Approaches Flashcards
Origins of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt
-Wundt is known as the ‘father of psychology.’
-Set up first psychology lab in Germany and published on of the first books on Psychology to help it be established as an independent branch of science.
-Used controlled environments to establish general theories about mental processes.
-Used scientific method to study structure/ sensation and perception using introspection, arguing human experiences should be analysed in terms of it’s components e.g. emotions (present experiences).
-Work and ideas were later developed by cognitive psychologists who study our thought and mental processes.
AO3: Origins of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt: Praised
P: Wundt praised for moving psychology away from philosophical roots.
E: Used controlled environments with standardised procedure to study thoughts, feelings, sensations.
E: e.g. used same stimulus every time giving ppts same standardised instructions.
L: Increased ability to replicate pieces of research and increased psychology’s status and its emergence as a science.
AO3: Origins of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt: Limitation, Unreliable
P: Research was replicable, but wasn’t reliable.
E: Because introspection focuses on ppts subjective experience, therefore findings differed greatly from person to person, difficult to establish consistent general principles of human behaviour.
E: Behaviourist psychologists e.g. Watson, believed Psychology should only study behaviour that can be observed and measured scientifically, as a result, behaviourist approach was born, used more empirical and objective methods e.g. controlled lab experiments to study human behaviour.
L: Increases scientific status of Psychology as a subject.
AO3: Origins of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt: Limitation, Unscientific
P: Some aspects of Wundt’s research considered unscientific today.
E: Wundt relied on ppts self reporting mental processes, data’s objective, varied greatly from person to person.
E: Difficult to establish general principles of human behaviour and predict future outcomes- aim of science.
L: Some of Wundt’s early efforts to study mind were flawed and wouldn’t meet criteria of scientific enquiry.
AO1: Feature One of Psychodynamic Approach: Role of the Unconscious
-The conscious is the part of the mind we’re aware of - ‘the tip of the iceberg’
-Preconscious- part of the mind that’s just below the conscious mind - includes thoughts and ideas we may become aware of during dreams or ‘slip of the tongue’ (Freudian Slip)
-The unconscious is part of the mind that contains info we’re not consciously aware of e.g. repressed memories.
-The unconscious protects our conscious self from anxiety/ fears.
-The unconscious drives much of our behaviour e.g. our personality and behaviours.
AO1: Feature Two of Psychodynamic Approach: The Structure of Personality
-Id: pleasure principle, unconscious part of the mind that’s only present at birth, focus is on self and expect immediate gratification, too overpowering for ego and can produce selfish personality.
-Ego: reality principle, rational and conscious part of the mind thats forms from 18 months to 3 years, balances demands to reduce conflict between Id and Superego by using defence mechanisms.
-Superego: morality principle, forms between 3-6 years, arises through identification with same sex parent, internalised sense of right and wrong (conscience) based on parental values.
-If too overpowering for the ego, it can produce anxious personality or feelings of guilt.
AO1: Feature Three of Psychodynamic Approach: Defence Mechanisms
-Defence mechanisms are unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the Id and Superego, e.g. Repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind.
-Ego has difficult job balancing conflicting demands of Id and Superego, uses defence mechanisms, these are unconscious and stop ego from becoming overwhelmed with conflicts, defence mechanisms can distort person’s reality and overuse can affect behaviour so they’re not a long term solution.
Types of Defence mechanisms:
-Repression: forcing distressing memory out of the conscious mind to the unconscious e.g. forgetting trauma of pet dying.
-Denial: refusing to acknowledge unpleasant aspect of reality e.g. continuing to go to work although you’ve been fired.
-Displacement: transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto less threatening substitute targets e.g. slamming door after fight.
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages
-Freud suggested we’re born with Id and from moment we’re born the Id has innate sex energy that needs satisfying.
-Freuds 5 psychosexual stages explains how Id gets satisfaction from birth
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages: Stage 1
Oral (0-1 years): gratification for id’s gained from mouth such as dummies, thumb sucking, mother’s breast
Consequence of unresolved conflict: oral fixation- smoking, nail biting in future.
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages: Stage 2
Anal (1-3 years): Gratification for Id’s gained from anus such as expulsion or withholding faeces.
Consequence of unresolved conflict:
Anal retentive personality - perfectionist.
Anal expulsive personality - thoughtless, messy.
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages: Stage 3
Phallic (3-5 years): Gratification for id’s gained from exploring own genitals.
Consequence of unresolved conflict:
Phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless, problems with authority.
