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A-Level Psychology > Approaches > Flashcards

Approaches Flashcards

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1
Q

What is introspection

A

The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations

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2
Q

What is psychology

A

The scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience

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3
Q

What is the definition of science

A

A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim is to discover general laws

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4
Q

What is the behaviourist approach

A

A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

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5
Q

What is classical conditioning

A

Learning by association
- occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together
- unconditioned stimulus and a new neutral stimulus
- the neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditional stimulus alone

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6
Q

What is operant conditioning

A

A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences.
- possible consequences of behaviour include reinforcement (positive or negative) and punishment

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7
Q

what is reinforcement

A

A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated
- can be positive and negative

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8
Q

What is the social learning theory

A

A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors

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9
Q

What is imitation

A

Copying the behaviour of others

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10
Q

What is identification

A

When an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model.

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11
Q

What is modelling

A

From the observers perspective, modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model
From the model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be imitated bu an observer

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12
Q

What is vicarious reinforcement

A

Reinforcement which is not directly experienced by occurs through observing someone else being reinforces for a behaviour
This is a key factor of imitation.

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13
Q

What is meditational processes

A

Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response

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14
Q

What are the meditational processes

A

Attention - the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention - how well the behaviour is remembered
Motor reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded to punished

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15
Q

What is the cognitive approach

A

The term ‘cognitive’ has come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes affect behaviour

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16
Q

What are internal mental processes

A

‘Private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response

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17
Q

What is a schema

A

A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing
- they are developed from experiences

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18
Q

What is inference

A

The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour

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19
Q

what is cognitive neuroscience

A

The scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes

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20
Q

What is the biological approach

A

A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural functions

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21
Q

What are genes

A

They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism

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22
Q

What are biological structures

A

An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing

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23
Q

What is neurochemistry

A

Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning

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24
Q

What is a genotype

A

The particular set of genes that a person possesses

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25
Q

What is a phenotype

A

The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment

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26
Q

What is evolution

A

The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations

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27
Q

What is the psychodynamic approach

A

A perspective that describes the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind adn direct human behaviour and experience

28
Q

What is the unconscious

A

The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour

29
Q

What is the ID

A

Pleasure principle
- entirely unconscious
- made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification

30
Q

What is the EGO

A

Reality principle
- balances the conflicting demands of the Id and Superego

31
Q

What is the SuperEgo

A

Morality principle
- the moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self - how we ought to be

32
Q

What are defence mechanisms

A

Unconscious strategies that the Ego uses to manage the conflicts between the ID and SuperEgo

33
Q

What are psychosexual stages

A

Five developmental stages that all children pass through. At each stage there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development

34
Q

what are the 5 psychosexual stages

A
  • oral
  • anal
  • phallic
  • latency
  • genital
35
Q

What is humanistic psychology

A

An approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each person’s capacity for self-determinism

36
Q

What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach

A
  • studying behaviour that can be observed and measured
  • John B. Watson rejected introspection
  • relies on lab studies
  • behaviour is learnt
  • two forms of learning: operant and classical conditioning
37
Q

What is an example of classical conditioning

A

Pavlov’s dog
- sound of bell = food
- causes the dog to drool

38
Q

What is an example of operant conditioning

A

Skinner’s box
- pressing the button would give the animal food

39
Q

What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach

A

Well-controlled research
- measures observable behaviours
- highly controlled settings
- basic stimulus-response units remove extraneous variables
- cause and effect relationships are established
- scientific credibility

Real world applications
- operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems
- reward appropriate behaviours with tokens
- can be exchanged for rewards
- has widespread applications

40
Q

What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach

A

Counterpoint to well-controlled research
- oversimplified the learning processes
- ignores idea of free will
- internal mental processes are vital

Environmental determinism
- sees all behaviours as conditioned by past conditioning experiences
- past conditioning history determines our actions
- ignores possible influence of free will
- ignores the influence of conscious decision-making

41
Q

What are the assumptions of the social learning theory

A
  • people learn through observation and imitation of each other
  • learning occurs both directly (classical/operant conditioning) and indirectly
  • vicarious reinforcement
  • mediational processes
  • identification
42
Q

What is an example of research done for SLT

A

Bandura’s bobo dolls
- children would watch an adult with a Bobo doll
- they would imitate this behaviour
- if they were violent so were the children
- more likely to copy same gender as themselves

43
Q

Strengths of SLT

A

Cognitive factors
- recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning
- neither CC or OC can give an adequate account of learning
- humans store information about how others behaviour and make judgements from it
- a more comprehensive explanation of human learning

Real world application
- can explain cultural differences in behaviour
- SLT principles (reinforcement, modelling, imitiation) account for how children learnt from others
- social norms are transmitted through particular societies
- increases the value of SLT

44
Q

Weaknesses of SLT

A

Counterpoint to cognitive factors
- makes too little influence to the biological factors of learning
- learning itself is determined by the environment
- recent research says observational learning may be a result of mirror neurons in the brain
- allow us to empathise with and imitate other people
- biological influences are under emphasised in SLT

Contrived lab studies
- all evidence is gathered through lab studies
- this can result in demand characteristics
- the children were acting in the way they were expected to (Bobo dolls)
- research tells us little about how children learn aggression in everyday life

