approaches Flashcards
what is the conscious?
- holds information you are currently focusing in the moment
- limited capacity
what is the preconscious?
material can become conscious but is not conscious at this moment because your attention is not being directed to it
what is the unconscious?
all the things that are outside our conscious awareness
when does the Id develop and what principle does it operate on?
- develops at birth
- pleasure principle
when does the Ego develop and what principle does it operate on?
- develops at age 2
- reality principle
when does the Superego develop and what principle does it operate on?
- develops at age 5
- morality principle
what are the three defence mechanisms?
- Repression
- Denial
- Displacement
why are Freuds stages called ‘psychosexual’?
each stage represents the fixation of libido on a different area of the body
What are Freuds 5 psychosexual stages of development?
- Oral - ages 0-1
- Anal - ages 1-3
- Phallic - ages 3-6
- Latency- ages 6 - puberty
- Genital - puberty
what is the Oedipus complex?
- boys develop incestuous feelings towards mother
- murderous hatred for the father (rival affection of mother)
- fearing that their father knows about their feelings and will take away what they love most (castrate them)
- repress feelings and identify with their father
what is the electra complex?
- Girls desire their father
- experience penis envy
- girls repress their feelings for their father and substitute the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby
- they identify with their mothers during this process
evaluation of psychodynamic approach
- creation of theories based off case studies (not falsifiable)
- has RWA through psychoanalysis - counter: not everyone can take part in this
- exaggerated the differences between men and women (lacks population validity)
what is structuralism?
the breaking down of behaviours into their simplest elements
what is introspection?
the process by which a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional state as a result of the examination or observation of their conscious thoughts and feelings
Introspection evaluation
- scientific (greater validity and reliability)
- not accurate shown by implicit association test
what behaviours are the behaviourist approach interested in?
behaviours that are observable and measurable
Behaviourist approach evaluation
- classical conditioning has RWA (flooding and systematic desensitisation)
- operant conditioning has RWA (token economies)
- not all associations made at the same speed (incomplete explanation so biological approach may be better)
what is identification?
the extent to which an individual relates to a model and feels that they are similar to that person
what is vicarious reinforcement
- learning by viewing how others are rewarded/punished for a behaviour
- learning through the consequences others receive
what are the Mediation processes?
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
evaluation of social learning theory
- +supporting research for imitation of both positive and negative behaviours
- too much focus on nurture so incomplete explanation
- ## has RWA - helps to identify and understand factors that lead to criminal behaviour and could help create strategies to reduce crime
role of inferences in study of mental processes
mental processes are ‘private’ and cannot be observed, so cognitive psychologists study them indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s heads on the basis of their behaviour
what is used to explain mental processes in the cognitive approach?
theoretical models which suggest that information flows through a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval
what are computer models?
- programmes that can run on a computer to imitate the human mind
- by running such a programme psychologists can test their ideas about information processing
what is cognitive neuroscience?
the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
cognitive approach evaluation
- supporting evidence for the role of schema
- has RWA in the development of CBT
- machine reductionist
what is neurochemistry?
the action of chemicals in the brain
Biological approach evaluation
- Has RWA - led to the use of drugs to treat mental disorders Counter: don’t work for everyone
- uses scientific methods
- Determinist
what is free will?
having the ability to have choice in how we act and are able to choose our behaviours
what are conditions of worth?
- requirements individuals feel they have to meet in order to be loved
- these can be real or imagined
what is client-centred therapy?
- the therapists role is to provide unconditional positive regard that the client is missing from friends/family
- focus on reducing incongruence by narrowing the gap between the self-concept and the ideal-self
- client is treated as an expert on themselves and are expected to find their own solutions
Humanistic approach evaluation
- culturally biased
- research support for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- Has RWA for client centred therapy
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- Physiological needs
- Safety needs
- Love and belonging
- Esteem
- Self actualisation
