Approaches Flashcards
Evaluate the Behaviourist Approach
Good - Well controlled research (all lab studies) e.g. skinner’s rats, pavlov’s dogs
HOWEVER - Too simplistic - reducing to stimulus response associations could ignore other influences on behaviour (environmental reductionism)
Good - Real world application - conditioning has led to token economies to help in hospitals and prisons
Bad - Environmental Determinism - suggests all behaviour is learned from the environment and removes free will
What are some assumptions of the Behaviourist Approach?
(Need half points)
- Behaviour should be measurable and observable
- Use highly controlled settings for clear observations (lab settings)
- Animals have the same processes for learning behaviour as humans so they can be researched
- We are born as a blank slate (Tabula Rasa) and everything is learned
- Every behaviour is learned from stimulus-response associations from the environment
- Behaviour is learned from classical or operant conditioning
How do Behaviourists believe behaviour is learned?
Through simple stimulus-response associations from conditioning (classical or operant conditioning)
What 2 animal studies are there in the Behaviourist Approach?
Pavlov’s dogs - classical conditioning
Skinner’s rats - operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association
What is the mapping for classical conditioning?
NS –> NR
UCS –> UCR
UCS + NS –> UCR
(after repeated over time)
CS –> CR
What did Pavlov do?
Pavlov researched dogs, and trained them to salivate when they heard a bell ring due to their association of food with the bell
What was Pavlov’s procedure?
The food was an Unconditioned Stimulus –> The dog’s salivation was the Unconditioned Response
The bell was a Neutral Stimulus –> The dog did not do anything for the bell, showing No Response/ a Neutral Response
The bell was rung at the same time the food was presented (UCS + NS) –> The dog salivated
After repeating this over time, Pavlov rang the bell but did not present food:
The bell was rung –> The dog salivated
Pavlov measured the saliva production of the dogs to test his findings.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement or response
What are the 3 types of reinforcement from operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
What is Positive Reinforcement?
Being rewarded for performing a behaviour.
This makes the behaviour more likely to be repeated.
What is Negative Reinforcement?
When something unpleasant is removed if a behaviour is performed.
This makes the behaviour more likely to be repeated.
What is Punishment?
Being negatively or unpleasantly reprimanded for performing a behaviour.
This makes the behaviour less likely to be repeated.
What did Skinner do?
Researched rats in rat boxes to see how they responded to the different elements of operant conditioning.
What were Skinner’s Procedure/findings?
1) He rewarded rats for pulling a lever in their rat box by giving them a food pellet. He found the rats were more likely to repeat that behaviour again.
2) He punished rats for pulling a lever in their rat box by giving them unpleasant electric shocks. He found the rats were less likely to repeat the behaviour.
3) The rats pulled a lever in their rat box to stop an electric current on the floor of their rat box. He found the rats were more likely to repeat that behaviour to avoid the negative electric shocks.
What side of the Nature/Nurture debate is the Behaviourist Approach?
Nurture. They believe humans are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and behaviour is learned from the environment through stimulus-response associations
Is the Behaviourist Approach Nomothetic or Idiographic?
Nomothetic. It uses highly controlled environments and procedures to create general laws of behaviour.
What determinism does the Behaviourist Approach show?
Environmental Determinism
What are some assumptions of Social Learning Theory?
- Classical and operant conditioning alone can’t account for all human learning
- There are important mental processes that come in between stimulus and response
- People learn through observation and imitation in a social context
- Learning can occur directly through classical and operant conditioning but also indirectly through vicarious reinforcement
What is Direct learning (SLT)?
Learning through classical and operant conditioning
What is Indirect learning (SLT)?
Learning through vicarious reinforcement
What is Vicarious Reinforcement?
When an observed behaviour is reinforced through positive reinforcement or punishment.
Observing a behaviour being positively reinforced makes the observer more likely to imitate that behaviour to receive the same reward for themselves
What are Mediational Processes?
