early behaviourists made greater contributions
What are 2 strengths of Wundt’s work?
Established psychology, inspired new approaches
What is a strength of introspection?
Useful to collect data on topics that would otherwise be difficult to study
What is a weakness of introspection?
Unconscious thoughts, not aware of every mental process
What is a tabula rasa?
A blank slate
Which approach says children are tabula rasa?
Behaviourist
What do behaviourists assume about animals and humans?
We learn in the same way: the same basic processes influence learning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association
What is the process of classical conditioning?
UCS = UCR (reflex)
NS = no response
UCS + NS = UCR (repeated)
CS = CR
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
A stimulus that gives an innate response (reflex)
What is a conditioned stimulus?
A neutral stimulus that has been conditioned to elicit a specific response
What is a neutral stimulus?
A stimulus which gives no response
What did Pavlov do?
Taught dogs to salivate when he rang a bell (they expected food) through classical conditioning
What is operant (instrumental) conditioning?
Learning from consequences
What is positive punishment?
Decreasing a behaviour by giving them something e.g. give them extra chores
What is negative punishment?
Decreasing a behaviour by taking something away e.g. taking away their phone
What is positive reinforcement?
Increasing a behaviour by giving them something e.g. give them a sticker
What is negative reinforcement?
Increasing a behaviour by taking something away e.g. taking away chores
How did Skinner show positive reinforcement?
Rats in Skinner’s box, press lever, receive a food pellet
How did Skinner show negative reinforcement?
Rats in Skinner’s box, light came on, press lever otherwise get an electric shock
What is the supporting evidence of the behaviourist approach?
Skinner: operant conditioning through positive and negative reinforcement
Pavlov: classical conditioning results in new response to NS
How is the behaviourist approach reductionist?
Doesn’t consider conscious awareness or biology
How is the behaviourist approach deterministic?
Ignores free will, says we act because of our experiences, cannot choose how we act
How is the behaviourist approach scientific?
In comparison to introspection, controlled lab settings, objective measurements
What are the practical applications of the behaviourist approach?
Token economies in prisons (operant)
Systematic desensitisation therapy (classical)
What is the behaviourist approach a part of?
The learning approach
What is the learning approach split into?
Behaviourist approach
Social Learning theory
How is SLT different from the behaviourist approach?
It takes cognitive processes into account
When do mediational process occur in SLT?
Between stimulus and response
What do mediational processes do/what is their purpose?
To determine whether an observed behaviour is actually imitated, or if a learned behaviour is performed
What is social learning theory?
Learning through observation and imitation
What does identification mean?
We associate ourselves with someone else and want to be like them
Who do we identify with in SLT?
Role models
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Seeing others being rewarded which increases likelihood of you doing that behaviour
What is the acronym for social learning theory?
IRVIM
Identification
Role models
Vicarious reinforcement
Imitation
Mediational processes
What are the mediational process in order?
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
What is attention? (SLT)
How much we focus on or notice behaviour
What is retention? (SLT)
How well we remember the behaviour
What is motor reproduction? (SLT)
How capable we are at imitating the behaviour
What is motivation? (SLT)
How much we want to imitate the behaviour
What was the procedure of Bandura’s first study? (1961)
Group A watched an adult punch a Bobo Doll, Group B watched an adult play with the Bobo Doll non-aggressively.
Children were then taken to a room of toys, including a Bobo Doll
What were the findings of Bandura’s first study? (1961)
Children who had an aggressive model behaved more aggressively
What was the procedure of Bandura’s second study? (1963)
3 groups shown a video of an adult behaving aggressively towards a Bobo Doll.
Group A were then shown the adult being praised.
Group B were shown the adult being told off.
Group C (control group) weren’t shown the adult being praised or told off
What were the findings of Bandura’s second study? (1963)
Group A displayed the most aggression, Group B showed the least aggression, Group C in between
What was the conclusion of Bandura’s studies?
