Approaches

Question 1

Origins of psychology

Answer 1

Wundt focussed on studying the mind in a scientific way. Using a structuralist (breaking down human thoughts and experiences into basic components) and a reductionist approach, using methods such as introspection in controlled lab studies to investigate what people were thinking.

Question 2

Introspection

Answer 2

Analysing thoughts and feelings internally, in the 1800s there were no brain scans so he studied sensation and perception and analysed the quality of the sensations people experienced using introspection.

Introspection is used to investigate simple cause and effect processes, using reductionism to break human experience down into smaller parts.

Question 3

Strengths of introspection

Answer 3

Using lab experiments - systematic and controlled.

Question 4

Limitations of introspection

Answer 4

Doesn’t explain how the mind works.

Subjective so doesn’t provide reliable data.

Question 5

Key assumptions of the behaviourist approach.

Answer 5

1. Everyone is born tabula rasa, 2. only observable behaviour should be studied in controlled lab settings, 3. laws for learning are the same for both animals and humans, 4. nurture explanation.

Question 6

Which studies support the behaviourist approach?

Answer 6

Pavlov and classical conditioning and Skinner and operant conditioning

Question 7

Explain Pavlov’s classical conditioning study.

Answer 7

Learning through association.
An automatic conditioned response is paired with a specific stimulus.
An unconditioned (UCS) causes an unconditioned response (UCR).
A neutral stimulus (NS) causes a neutral response (NR).
During conditioning NS + UCS creates an unconditioned response.
After conditioning the conditioned stimulus creates a conditioned response.

Question 8

Explain Skinners operant conditioning study.

Answer 8

Learning through reinforcement and punishment.
Study 1- Positive reinforcement, every time the animal pressed the lever it received a food pellet.
Study 2- Negative reinforcement, the animal was subjected to a constant electric shock and pressing the lever would stop the shocking.
Study 3- punishment, every time the animal pressed the lever it was given an electric shock.

Question 9

What is negative punishment?

Answer 9

Something you like is taken away.

Question 10

What is positive punishment?

Answer 10

Receive something unpleasant.

Question 11

Strengths of the conditioning in the behaviourist approach

Answer 11

Little Albert study - supports Pavlov.

The use of scientific methods means that research into behaviourism has good reliability - using objective methods to measure observable behaviour

Behaviourism takes a nomothetic approach which is a strength as it seeks to establish general laws of behaviour which can be applied universally - developing treatments such as flooding and systematic desensitisation

Question 12

Limitations of the conditioning in the behaviourist approach

Answer 12

The behaviourist approach is overly simplistic, offering a reductionist view of behaviour which ignores key factors such as personality, cognition, culture. Environmentally deterministic - cause of behaviour is not related the to individual.

Scientific methodology is not necessarily the best way to study human behaviour: humans are more sophisticated than a single quantitative finding may suggest. Lab studies lack ecological validity. Research on animals cannot be generalised.

Question 13

What are the key assumptions about Social Learning Theory?

Answer 13

4 mediational processes - cognitive factors that influence learning
People learn through observing and imitating models, models are more likely to be imitated if the observer identifies with them.

Behaviour is also learnt through reinforcement (positive and negative) and vicarious reinforcement (seeing others being rewarded influences choice whether to imitate the behaviour)

Question 14

What are the 4 mediational processes?

Answer 14

Attention (noticing model and their behaviour)
Retention (remembering the behaviour that you observed)
Motivation (evaluate the direct/indirect results of imitating behaviour - rewards) Reproduction (judge whether you have the ability to reproduce the behaviour)

Question 15

What is the study supporting social learning theory?

Answer 15

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Question 16

Explain Bandura’s bobo doll experiment.

Answer 16

Research 1- children watched an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll and an adult behaving non-aggressively towards the bobo doll. When given their own doll to play with, children who witnessed aggressive behaviour acted aggressively towards the doll.
Control condition which showed little agression.

Research 2- children watched an who was rewarded, punished and has no consequence. When given their own doll, children who saw aggressive behaviour rewarded were also aggressive towards the doll.

Question 17

What is vicarious reinforcement.

Answer 17

Modelling behaviour is more likely if the behaviour is rewarded.