The bridge between observation (stimulus) and imitation (response) - the mental processes that determine whether the behaviour will be imitated or not
What are the 4 Mediational Processes?
Attention
Retention
Motivation
Motor Reproduction
How many Mediational Processes are there?
4
What is Attention? (Social Learning Theory)
How much the observed behaviour is paid attention to and watched
What is Retention?
How well an observed behaviour is remembered.
What is Motivation?
How much someone wants to imitate the observed behaviour. The more someone wants to, the more likely the behaviour is to be imitated (e.g. vicarious reinforcement)
What is Motor Reproduction?
Can the observer physically carry out the behaviour themselves? Do they need special abilities or skills?
Who conducted research for SLT?
Albert Bandura
What did Bandura observe?
1) 1961 - observation and imitation of children and Bobo dolls
2) 1963 - how vicarious reinforcement affects observation and imitation of children and Bobo dolls
What happened in Bandura’s 1961 research?
Controlled observation:
1) Control condition - observed an adult playing with a Bobo doll in a room of toys
2) Experimental condition - observed an adult being aggressive with a Bobo doll in a room of toys. They hit it and shouted abuse at it.
Findings when observed in a controlled room of toys:
1) Played nicely with all toys
2) Children were aggressive with the Bobo dolls, hitting it and other toys
Conclusions:
This suggests observation and imitation is a key process in behaviour (especially in children)
What happened in Bandura’s 1963 research?
Controlled observation:
1) Control condition - children watched a video observing adults being aggressive with a Bobo doll
Experimental conditions:
2) Children watched a video observing adults being praised for being aggressive with a Bobo doll (e.g. being told well done for positive reinforcement)
3) Children watched a video observing adults being punished for being aggressive with a Bobo doll
Findings:
When playing in a room of toys themselves, the order of aggression of the groups with the Bobo dolls were:
(most) 2, 1, 3 (least)
What is a ‘role model’
Someone an observer looks up to or shares similar traits with. The observer is more likely to want to imitate their role model (motivation)
What is imitation?
Performing/ replicating an observed behaviour.
What is observation?
Watching a behaviour be performed
Which side is SLT on the Nature/Nurture debate?
Nurture. They believe behaviour is learned through observing the environment.
What determinism does SLT show?
Soft Determinism. It believes the environment and what you observe determines your behaviour, but that we have a limited choice of what we imitate through mediational processes.
Evaluate the Social Learning Theory/Approach
Good - Real world application - understanding the observation and imitation of role models has helped to put the watershed in place on TV, so that children are not observing violent behaviour and replicating it themselves.
Good - Scientific methodology - controlled lab studies
Bad - Bandura used controlled observations, but these may have been subject to Demand Characteristics. If children had never seen a Bobo doll, they might have thought you were supposed to play with it by being aggressive, which could mean that they were just trying to please the researcher.
Good - Includes important cognitive factors - it recognises the importance of mediational processes, and that observations are used as a template to replicate behaviour. This is more comprehensive than the Behaviourist approach’s stimulus-response associations
What are some assumptions of the Cognitive Approach?
- There are many important areas of human behaviour that have been neglected by behaviourist psychology (memory, perception, thinking)
- Internal mental processes should be studied to see how information is processed
- Humans are seen as information processors
- Private internal mental processes cannot be observed, so they should be studied indirectly by making inferences about what is happening inside people’s minds on the basis of their behaviour.
What is a Schema?
A package of ideas and information developed through experience.
What is a positive of Schema?
They allow us to process vast amounts of information quickly by making short cuts
What is a negative of Schema?
They can rely on unfair stereotypes or distort information due to taking short cuts
Why are Schema used in the Cognitive Approach?
They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system
What are theoretical models?
Abstract models that represent the thought processes that take place in the human mind. They make inferences by looking at behaviour and examining the thought processes that happen in the mind.
How do theoretical models work?
