Approaches Flashcards
1
Q
biological approach key assumption 1
A
behaviour and thought processes have an innate biological basis
2
Q
biological approach key assumption 2
A
all human behaviour is due to our genetic make-up, brain structures or chemical processes
3
Q
biological approach key assumption 3
A
human genes have evolved to adapt behaviour to the environment
4
Q
define genotype
A
genetic make up
5
Q
define phenotype
A
observed/expressed traits caused by genotype and/or environment
6
Q
define concordance rate
A
the probability that two people with shared genes will develop the same disorder
7
Q
how do twin studies show that a trait has a biological basis
A
greater chance of developing same disorder with more shared genes (monozygotic)
8
Q
how do twin studies show that a trait has a environmental basis
A
monozygotic twins share 100% of genes but there is not 100% concordance, differences must be due to other factors
9
Q
how do family studies show that a trait has a biological basis
A
if a trait is present in all generations, there is a likelihood that the trait is genetic
10
Q
how do family studies show that a trait has a environmental basis
A
if trait didn’t occur in every generation it could be due to environmental factors
11
Q
how do adoption studies show that a trait has a biological basis
A
if a trait is present in the biological parent but not the adoptive and then in the child, it must be genetic
12
Q
how do adoption studies show that a trait has a environmental basis
A
if the adoptive parent demonstrates a trait that is present in the child, it is likely learnt
13
Q
issues with twin studies
A
never truly comprehend if the difference is biological or environment, monozygotic twins share 100% of genes but also a similar environment
14
Q
issues with family studies
A
social learning theory states we learn by imitation of a role model, culture will also affect who raises a child
15
Q
issues with adoption studies
A
results can be affected by when the child was adopted (confounding variable)
16
Q
strength of biological approach
A
objective, scientific study, high validity as results are observable
17
Q
weakness of biological approach (1)
A
implications may be dangerous, eugenics and gene manipulation may have negative impacts if taken too far
18
Q
weakness of biological approach (2)
A
difficult to fully separate nature and nurture, we cannot be sure that anything is only down to genes
19
Q
psychodynamic approach key assumption 1
A
unconscious processes of which we are unaware of determine our behaviour
20
Q
psychodynamic approach key assumption 2
A
there are 3 parts to the personality- id, ego, superego
21
Q
psychodynamic approach key assumption 3
A
childhood experiences determine adult personality
22
Q
describe the id
A
pleasure principle, selfish, present from birth
23
Q
describe the superego
A
morality principle, develops around age 5, identify with same sex parent
24
Q
describe the ego
A
reality principle, decision maker, develops age 2-3
25
what is the conscious
the part of the mind we are aware of
26
what is the preconscious
thoughts, feelings and experiences that we are not aware of but can be accessed
27
what is the unconscious
the inaccessible parts of our mind, a series of biological drives
28
what is repression
the ego forces unacceptable thoughts out of consciousness into the unconscious involuntarily
29
what is displacement
diverting emotions onto someone else because emotions cannot be expressed to the person concerned or because accepting fault will cause anxiety
30
what is denial
blocking external events from awareness consciously, refusal to experience a situation
31
what is regression
responding to anxiety by acting childishly in ways that may have been effective in childhood
32
what are the 5 psychosexual stages in order
oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
33
describe what happens in the oral phase
age 0-1, pleasure stems from putting things in the mouth to satisfy id demands, oral fixations can develop
34
describe what happens in the anal stage
age 2-3, pleasure stems from defecating, conflict between controlling own toilet behaviour and letting it be dictated by adults, anal retentive/expulsive can develop
35
describe what happens in the phallic stage
age 3-5, pleasure stems from the genitalia, identification with same sex parent as the child becomes aware of anatomical differences, oedipus/electra complex
36
describe what happens in the latency stage
age 6-11, libido is dormant and sexual impulses are repressed, children play with others of the same gender
37
describe what happens in the genital stage
age 12+, pleasure stems from heterosexual relationships and sexual experimentation, resolved by settling, fixation and conflict can result in sexual perversions
38
how does the oedipus complex develop and function
boys develop a desire for their mother, the father is seen as a rival and is wanted dead, boys also fear the father and develop castration anxiety (mother doesn’t have a penis), boys overcome this by identifying with their father, repressing the desire for mother into the unconscious