Suggests observation of role models and vicarious reinforcement are powerful influencers of behaviour - supports claims made by SLT
What is a strength of Bandura’s research
Procedures were standardised - easy to replicate, so can check reliability
What are 2 criticisms of Bandura’s research?
Lacks accuracy - unusual situation, Bobo Doll designed to be hit, this is demand characteristics.
Ethical issues - children may have been distressed by aggressive behaviour, could not withdraw, no debriefing, at least there was presumptive consent
What are the practical applications of Bandura’s research?
Shows us the influence of role models - censorship and age ratings in Tv, films, videos and games
What are 2 strengths of social learning theory?
Fuller explanation than classical or operant conditioning - includes role of thinking processes, more accurate explanation.
Less deterministic - allows for conscious decision making more, better explanation
What are the practical applications of social learning theory?
Censorship and age rating on media, show consequences of aggressive behaviour - reduces violent crime
What is a criticism of social learning theory?
Ignores biological evidence, boys were more aggressive, SLT neglects important influence of biological factors
What does the cognitive approach focus on?
Mental processes e.g. perception, thinking, memory
What is a schema? (approaches)
A set of beliefs, knowledge and expectations developed from our experiences
How can schemas be used to understand mental disorders like depression?
A depressed person will often have a negative schema
How can schemas be used to understand memory?
Eyewitnesses’ schemas may fill in information incorrectly based on their expectations
What are the 3 aspects of the cognitive approach?
Schemas, theoretical models (in particular computer models), inferences
What is a theoretical model? And how are they often presented?
An idea of how mental processes might work and fit together.
Diagrams using boxes and arrows to indicate the components and processes
Why do cognitive psychologists use theoretical models?
It is consistent with the scientific approach to psychology - each section can be tested experimentally, if the results challenge the model, it must be reformulated
What does a computer model look like?
Input -> Processing -> Output
Why do cognitive psychologists use computer models?
Scientific - researchers can present participants with inputs, record outputs, and use them to make inferences about the processing in lab experiments
What is ‘making inferences’?
Going beyond the immediate evidence to draw conclusions about what mental processes are taking place
Why are inferences used in the cognitive approach?
Mental processes cannot be directly observed
What is the supporting evidence of the cognitive approach?
Grazioli and Terry assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability and depression before and after birth.
Those with high vulnerability were more likely to suffer post-natal depression.
Mental illnesses can be explained by faulty internal processing
What are 2 criticisms of the cognitive approach?
Relies heavily on inferences, no direct, empirical, objective evidence - not scientific.
Too mechanistic in its view of humans - underestimates emotional and motivational factors e.g. witness violent crime affects memory - it is a limited approach
What is a strength of the cognitive approach?
Relies on controlled, standardised experiments which are scientific
What are the practical applications of the cognitive approach?
CBT is a useful therapy for mental illnesses.
Helps police use better techniques to get more accurate information from eye witnesses
What does cognitive neuroscience study?
The influence of brain structures on mental processes
What are 2 brain imaging techniques used in cognitive neuroscience?
fMRI and PET scans
How have brain imaging techniques helped cognitive neuroscience?
More scientific as they can get empirical evidence, unlike in the cognitive approach beforehand
What is Broca’s area involved in?
Production of speech
What is Wernicke’s area involved in?
Comprehension of speech
What is the supporting evidence for cognitive neuroscience?
Raine et al - identified lower levels of activity in murderer’s pre-frontal cortexes (linked to loss of self-control and emotional reactions).
Case study of KF - damaged left parietal occipital lobe and was left with poor short-term memory.
Case study of HM - hippocampus removed and was left with inability to form long-term memories
What are the practical applications from cognitive neuroscience?
Located areas of the brain linked to memory processes.
Helped medical profession deal with stroke victims and their rehabilitation.
Identify areas linked with mental illness e.g. caudate nucleus linked to OCD
What is a strength of cognitive neuroscience?
Increased value of cognitive approach due to scientific evidence and use of objective brain scanning techniques
What is a criticism of cognitive neuroscience?