They allow us to make inferences by examining the thought processes that happen in the mind.
What is one important theoretical model?
The Information Processing Approach
What is the Information Processing Approach?
What does it suggest?
It is a theoretical model which suggests information flows through the cognitive system through the sequence:
input -> storage -> retrieval
What are computer models?
Physical programs made based off theoretical models. They can run the sequences suggested by theoretical models so we can compare the program’s output to real human behaviour.
If the outputs are similar, we can infer this is how the human mind works.
What is Cognitive Neuroscience?
The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
What was the aim of Cognitive Neuroscientists?
To bridge the gap between cognitive science and neuroscience
What is an example of older brain mapping research?
Broca’s area. He successfully mapped speech production difficulties (Broca’s Aphasia) to damage in the left part of the frontal lobe (Broca’s Area)
How do we map brain areas to specific cognitive functions now?
Brain Imaging Techniques
What are Brain Imaging Techniques?
Technology which helps us understand the activity of each part of the brain in different circumstances.
For example, PET scans and fMRI scans
Tulving et al showed the different types of LTM were on different sides of the brain due to them illuminating differently during different tasks
What determinism does the Cognitive Approach show?
Soft Determinism. It recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know, but we are free to think before responding to a stimulus
What side of the Nature/Nurture debate is the Cognitive Approach on?
Both Nature and Nurture. It suggests innate information processing (nature) is enhanced and modified by experiences (nurture)
What reductionism does the Cognitive Approach show?
Machine Reductionism. It ignores the influence of human motivation or emotion on our though processing and sees us purely as information processors.
Evaluate the Cognitive Approach
Good - Scientific methodology. Highly controlled, rigorous methods are used so inferences can be made accurately. Lab studies increase control, so it is likely the study of the mind has a scientific basis
HOWEVER
Bad - Some elements may be too theoretical or abstract. Inferences about private processes are untestable
The research uses artificial tasks
This makes it difficult to see how processes would occur in everyday situations
Good - Real world application - has helped neuro-imaging techniques and AI be developed to help our future development and understanding. Has also helped with the treatment for depression
Bad - Machine reductionism - There are similarities between the human mind and a machine, but human emotion and motivation has not been accounted for and they might affect our ability to process information.
What are some assumptions of the Biological Approach?
- Everything psychological is biological first
- We should look at biological structures to understand behaviour
- Believes all behaviour evolves the same way physical characteristics do
- The Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord) is important as the mind is in the brain
What is the neurochemical basis of behaviour?
The study of chemical processes in the nervous system
Why are neurotransmitters studied in the biological approach?
They are essential for the transmission of nerve impulses across the synapses. This means they are involved in all aspects of behaviour.
An imbalance of neurotransmitter can lead to mental disorders (e.g. OCD)
What are 2 examples of neurotransmitters?
Serotonin and Dopamine
What is the focus of neurochemistry?
Chemical Neurotransmitters in the brain
Why are biological structures studied?
Different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions.
Research into these functions and areas can highlight links between damaged areas and functions
e.g. Damaged Broca’s area –> difficulty producing speech
Damaged Ventral Striatum –> Avolition (Negative symptom of Sz)
What is the genetic basis of behaviour?
The idea that genes play a role in many aspects of behaviour and psychological characteristics.
What research do we use to see the genetic influence on behaviour?
Family studies –> twin studies
Why do we use family studies?
To assess the influence of genes and heritability
Why do we use twin studies?
To investigate the extent of the genetic basis of behaviour
How do we know if the genetic basis is high using a twin study?
The concordance rate will be high, showing both twins have inherited a trait or behaviour
If a characteristic is genetic, what would we expect the concordance rate to be for MZ twins?
100%
Which type of twins has a higher concordance rate? Why?
Monozygotic (Mz twins) as they share 100% of genes.
Dizygotic (Dz twins) only share around 50% of genes.
What is a genotype?
A person’s genetic make-up
What is a phenotype?