45
Q

What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach

A
  • internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically
  • investigates areas of human behaviour that were neglected by behaviourists (memory, perception, thinking)
  • cognitive psychologists make these observations indirectly through inferences
  • schemas
  • theoretical and computer models
46
Q

Strengths of cognitive approach

A

Scientific methods
- highly controlled and rigorous methods of study
- allows researchers to make inferences
- the study of the mind has credible scientific basis

Real-world applications
- most dominant approach
- applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts
- AI and robots
- advances that may revolutionise how we live in the future
- applied to treatment of depression
- improving reliability of eye witness testimonies

47
Q

Weaknesses of the cognitive approach

A

Counterpoint to scientific methods
- cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes
- can suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature
- research is often carried out using artificial stimuli
- may not represent everyday life
- may lack external validity

Machine reductionism
- similarities between the human mind and computers
- computer analogy has been criticised
- ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation
- human memory is effected by emotional factors
- machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach

48
Q

What are the assumptions of the biological approach

A
  • everything psychological is at first biological
  • must look at the biological structures and processes
  • the mind lives in the brain (thoughts, feelings, behaviours have a physical basis)
  • neurochemical/genetic basis of behaviour
  • genotypes and phenotypes
  • evolution and behaviour
49
Q

What are the neurochemical basis of behaviour

A

Neurotransmitters
- serotonin in OCD
- dopamine in schizophrenia

50
Q

What are the genetic basis of behaviour

A

Behaviours are inherited
- concordance rate
- compare monozygotic and dizygotic twins

51
Q

What are the strengths of the biological approach

A

Real world application
- use of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders
- antidepressant drugs increase the neurotransmitter serotonin at synapses in the brain
- allows those with depression to better manage it

Scientific methods
- use a range of precise and highly objective methods
- scanning techniques: fMRIs and EEGs
- much of the biological approach is bases on objective and reliable data

52
Q

Weaknesses of the biological approach

A

Counterpoint to real world applications
- antidepressants do not work for everyone
- Andrea Cipriani tested 21 antidepressants and found a large variety of effectiveness
- shows brain chemistry alone does not account for all cases of diseases like depression

Biological determinism
- believes behaviour is governed by internal genetic causes over which we have no control
- genotypes however are heavily influences by the environment
- biological view is often too simplistic
- ignores any mediating effects of the environment

53
Q

What are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

A
  • role of the unconscious
  • suppressing memories
  • structure of personality (Id, Ego, Superego)
  • psychosexual stages (Oral, Anal, Phylis, Latency, Genital)
  • defence mechanisms
54
Q

What are the psychosexual stages

A
  • 5 stages children undergo in development
  • child must resolve one to more onto the next stage
  • unresolved conflicts can lead to fixations
55
Q

What is the oral stage of psychosexual stages

A

Focuses of pleasure is the mouth
- mother’s breast is the object of desires

56
Q

What is the anal stage of the psychosexual stages

A

Focus of pleasure is the anus
- child gains pleasure from withholding or expelling faeces

57
Q

What is the phallic stage of the psychosexual stages

A

Focus of pleasure in the genital area

58
Q

What is the latency stage of the psychosexual stages

A

Earlier conflicts are repressed

59
Q

What is the genital stage of the psychosexual stages

A

Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

60
Q

Strengths of the psychodynamic approach

A

Real world application
- Freud introduces psychoanalysis as a form of therapy
- first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically
- designed to access the unconscious
- brings their repressed emotions into their unconscious
- counselling
- value of the psychodynamic approach in creating a new approach to treatment

Explanatory power
- used to explain a wide range of phenomena including personality development, moral development and gender identity
- draws attention to the connections between experiences in childhood and later development
- has had a positive impact on psychology

61
Q

Weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach

A

Counterpoint to real world application
- inappropriate and even harmful for more serious mental disorders (schizophrenia)
- these patients have lost their grip on reality
- cannot articulate their though in the way that is required by psychoanalysis
- may not apply to all mental disorders

Untestable concepts
- does not meet the scientific criteria of falsification
- not open to empirical testing
- they occur at an unconscious level
- difficult/impossible to test
- subjective results
- Freud’s theory was pseudoscience (not a real science) and established fact

62
Q

Assumptions of the humanistic approach

A
  • self determining and have free will
  • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
  • self actualisation
  • the self, congruence and conditions of worth
63
Q

What are the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A
  • physiological needs
  • safety and security
  • love and belonging
  • self esteem
  • self actualisation
64
Q

What are the two different types of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A
  • deficiency needs
  • growth needs
65
Q

Strengths of humanistic approach

A

Not reductionist
- rejects attempts to break behaviour into smaller components
- advocate holism (looking at the whole person)
- may have more validity

Positive approach
- bringing the person back into psychology
- prompting a positive image of the human
- offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative to other approaches

66
Q

Weaknesses to the humanistic approach

A

Counterpoint to not reductionist
- reduction is approaches can be more scientific
- experiments reduce behaviour into the IV and DV
- few concepts that can be broken down and measured
- short on empirical evidence

Cultural differences
- many concepts are better applied to more individualist countries (US)
- countries with collectivist tendencies emphasis the needs of the group and interdependence
- approach does not apply universally

67
Q

What is congruence

A

When someone’s ideal self and actual self are consistent with each other

A-Level Psychology (11 decks)

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