Question 18

What is vicarious punishment.

Answer 18

Modelling behaviour is less likely if the behaviour is punished.

Question 19

Strengths of social learning theory

Answer 19

SLT provides a more rounded explanation of behaviours which are learned via environmental stimuli than that offered by behaviourism, shown in criminals (people are more likely to commit crimes if the people around them also do). Considers the cognitive factors that affect learning. HOWEVER it does not consider free will and moral values.

SLT research tends to use standardised procedures within controlled lab conditions which can be replicated to check for reliability

Can explain difference in behaviour in other cultures. If behaviour is not displayed it cannot be imitated - Amish are non violent.

Question 20

Limitations of social learning theory.

Answer 20

Does not account for innate and biological factors such as the influence of genes, hormones, brain structures on behaviour which limits its scope

Using lab-based research to investigate behaviour learned in social contexts lacks ecological validity as it uses artificial tasks in unnatural settings. Doll couldn’t retaliate, does not consider that behaviour might be different towards another child.

Question 21

Cognitive approach key assumptions (4)

Answer 21

1. internal mental processes, but they cannot be observed directly, inferences must be made. 2. objective and experimental methods, 3. computer and theoretical models, information is received from out senses and processed by the brain which directs how we behave. 4. schemas.

Investigating how we think

Question 22

What are the internal mental processes?

Answer 22

Perception (taking in and interpreting information from our senses)
Attention (focusing on a particular source of information)
Memory (retaining and recalling information)
Language (study of communication and thinking in relation to language)
Thinking (manipulating information in the mind in order to reason, problem solve and make decisions - interconnected systems)

Question 23

What are schemas?

Answer 23

Process information quickly, different schemas for different things, stored in long term memory.
Object/event/role schemas.

Can cause bias when recalling information or a negative/faulty schema can cause mental illness

Question 24

What is the study supporting schemas

Answer 24

Allport and Postman.

Question 25

What is the Allport and Postman experiment.

Answer 25

Investigating schemas affect on recall.
Black and white participants shown a photo of a well dressed black man and a white man with a razor. Participants told the story through serial reproduction. White participants said the black man was the aggressor, black participants had more accurate results, saying the white man was the aggressor.

Question 26

What are theoretical models?

Answer 26

Diagrammatic representations of the steps involved in internal mental processes.
For example the MSM.

Question 27

What are computer models?

Answer 27

Software stimulations of internal mental processes. Programming a computer to see if information processing instructions produce similar output in computers and humans.

Information processing in the mind is seen to be similar to a computer.

Data input - interpreting environmental stimuli.
Data processing
Data output - behavioural responses, thoughts.

Has highlighted how the brain can carry out a range of functions including - problem solving and anticipation of events.
Useful for the development of AI.

Question 28

Cognitive neurosceince

Answer 28

Scientific study of the influence of the brain on mental processes.

Lesion studies - looking at people with brain damage to see how behaviour is affected. Broca identified how damage to the frontal lobe can permanently impair speech production.

Neuroimaging - using PET scans and fMRIs scientists have been able to systematically observe and identify the neurological basis of mental processes. Tulving was able to show how different types of long term memory (episodic and semantic) may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex.

Computer generated models which are used to ‘read’ the brain has led to the development of brain mapping techniques known as brain fingerprinting. This could be used in the future to analyse the brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to determine if they are lying or not.

Question 29

Machine reductionism.

Answer 29

The belief that humans are reduced to processers of information.

Question 30

Strengths of the cognitive approach

Answer 30

The use of lab experiments increases the reliability of the cognitive approach methodology with its use of controlled conditions and replicable standardised procedures. HOWEVER may not be relevant to everyday life - artificial.

The study of IMP has good scientific validity, particularly with the emergence of cognitive neuroscience. Practical applications - EWT and cognitive interview. Also useful to explain mental disorders - depression caused by negative self schema.

Question 31

Limitations of the cognitive approach

Answer 31

The study of IMP is an example of machine reductionism i.e. it is overly contrived and unlike real, unpredictable, multi-faceted, emotional human behaviour, does not account for emotion.

The fact that IMP can only be inferred means that this approach to explaining behaviour is overly abstract and detached from real life, thus it lacks external validity

Question 32

Key assumptions about the biological approach.