The interaction between genetic make-up (genotype) and the environment, expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics.
Which is the same in Identical twins: Genotype or Phenotype or both?
Mz twins might have the same genotype but different phenotypes if they have different environments. This could make their behaviour different.
Who theorised evolution?
Charles Darwin
What is Evolution?
The gradual changes in a species in response to environmental pressures
What were Darwin’s 2 mechanisms for evolution?
1) Natural Selection
2) Survival of the Fittest
What is Survival of the Fittest?
Members within a species vary. Those who are better equipped to find food, or escape from predators are more likely to survive and pass their genes onto the next generation.
What is Natural Selection?
Genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction will be passed on to future generations.
Offspring inherit the desired characteristics so over time, most species will possess the same adaptive characteristics.
Evaluate the Biological Approach
Good - Scientific methods are used - precise, objective methods, such as brain scanning techniques, are used to accurately measure physiological and neural processes without bias. This should ensure objectivity and reliability.
Bad - Biological determinism - it sees humans as having no control over internal genetic influences.
Phenotypes are heavily influenced by their environment, and this explains why twins are different despite sharing genotypes. (concordance rate)
It could also provide criminals with an excuse by blaming their ‘criminal gene’, so could be socially sensitive. Therefore it could be too simplistic
x - Stephen Mobley
Good - Real World Application - understanding biological processes has helped us provide treatments for serious mental disorders such as depression. Drug therapy is understood and can be used now to give people with depression a better quality of life.
What are some assumptions of the Psychodynamic Approach?
- Behaviour comes from childhood and unresolved conflicts during the psychosexual stages of development
- The unconscious is the main element of memory
- The conscious memory is the part we know most about, but this is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’
- We have a tripartite personality
- The ego deploys defence mechanisms to protect our conscious mind
What is the unconscious?
A vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts
What does the unconscious do?
Protects our conscious mind from anxiety, trauma and threat by using defence mechanisms
What are parapraxes?
A slip of the tongue where repressed memories can be accessed
What is the iceberg model made up of?
The conscious mind
The preconscious (ego)
The unconscious (id and superego)
How many parts make up our personality?
3
Who came up with the Psychodynamic Approach?
Sigmund Freud
What did Freud describe our personality as?
Tripartite
What are the 3 parts of our personality?
Id, Ego, and Superego
What is the Id?
The primitive part of our personality.
It is a seething mass of unconscious drives and instincts.
It is entirely selfish and demands instant gratification.
When is the Id developed?
The id is present from birth
What principle does the Id operate on?
The pleasure principle
What is the Ego?
The mediator between the id and superego.
It is in the conscious and unconscious (preconscious).
It reduces the conflict between the desires of the id and the restrictions of reality (superego)
When is the Ego developed?
Around the age of 2
What principle does the Ego operate on?
The reality principle
How does the Ego balance the id and the superego?
It deploys defence mechanisms
What is the Superego?
Our internalised sense of right and wrong.
It represents the moral standards of our same-sex parent.
It punishes the ego for wrongdoing through guilt.
When is the Superego developed?
At the end of the Phallic stage (4 or 5)
What principle does the Superego operate on?
The morality principle
What part of the personality uses defence mechanisms?
Ego
What are defence mechanisms?
Unconscious strategies that are used to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas
What are the 3 defence mechanisms?
Denial
Displacement
Repression
How can defence mechanisms be unhealthy as long-term solutions?
They distort reality
What is Repression?
Forcing a distressing memory from the conscious into the unconscious
What is Denial?
Refusing to believe something as it is too painful to acknowledge in reality
What is Displacement?
Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
Freud’s psychosexual stages - unresolved conflicts
Each stage apart from latency has a conflict which the child must resolve in order to move on to the next stage.
If a conflict is unresolved, there will be fixation. This is where the child is stuck in this stage and carries certain behaviours associated with that stage to adult life.
How many psychosexual stages of development are there?