Socially sensitive area - deterministic to label young people before they commit a crime
What are the basic assumptions of the biological approach?
All behaviour can be explained in terms of physical factors and our biological make-up
What is the genetic basis of behaviour according to the biological approach?
Genes create psychological characteristics (like aggression, temperament, mental illness) as well as physical
What are identical twins called?
Monozygotic twins
What are non-identical twins called?
Dizygotic twins
What is heritability?
The extent to which any characteristic is influenced by genes
What are concordance rates?
The measurement of how often a pair of twins have the same characteristic
What is a genotype?
The specific genetic make-up of an individual
What is phenotype?
How an individual’s genes are expressed in physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics
What does a person’s genotype depend on?
The way their parents’ genes combined at conception
What does a person’s phenotype depend on?
Their genotype makes them predisposed to a characteristic, but this may be influenced by their environment and experiences
What is the supporting evidence for the role of genes in behaviour?
Research into OCD has found concordance rates of 68% for monozygotic twins, compared to 31% for dizygotic, this suggests OCD is influenced by genes.
Also research has identified 2 potential candidate genes for OCD (COMT and SERT) which have been found in families who live with OCD
What percentage of their genotypes do monozygotic twins share?
100%
What percentage of their genotypes do diozygotic twins share?
50%
What is a candidate gene?
A gene which scientists are pretty sure cause a particular behaviour but don’t have hard proof yet
What is a criticism of the research into the role of genes in behaviour?
The concordance rates are not 100% so it cannot be purely genetic, there must be another factor, such as their environment
What is adaptive behaviour?
A behaviour that increases the chances of survival
What are the 4 different aspects of the biological approach?
Genes, evolution, biological structures (the brain), neurochemistry
How does evolution play a role in behaviour?
Natural selection means we have common behaviours like phobias of snakes or heights
What is the supporting evidence for the role of evolution in behaviour?
A liking of sweet food and dislike of bitter foods could be due to the fact that bitter foods were often poisonous, but sweet foods weren’t
What is a criticism of the role of evolution in behaviour?
Lacks testability, it’s impossible to test the selective pressures on our species in our evolutionary history, it is pseudoscientific
What are the 4 lobes of the brain?
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
What is the cerebral cortex responsible for influencing?
Higher order functions like thought and language
Where is the language centre in the brain?
Left hemisphere
Where is Broca’s area and what is it responsible for?
Frontal lobe of the left hemisphere.
Production of speech
What’s a person with damage to their Boca’s area’s speech like?
Very slow, laborious, lacks fluency.
This is called Broca’s aphasia
What have brain scans of schizophrenic people shown?
Enlarged ventricles
When do abnormal behaviours occur according to the biological structures aspect of the biological appraoch?
When there is damage to the brain or if it is unusual in some way
What is neurochemistry?
Neurotransmitters sending messages
What is a criticism of the role of biological structures AND neurochemistry?
Cannot establish cause and effect. e.g. structural abnormalities may be a result of a mental disorder rather than the cause
Is the biological approach scientific?
Yes as it relies on controlled experimental techniques, and objective scanning techniques which give us empirical evidence (brain scans)
Which side of the nature/nurture debate is the biological approach on?
Nature, however this is reductionist and unbalanced as there is evidence of it being nurture: behaviourist, cognitive etc
Is the biological approach deterministic?
Yes, it does not accept humans can make conscious decisions and act in free will, this can have negative consequences such as people getting away with crimes saying it was their biology not them
What are the practical applications of the biological approach?
Development of drug therapies e.g. SSRI’s are used to treat OCD and research into sleep cycles improves the well-being of those who work at night.
This validates the concept too
What are the basic assumptions about the psychodynamic approach?
Our behaviours and feelings are caused by unconscious processes and come from childhood experiences
According to the psychodynamic approach which part of our mind is the largest?
The unconscious
What is the role of the unconscious?