Answer 32

1. Nature approach, behaviour is rooted in physiology and biological processes in the body and the biochemistry of the body: structure of the nervous system which is influenced by genetic and evolutionary factors.
   It is a nomothetic approach, and biological reductionist.

Brain structure and functioning of the nervous system affects behaviour.

Question 33

What is the study that supports the biological approach.

Answer 33

Twin studies.

Question 34

Explain twin studies.

Answer 34

Conducted on MZ and DZ twins . Shows the importance of environmental and genetic influences for traits, phenotypes and disorders. Correlations between 2 sets of twins. If identical twins are more similar this shows that genes have an important role.

Schizophrenia - 48% identical twins, 17% fraternal twins.

Question 35

Genotype.

Answer 35

Dictates characteristics like eye and hair colour. Individuals (except twins) have a unique genotype and DNA sequence which will provide the genetic code on how the individual will develop.

Question 36

Phenotype.

Answer 36

The product of what happens when the genotype reacts with the environment.

The physical representation that occurs as a result of the genotype.

Question 37

Evolution

Answer 37

Individuals inherit characteristics that are more adaptive, will help survival and reproduction (natural selection)
Behaviours that arose and helped our ancestors (the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness) should still exist.
This is the biological preparedness theory.

Bowlby’s attachment theory.

Question 38

Strength of the biological approach

Answer 38

Practical applications - treatment for OCD (SSRIs) from the research into genes which affect the activity of neurotransmitters

Scientific - clear variables that can be objectively measured - PET scans used to identify 14 areas of the brain associated with murderers. Not open to bias = reliable.

Question 39

Limitations of the biological approach.

Answer 39

Biologically reductionist - schizophrenia is concerned with multiple causes but the biological approach just suggests it is down to the role of neurotransmitters and it ignores life experiences (nurture). Twins do not show 100% concordance rate, so there must be some environmental cause. Incomplete explanation

Nomothetic - looking at individuals/small groups of people and generalising the findings to everyone. Ignores individual differences between people. OCD - ateologically heterozygous (no 2 people with OCD will have the same genetic cause.

Difficult to establish cause and effect with neurotransmitters.

Question 40

Psychodynamic approach

Answer 40

Behaviour is explained by forces that drive us to behave in a certain way.
These forces are unconscious and are the result of interaction between innate drives and early childhood experience.

Behaviour. Can be explained by inner conflicts in the mind. The role of the unconscious mind, structure of the personality and childhood experience have affects later in life. The unconscious mind determines our behaviour.

Question 41

The mind

Answer 41

Conscious mind - contains current thoughts and perceptions.

Pre-conscious mind - information which we are not currently aware of but can easily bring into the conscious mind.

Unconscious mind - inaccessible, content unknown. Contains traumatic memories, secret desires and conflicts.

Question 42

Tripartite personality

Answer 42

Personality is made up by 3 parts:

Superego - develops around age 5-6, understands what is right and wrong, makes you feel good for doing what is morally right and feel bad for doing what id morally wrong.

Ego - develops age 2, operates reality principle (manages the conflict between the superego and id), decision maker which considers the consequences of actions.

Id - innate, operates pleasure principle, wants instant gratification, selfish, 2 drives - thanatos (agressive) and libido (pleasure).

Continuous unconscious conflict between the superego and id.

Id dominant (aggressive and selfish)
Superego dominant (following rules - ‘moral saint’)

Question 43

Defence mechanisms

Answer 43

Strategies that the ego will unconsciously develop to protect itself from trauma or id-superego conflict by distorting or denying the reality of the situation. Used for short periods of time to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats.

Everyone uses defence mechanisms and they include:
Repression - pushing a painful memory deep down into the unconscious mind so it is effectively forgotten. (childhood abuse)
Denial - refusing to accept the reality of the situation. (addict claiming they could stop anytime)
Displacement - redirecting unacceptable feelings from the original source to a safer, substitute target. (take out frustration with boss on a colleague)

Projection - attributing ones unacceptable feelings and thoughts to others and not yourself.
Regression - reverting back to immature behaviour from earlier stages of development
Sublimation - replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behaviours.