39
how does the electra complex develop and function
girls develop a desire for their father, girls have penis envy believing that their mothers have castrated them already, this is replaced by a desire to have a baby with their father, girls fear this will cause them to lose their mother’s love and so identify with mother, repressing the desire for father into the unconscious
40
results of the little hans case study
little hans’ fear of his father was projected onto horses, the blinkers and whiskers represented his father’s glasses and moustache, his finger being bitten represented castration anxiety, the horse falling over was desire for his father to die
41
how does the little hans case study provide evidence for the phallic stage
hans was in the age range of the phallic stage, experiencing the characteristics such as focus on the genitalia and an oedipus complex, he also had castration anxiety stemming from the unconscious and his father’s threats
42
weakness of the psychodynamic approach (1)
unfalsifiable, cannot be tested scientifically and so cannot be proven or disproven
43
weakness of the psychodynamic approach (2)
socially sensitive research, gender bias (centred around the penis), suggestion of sexual desires in children, inclusion of only the nuclear family
44
strength of the psychodynamic approach
pioneering approach with real life application in understanding criminal behaviour and in therapy
45
humanistic approach key assumption 1
humans should be viewed as a whole and not reduced to component parts (holistic)
46
humanistic approach key assumption 2
person-entered approach, we are all unique and therefore the subjective experience should be studied
47
humanistic approach key assumption 3
humans have free will, we are able to control and determine our behaviour
48
humanistic approach key assumption 4
everyone innately strives to achieve personal growth or self actualisation
49
detail maslow’s hierarchy of needs in order
physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation
50
describe the traits of someone who is self-actualised
self-awareness and acceptance of themselves and others, ability to deal with uncertainty, creativity
51
what characteristics did roger’s say humanistic therapy should have
unconditional positive regard, non-directive, personal relationship, focus on the immediate not the past, draw out potential (self-actualisation)
52
explain conditions of worth
worth is derived from what behaviours love is received for due to the boundaries placed on love by parents
53
explain unconditional positive self
therapists should not impose any conditions of worth onto patients and must be genuine, in order for clients to achieve personal growth and reduce incongruence
54
explain congruence of self
in order to achieve personal growth, we must be congruent in our sense of self, self esteem is the gap between our ideal self and our self concept, a large gap represents a low self esteem, a small gap meaning high self esteem
55
how does humanistic therapy increase congruence of self
self esteem can be increased by raising the self-concept or lowering the ideal self
56
strength of the humanistic approach
real life application in therapy with evidence that it works
57
weakness of the humanistic approach (1)
cultural bias, humanistic values are more associated with individualistic than collectivist cultures
58
weakness of the humanistic approach (2)
unscientific and subjective, therefore unfalsifiable, cannot be proven or disproven
59
behaviourist approach key assumption 1
only behaviour that can be observed and measured objectively should be studied
60
behaviourist approach key assumption 2
basic processes of learning occur in all species
61
behaviourist approach key assumption 3
all behaviour is determined by environmental stimuli, learnt through classical and operant conditioning
62
what is classical conditioning
a form of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex response is associated with a new stimulus
63
define extinction (of a behaviour)
loss of the conditioned response
64
define spontaneous recovery (of a behaviour)
following extinction, the link between the cs and ucs is established more quickly if paired again
65
define stimulus generalisation (in terms of behaviour)
once conditioned, an animal can respond to other stimuli in a similar way
66
define stimulus discrimination (in terms of behaviour)
if no similar stimuli is presented with the cs, an animal will only respond to the cs
67
what is operant conditioning
a form of learning where voluntary behaviour is shaped and maintained by its outcomes (reinforcement or punishment)
68
describe the method of skinner’s experiment
a hungry rat is placed in skinner’s box and left to explore, every time the rat presses a lever a food pellet is given, the lever is deactivated, the rat only gets a food pellet when the lever is pressed while a green light is on