To protect the conscious self from anxiety, fear, trauma and conflict by using defence mechanisms.
It is the driving force behind our personality and behaviours
What is a practical application of the role of the unconscious?
Led to psychoanalysis, a therapy that aims to uncover the contents of the unconscious mind and help people deal with unresolved conflicts - Biskup et al found 77% of 36 patients showed improvement, useful and effective
Who came up with the psychodynamic approach? (or at the very least is very prevalent in the approach)
Freud
What are the 3 parts of the personality?
Id, ego, superego
What results in certain types of behaviour and personality in the psychodynamic approach?
Tension between the 3 parts of the personality
What is the id?
The primitive, animalistic side of our mind
Where do each of the 3 parts of the personality reside?
Id - unconscious
Ego - conscious
Superego - unconscious
What is the ego?
The rational side of our mind
What is the superego?
Our sense of right and wrong (morals)
What does the id do?
It’s made up of your basic biological drives and demands these needs are met immediately
What does the ego do?
Mediates between the id and superego by balancing the conflicting demands of the id and the high moral standards of the superego.
Controls the id and only allows it to meet its needs in a socially acceptable time and manner
What principle does the id operate on?
The pleasure principle
What principle does the ego operate on?
The reality principle
What principle does the superego operate on?
The morality principle
What does the superego do?
Represents our ego-ideal (if we were perfect).
Drives us to do what is right and punishes us with feelings of guilt when we fail to meet its high standards
When is the superego formed and what is it formed from?
The end of the phallic stage, formed from the moral standards of our same sex parent
What is a criticism of the concept of the structure of the personality?
The ideas are hard to falsify (cannot be proved wrong (or right)) since the id, ego and superego are concepts not physical structures, so it is not scientific
Which part of the personality uses defence mechanisms
The ego (in order to reduce anxiety from the conflict between the id and superego)
Can using defence mechanisms lead to signs of mental illness according to Freud?
Yes when used excessively, using them some of the time is healthy/normal
What are the 3 defence mechanisms?
Repression, denial, displacement
What is repression?
Hiding distressing or unacceptable memories and emotions from the conscious mind
How can repressed memories still influence behaviour?
They may appear in altered forms like dreams or slips of the tongue (Freudian slips)
What is the supporting evidence for the concept of repression?
Williams found out of African-American women who had disclosed sexual abuse as children 38% did not recall the abuse 17 years later
What is denial?
Blocking the reality of a situation that is hard to face up to
What is displacement?
Redirecting an impulse towards a more acceptable, more helpless substitute target (person or object)
When does displacement occur?
When the id wants to do something the superego does not allow, the ego finds another way of releasing the energy
How many psychosexual stages are there?
5
At each stage of the psychosexual stages, what needs to be resolved and why?
A conflict, not resolving it results in a fixation
What are the 5 psychosexual stages in order? (with ages)
Oral - 0-2
Anal - 2-3
Phallic - 3-6
Latency - 6-12
Genital - 12+
Where is the libido focused in each psychosexual stage (and how is pleasure obtained)?
Oral - mouth: sucking, chewing, biting
Anal - anus: retaining and expelling faeces
Phallic - genitals
Latency - libido less active
Genital - genitals and sexual desire becomes conscious
What is the conflict to be resolved in the oral stage and what are the consequences of fixation?
Needs to move away from breast feeding through weaning.
Critical, sarcastic, thumb-sucking, smoking, pen-chewing
What is the conflict to be resolved in the anal stage and what are the consequences of fixation?
Needs to master toilet training.
Anal-retentive: obsessive, perfectionist, punctual, tidy.
Anal-expulsive: disorganised, messy, rebellious
What is the conflict to be resolved in the phallic stage and what are the consequences of fixation?
Needs to resolve the Oedipus or Electra complex (by identifying with their same sex parent).
Vain, reckless, could lead to homosexuality
What is the conflict to be resolved in the latency stage and what are the consequences of fixation?