Question 44

Psychosexual stages

Answer 44

Childhood experiences shape adult personality. At each stage there is conflicts that a child must learn to resolve in order to successfully progress to the next stage. Unresolved conflicts cause the child to be stuck in the stage and will result in certain behaviours continuing into adult life.

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

Question 45

Stage 1

Answer 45

Oral stage (0-18 months) - pleasure comes through the mouth (feeding - specifically breastfeeding), too much or too little gratification leads to fixation.

Consequences of fixation: sucking thumb, smoking. Too much = orally perceptive = gullible. Too little = orally aggressive = shouting.

Question 46

Stage 2

Answer 46

Anal stage (18 months - 3 years) - pleasure comes from bowel movements, too much/little gratification leads to fixation.

Consequences of fixation: too much= anally expulsive = messy, disorganised, late. Too little = anally retentive = neat, organised, punctual.

Question 47

Stage 3

Answer 47

Phallic stage (3-6 years) - develop fascination with own genitals and those of opposite sex.
Boys enter oedipal complex - sexual desire towards the mother, jealous of father and fears that they will be punished by them (castration anxiety).
Girls enter electra complex - realisation of no penis, castration blamed on mother so jealous and hostile towards them. Identifies with the mother, wants to have children.
Not identifying with same sex parent = fixated, phallic personality

Consequences of fixation: vain, centre of attention, problems with authority figures, gay.

Question 48

Stage 4

Answer 48

Latency stage (6-12 years) - sexual drives are repressed.
Fixation does not happen at this stage

Question 49

Stage 5

Answer 49

Genital stage (12+) - pleasure comes from the genitals. Adult gains pleasure from masturbation and sexual intercourse.

Consequence of fixation: mentally healthy adult.

Question 50

Strength of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 50

Practical applications - therapy, psychoanalysis used to to help people overcome psychological problems by helping them access their unconscious mind so conflicts are dealt with.

Interactionist - accounts for both sides of the nature nurture debate. Behaviour is a result of innate drives and childhood experience. Human behaviour can be influenced by many factors - holistic explanation and does reflect the complexity of human behaviour.

Question 51

Limitations of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 51

Difficult to falsify - cannot be tested, most behaviour is caused by the unconscious mind. Theory is pseudoscientific (not a real science) rather than an established fact because it cannot be proven wrong.

Deterministic - we have no free will over who we become or how we behave. Provides an excuse for inappropriate behaviour.

Austrian case studies - lacks population validity and gathers subjective qualitative data.

Question 52

Humanistic approach

Answer 52

Alternative to psychodynamic and behaviourist approaches - Maslow and Rodgers.

Argues that everyone is self determining and have free will, we are active agents that determine our own behaviour

Accurate understanding of human behaviour and nature can only be obtained from studying humans and studying the individual to gain insight into subjective experience.

Question 53

Maslow’s contribution

Answer 53

Aim to investigate the uniquely human aspects of experience.
People were motivated by needs - hierarchy of needs, ranging from lower physiological needs to higher level psychological needs.
You only move up the hierarchy when lower levels are satisfied.

Self actualisation - desire to grow and develop to reach full potential (psychological growth, fulfilment and satisfaction with with). however not everyone will reach these higher levels (serious mental health issues). Final stage in the hierarchy.

Question 54

Rodgers’ contribution

Answer 54

It is in our nature to do the best we can.

Not everyone achieves their potential - potential for growth and development is reliant on us having a positive self concept (understanding) and high self esteem (feeling).

We have a self image (images of ourselves) and an ideal self (as we would like to be).
If these are congruent we will gave good self esteem.

Parents should show unconditional positive regard towards their children - showing that you love and respect them no matter what.

Question 55

How do psychological issues arise.

Answer 55

If young people learn that they will only be valued if they meet demands made by their family. Believing that we will only be valued if we are successful in becoming what is expected is conditional positive regard.

It will limit out potential growth because it leads to low self esteem as there is incongruence with self image and ideal self.
Lack confidence, defensive and unhappy.

Question 56

Client centred therapy

Answer 56

Help to reduce the gap between self image and ideal self.
Showing value and respect (unconditional positive regard), empathetic understanding and accurate insight into the clients life. Therapist encourages free will to make choices that bring them closer to the ideal self and set them on the path of self actualisation in a non-directive way.