5
What are the psychosexual stages of development?
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
What age is the oral stage?
0-1 year
What age is the anal stage?
1-3 years
What age is the phallic stage?
3-5 years
What age is the latency stage?
After the phallic stage
What age is the genital stage?
Around puberty (12?)
What is the focus of pleasure during the oral stage?
The mouth.
The mother’s breast is desired for food.
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the oral stage?
Oral Fixation. This includes smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic and critical.
What is the focus of pleasure during the anal stage?
The anus.
Withholding and expelling faeces.
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the anal stage?
Anal retentive or Anal expulsive personalities.
What is anal retentive?
Being obsessive, and a perfectionist (uptight personality)
What is anal expulsive?
Being messy and thoughtless (reckless personality)
What is the focus of pleasure during the phallic stage?
The genitals.
Children discover they have genitals and that they are different to other people.
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the phallic stage?
Phallic personality.
Narcissistic, reckless and possibly homosexual
What happens in the latency stage?
All previous conflicts are repressed
What is the focus of pleasure during the Genital stage?
Sexual desires are recognised.
Sexual desires become conscious.
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict in the genital stage?
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
What is the first psychosexual stage of development?
Oral Stage
What is the second psychosexual stage of development?
Anal Stage
What is the third psychosexual stage of development?
Phallic Stage
What is the fourth psychosexual stage of development?
Latency Stage
What is the fifth psychosexual stage of development?
Genital Stage
Evaluate the Psychodynamic Approach
Good - introduced the idea of psychotherapy
- Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically.
- It helps by bringing repressed emotions into the conscious mind to deal with them.
Bad - Unfalsifiable
- Many concepts are untestable
- Karl Popper said it is unfalsifiable as it cannot be scientifically tested to be proven correct or incorrect.
- Concepts are at the unconscious level so cannot be seen
- This could mean the theory is pseudoscientific
Bad - Psychic Determinism
- Suggests all behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood.
- Believes all behaviour has a deep meaning and nothing is accidental
- Dismisses the influence of free will
What are some assumptions of the Humanistic Approach?
- Human beings are self-determining and have free will
- We are affected by internal and external influences but are active agents with the ability to determine our own development
- Reject scientific methods that attempt to generalise
- A ‘person centred approach’ should be used for a more subjective focus on individual experience
Who are the 2 main humanistic psychologists?
Maslow and Carl Rogers
What was Maslow’s main concept?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
What was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs used for?
Motivating our behaviour in order to reach a primary goal
What is Self Actualisation?
The desire to grow and develop to be able to reach our full potential
How many levels are there on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs?
5
What are the first 4 levels of Maslow’s hierarchy known as?
Deficiency Needs
What is the top level of Maslow’s hierarchy known as?
The being need
How would we feel if we did not achieve the deficiency needs?
Like something important is missing in our lives
What is the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Basic needs
What is the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Safety needs
What is the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Love and Belongingness
What is the fourth level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Esteem needs
What is the fifth level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Self Actualisation (‘being need’)
What are basic needs?
Physiological needs required for survival (food/water/shelter)
What are safety needs?
Things for physical safety (from the environment), and psychological safety (mental wellbeing)
What is love and belongingness?
The need for acceptance from friends and family members
What are esteem needs?
The need to feel good about yourself, your competence, and your achievements
What is the being need?
The top level of the hierarchy.
The desire for personal fulfilment and the ability to reach self actualisation.
What do you need to do to reach self actualisation?
Complete all of the deficiency needs in order
What is personal growth?
Developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied, and goal-orientated
What did Carl Rogers do?
Created the concept of congruence and incongruence
Created client-centred therapy (Rogerian therapy)
What is congruence needed for?
Personal Growth
What is congruence?
When a person’s ideal self is equivalent to their actual self/concept of self
What is an ideal self?
Who someone wants to be
What is an actual self/concept of self?