69
define positive reinforcement
a positive consequence for behaviour, increasing likelihood of behaviour being repeated
70
define negative reinforcement
something unpleasant is removed from the environment, increasing likelihood of behaviour being repeated
71
define punishment
a negative consequence for behaviour, decreasing the likelihood of behaviour being repeated
72
what are the two schedules of reinforcement
ratio and interval
73
explain ratio schedule of reinforcement
fixed ratio- reinforcement given every nth number of behaviours, variable ratio- reinforcement given at variable numbers of behaviours
74
explain interval schedule of reinforcement
fixed interval- reinforcement given every nth period of time, variable ratio- reinforcement given at variable periods of time
75
what is a token economy
a visual representation of a reward being obtained in the future for behaviour being displayed in the present (positive reinforcement)
76
strength of the behaviourist approach
real life application, operant conditioning is useful in many settings such as schools and prisons
77
weakness of the behaviourist approach (1)
the approach does not account for independent thinking or feelings, reductionist
78
social learning theory basic assumption 1
human behaviour is learned from observing and imitating role models
79
social learning theory basic assumption 2
learning can occur indirectly through vicarious reinforcement
80
social learning theory basic assumption 3
mediating cognitive factors take place between stimulus and response
81
define vicarious reinforcement
learning through observing another person’s experience of reinforcement
82
explain modelling
imitation of the behaviour of a role model
83
explain the two types of models
live- someone physically present, symbolic- people present in media
84
factors influencing likelihood of imitation of behaviour
status of the model, likability/attractiveness of model, reinforcement of model, self-esteem of observer
85
what are the stages of mediational processes
attention- extent of noticing behaviour, retention- forming a mental representation, motor reproduction- where imitation occurs dependent on self-efficacy, motivation- performance of the behaviour reinforced or punished vicariously
86
describe bandura’s method
video of female/male role model being aggressive to boob doll shown to children, children put in a room with toys frustrated (only played for 3 mins), then put in room with boob doll and other toys, behaviour was observed through one way mirror
87
describe bandura’s results
evidence of aggression in all behavioural categories- verbal aggression, straddled and hit doll, hit with hammer, threw into air, boys imitated more than girls, girls imitated males more than females, 70% of control group were not aggressive
88
strength of the social learning theory
evidence of role models influencing behaviour, increased probability of engaging in criminal behaviour when exposed to models who commit criminal behaviour
89
weakness of the social learning theory
supporting evidence lacks ecological validity, children may have believed they were expected to hit the boob doll, demand characteristics
90
cognitive approach key assumptions 1
mental processes lie between stimulus and response
91
cognitive approach key assumptions 2
theoretical models can be used to explain unobservable cognitive processes and behaviours
92
cognitive approach key assumptions 3
humans process information in a similar way to computers
93
cognitive approach key assumptions 4
humans use schemas to process information from the environment
94
how are schemas useful
allow us to organise information and prevents us from being overwhelmed, allowed us to respond quickly and appropriately
95
how can schemas be problematic
can contain stereotypes or prejudices that can limit us and are hard to unlearn, can cause biased recall or inaccurate ewt
96
explain how the input-process-output model works
info from environment (input) -> coding turns info into usable format -> info is manipulated/transformed (process) -> processed info is outputted to environment -> behavioural response (output)
97
strength of the cognitive approach
a falsifiable approach based on scientific research
98
weakness of the cognitive approach
theoretical models cannot be observed or measured, msm/wmm, cannot be sure they exist
99
wundt’s main assumptions
objective measurement and strict control
introspection- observation of one’s own mental/emotional processes
systematic report by structuralism (analysed and broke down thoughts)
insight into underlying structure of mind, consciousness and thoughts
100
strengths of wundt
+standardised procedures, controlled experiments
+acknowledged own limitations and encouraged development
+influential in developing psychology, first lab
101
limitations of wundt
- based on correlations, cannot develop causation
- generated hard to analyse qualitative data, introspection relies on unobservable processes