Conflicts are represses, the child must focus on mastering social skills
What is the conflict to be resolved in the genital stage and what are the consequences of fixation?
Needs to form adult sexual relationships.
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships, fear of intimacy
What do children experience during the Oedipus or Electra complex?
They want a sexual relationship with their opposite sex parent, and are jealous of their same sex parent.
Boys: fear of castration from their father.
Girls: penis envy and think their mother castrated them
What is the supporting evidence for the concept of the Oedipus complex?
Case study of Little Hans by Freud.
5 year old boy developed a fear of horses after seeing one collapse, Freud suggested his phobia was displacement from his real phobia of castration by his father
What is a criticism of the psychodynamic approach?
Not scientific (2 reasons)
The supporting evidence is case studies which rely on subjective interpretation, they are also not representative samples.
It is hard to falsify since the id, ego and superego are concepts so we can’t use brain scans
What are the basic assumptions about the humanistic approach?
Everyone is unique and has free will.
Everyone is striving to reach self-actualisation
What is self-actualisation?
A feeling of extreme satisfaction and well-being, it is not a permanent state and is unique for everyone
What are the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (top to bottom)
Self-actualisation.
Self-esteem.
Love/belonging.
Safety/security.
Physiological
What is in the physiological level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Food, water, sleep, homeostasis, sex, breathing
What is in the safety/security level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Security of: body, employment, resources, family, health, property
What is in the love/belonging level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Friendship, family, sexual intimacy
What is in the self-esteem level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of and by others
What is in the self-actualisation level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts
In order to achieve self-actualisation, what did Maslow suggest an individual needs to do?
It’s about personal growth, must reach all 4 levels below it
What are the 3 aspects of the humanistic approach?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Focus on the self and congruence.
Conditions of worth
What is our self-concept?
How we see ourselves (affected by our self-esteem)
What is our ideal self?
What we wish we were like
What are the 3 selves in the humanistic approach?
Self-concept.
Ideal self.
Real self
What is congruence?
When the self-concept and the ideal self are the same or very similar.
The closer these two versions are to each other, the greater our feelings of self-worth
How can individuals increase their congruence?
Develop a healthier self-concept and have a more achievable and realistic ideal self
What are conditions of worth?
The conditions an individual thinks they have to meet in order to be loved and valued
What did Rogers believe about conditional and unconditional love?
Conditional love leads to problems of low self-worth
What is conditional love?
I will only love you if (there are conditions)
What is unconditional love?
I will love you even if (there aren’t any conditions)
What is the supporting evidence for the role of conditions of worth?
A study found that teenagers who feel there are conditions for love from parents often end up not liking themselves and have a poor self-concept, they are also more likely to develop depression and therefore cannot achieve self-actualisation
What is a weakness of the humanistic approach?
Ethnocentric (culturally biased) - the focus on the self and congruence imply individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth are desirable qualities which is good for individualistic societies (e.g. USA, Europe) but not for collectivist cultures (e.g. China) where membership of the community is more important
What are the practical applications for the humanistic approach?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs since countries where the inhabitants’ need were based around the lower levels has poorer levels of economic development. Economic and business development can be encouraged to focus on addressing the higher needs of citizens and employees.
Also client-centred therapy
What is client-centred therapy?
Therapy where the relationship between client and therapist is central, the therapist responds with total acceptance, genuineness, and empathy
Who invented client-centred therapy?
Rogers
What does client-centred therapy aim to do?
Increase congruence and therefore improve feelings of self-worth
How does client-centred therapy work?
The therapist offers unconditional positive regard, so the client has interaction with someone who values and accepts them, over time the client feels more accepting of themselves
What is a strength of client-centred therapy?
It is a forward-looking and effective therapy. It focuses on the present issues rather than dwelling on the past.
These techniques have been adopted in clinical, educational, social work and industrial settings
What is a weakness of client-centred therapy?
It is difficult to test the effectiveness scientifically since it is not possible to establish a cause and effect as the client may have recovered without the therapy