Who someone already is/who they see themselves as being
What is incongruence?
When there is a gap between someone’s ideal self and actual self
When do negative feelings of self-worth arise?
When there is incongruence
How can you reduce the gap between ideal self and actual self?
Client centred therapy
What does client-centred therapy do?
- refers to patients as ‘clients’
- sees individuals as experts on their own conditions
- encourages clients towards the discovery of their own solutions
What 3 things should a Rogerian therapist provide?
Genuineness
Empathy
Unconditional Positive Regard
What is the aim of Rogerian Therapy?
To increase the feelings of self-worth, reduce incongruence and help the person become fully functioning
Where does Rogers believe issues such as worthlessness and low self esteem come from?
Childhood.
What is unconditional positive regard?
Unconditional love (from parents)
What are conditions of worth?
Boundaries or limits set on love for their children
(conditionals - “i’ll love you if you…”)
What happens when parents have conditions of worth?
The child is likely to have psychological problems in the future, such as low self esteem and incongruence.
Evaluate the Humanistic Approach
Good - It adopts an optimistic approach by acknowledging free will and by claiming humans are in control of their own development and growth. It is a refreshing alternative to other approaches.
Bad - Culture Bias - The key concepts are suited for an individualist culture, where self growth is important and valued. This could mean it is less important in collectivist cultures where group values are more important. This could mean is is not a universal approach.
Bad - Question of application. On one hand, the humanistic approach has been used to revolutionise therapy and explain motivation in the workplace, but on the other hand, the key concepts are not connected and are unfalsifiable due to them relying on internal processes. This could mean we are unsure of the application and use of the humanistic approach.
Who originated psychology?
Wundt
When was the first book of psychology published?
1873
When and where was the first psychology laboratory opened?
1879.
Leipzig Germany
What was Wundt’s approach called?
Introspection
What is Introspection?
Breaking down conscious thoughts into constituent parts (e.g. dividing observations into thoughts, images and sensations)
What methods does introspection use?
Highly controlled, lab conditions using the same stimuli and instructions every time.
Standardisation was used to ensure replicability.
What concept does introspection include?
Structuralism
What is structuralism?
Studying the human mind by breaking behaviours down into basic elements and isolating the structure of consciousness.
Who questioned the scientific status of Introspection?
Watson
What was Watson’s problem with Introspection?
The data produced was too subjective, so general laws were hard to establish.
Mental processes are internal so they cannot be observed or measured scientifically.
What did Watson do to combat the problems with introspection?
He created the behaviourist approach with Skinner.
They aimed to make it a more scientific development of introspection.
Which approaches are scientific?
Behaviourist - controlled lab studies and observations
Biological - experimental data and advances in technology investigate physiological processes
Cognitive - cognitive neuroscience uses biological and cognitive approach
Which approaches are similar?
Humanistic and Psychodynamic (unfalsifiable/theoretical)
Behaviourist and SLT (learning approaches/environmental)
Biological and Psychodynamic (Nature)
Which approaches support Nature?
Biological
Psychodynamic
Cognitive
Which approaches support Nurture?
Behaviourist
SLT
Cognitive
Humanistic
Which approaches are scientific?
Behaviourist
SLT
Cognitive
Biological
Which approaches are not scientific?
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Which approaches are deterministic?
All but humanistic
Which approaches believe in free will?
Humanistic
Which approaches are reductionist?
All but Humanistic
Which approaches are Holistic?
Humanistic
Evaluate Wundt and the Origins of Psychology
Good - Scientific
- Introspections were highly controlled and standardised
Bad - Subjective
- Relied on participants self-reporting their mental thoughts, which means it is subjective to their personal perspective
- Might not have reported everything, or might not have been accurate (social desirability)
Good - Application for Psychology
- He is seen to be the father of psychology as a science
- His basis of introspection is what the early approaches such as Behaviourism were based on
- Increased scientific methods of Behaviourism were due to Wundt’s scientific methods