Question 57

Strengths of the humanistic approach

Answer 57

We are self determining and have free will, unlike other approaches which have been criticised for determinism - questions the validity of the behaviourist approach, instead views us as active agents.
Allows us to have greater fulfilment and content life.

Practical applications in counselling psychology - treating clients with empathy and genuineness. Client centred therapy is effective.
However, inappropriate for more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Question 58

Limitations of the humanistic approach

Answer 58

Less reductionist and more holistic compared to other approaches - few concepts that can be broken down to single variables and measured (self actualisation). Less scientific
However, more validity because it aims to consider meaningful human behaviour in its real context.

Culturally biased and ethnocentric - ideas such as fulfilment and personal growth are associated with more individualistic cultures, collectivist cultures emphasise the needs of the group. One study found that collectivism is the dominant outlook in 70% of the worlds population. Approach is not applied universally.

Question 59

Factors used to compare the approaches.

Answer 59

Determinism vs free will
Idiographic vs nomothetic.
Nature vs nurture.
Scientific vs non scientific.
Applications.
Unique to the approach.
Reductionism vs holism.

Question 60

Determinism vs free will.

Answer 60

Psychodynamic - hard determinism, behaviour is determined by internal forces.

Behaviourism - hard environmental determinism, behaviour is determined by external forces.

Humanistic - free will, humans are active agents who are self determining.

Cognitive - soft determinism, behaviour is determined, but we have some control.

SLT - soft determinism, behaviour is influenced by models, but we can choose whether to imitate.

Biological - hard determinism, determined by biology, no control.

Question 61

Idiographic vs nomothetic

Answer 61

Psychodynamic - nomothetic to establish general laws, but idiographic research methods (case studies).

Behaviourist - nomothetic - everyone learns through classical and operant conditioning.

Humanistic - idiographic, studying the individual, some general laws (self actualisation).

Cognitive - nomothetic, everyone has the same internal mental processes, idiographic research methods.

SLT - nomothetic, everyone learns in the same way.

Biological - nomothetic, everyone is controlled by their biology in the same way.

Question 62

Nature vs nurture

Answer 62

Psychodynamic - nature, innate drives, nurture, childhood experience.

Behaviourist - nurture, all behaviour is learnt from interactions with environment.

Humanistic - nature, innate drive to self actualise, nurture, unconditional positive regard.

Cognitive - nature, biologically designed to think, nurture, schemas.
Nurture - environment can impact - schemas.

SLT - nurture, all behaviour is learnt through observation of models in the environment.

Biological - nature, all that is psychological is first biological.

Question 63

Scientific vs non-scientific

Answer 63

Psychodynamic - less scientific, unconscious mind cannot be tested, difficult to falsify.

Behaviourist - scientific, controlled research which only measures observable behaviour.

Humanistic - less scientific, studying subjective experiences of the individual which cannot easily be operationalised.

Cognitive - scientific, lab experiments, less scientific, drawing inferences.

SLT - scientific, lab experiments.

Biological - scientific, controlled research: drug trials and brain scans.

Question 64

Applications

Answer 64

Psychodynamic - therapy (psychoanalysis), childhood experiences in hospitals and fostering.

Behaviourist - therapy (systematic desensitisation and flooding), token economies.

Humanistic - therapy (client centred therapy).

Cognitive - therapy (CBT), legal applications such as EWT and cognitive interview.

SLT - therapy (modelling of behaviour)

Biological - therapy (drug therapy, psychosurgery)

Question 65

Unique to the approach

Answer 65

Psychodynamic - role of the unconscious mind.

Behaviourist - use of animals in research.

Humanistic - free will and emphasis of studying the individual.

Cognitive - computer analogy.

SLT - blended approach, cognitive and behaviourist.

Biological - lack of reference to thinking, everything is biological and doesn’t need to be learnt.

Question 66

Reductionism vs holism.

Answer 66

Psychodynamic- holistic, interactionist, considers everything.

Behaviourist - environmentally reductionist.

Humanistic - holistic, study the individual as a whole.

Cognitive - machine reductionism.

SLT - environmentally reductionist.

Biological - biologically reductionist