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages: Stage 4
Latency (6-12 years): earlier conflicts are repressed
AO1: Feature Four of Psychodynamic Approach: The Psychosexual Stages: Stage 5
Genital (12 years): sexual desires become conscious alongside puberty.
Consequence of unresolved conflict: difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
Overall AO3 of Psychodynamic Approach: Criticised Psychic Determinism
P: Criticised for psychic determinism.
E: Feature suggests individual’s controlled by external and internal factors e.g. fixations occurring during specific stages that inevitably cause behaviour e.g. oral fixations resulting in smoking behaviour.
E: Neglects role of free will and choice individuals have, could leave individuals feeling like they have no control over behaviour.
L: Limits appropriateness of psychosexual stages.
Overall AO3 of Psychodynamic Approach: Prac Apps
P: Strength of psychodynamic approach- has prac apps.
E: Principles of theory that behaviour’s caused by unconscious mind led to treatment of psychoanalysis.
E: Used to treat abnormalities in real world e.g. depression, anxiety by dealing with conflicts hidden in unconscious.
L: Psychodynamic approach important part of applied psychology, helps treat people in real world.
Overall AO3 of Psychodynamic Approach: Limitation, No Scientific Methods
P: Limitation of psychodynamic approach to understanding structure of personality in human behaviour’s that it doesn’t use scientific methods, lacks scientific approval.
E: Key concepts e.g. id, ego, superego are abstract concepts, which can’t be objectively and empirically testified and falsified- cannot be observed objectively.
E: Argued that this decreases overall internal val of psychodynamic’s approach as explanation of structure and personality, as well as human behaviour
L: Reduces psychology’s scientific status.
AO1: The Learning Approach: Behaviourism
-Behaviourists were only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured.
-Watson rejected introspection claiming it was too subjective and not measurable, behaviourists rely on lab experiments as these are a better way of maintaining control and objectively measuring behaviour.
-Behaviourists believe animals can replace humans in research because they can learn the same way as humans.
-Behaviourists proposed two main theories:
Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning
AO1: The Learning Approach: Behaviourism: Feature 1: Classical Conditioning
Pavlov explained how behaviour’s learnt through stimulus, response and association.
Form of learning a neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus that produces unconditioned response.
Pairing’s repeated then individual will learn to associate neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus. Neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus which creates conditioned response.
AO1: Pavlov’s Research
Classical conditioning learnt through stimulus, response and association. In a controlled environment , Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell.
-Unconditioned stimulus was food,
-Unconditioned response was salivation
-Neutral stimulus was the bell (didn’t mean anything to the dogs at first- produced no response).
During experiment, dogs were presented with food again, however this time Pavlov rang bell at the same time, association was repeated many times.
Dogs learnt to associate food (UCS) with noise of bell (NS).
Bell became conditioned stimulus which would cause conditioned response of salivation every time dog heard it.
AO1: The Learning Approach: Behaviourism: Feature 2: Operant Conditioning
OC is another was we can learn behaviour which emphasised the importance of consequence - learning through rewards and punishment.
Skinner explained how behaviour’s influenced by consequences of own actions. Focused on importance of reinforcement in increasing a behaviour and punishment of stopping behaviour.
What is Reinforcement?
Increase the likelihood that the behaviour would be repeated, whereas punishment would reduce/ stop the behaviour.
Two types of rewards/ reinforcement: positive and negative.
What’s Positive Reinforcement? (Reference to Skinner’s Research)
When a reward’s given for a behaviour, behaviour’s encouraged/ reinforced, so behaviour’s repeated to gain same reward.
Skinner’s Research: Hungry rat placed in Skinners box; every time rat pressed lever it was rewarded with food. Behaviour was repeated as rat was conditioned to press lever through positive reinforcement to get same pleasant outcome.
What’s Negative Reinforcement? (Reference to Skinner’s Research)
Performing a behaviour to remove/ avoid an unpleasant consequence so behaviour’s repeated.
Skinner’s Research: Skinner ran electrical current across the floor which caused rat discomfort. Rat would move around until it’s knocked the lever. Lever would stop the current; rat would repeat behaviour as it had learned by pressing the lever it would avoid unpleasant consequence of pain.
AO1: Punishment
Receiving an unpleasant consequence for behaviour e.g. detention for not brining in homework.
AO3: Learning Approach: Behaviourism: Criticism: Environmental Determinism
P: Criticised for environmental determinism.
E: Approach states that individual’s controlled by external factors e.g. learning through stimulus response and association (CC) or being rewarded for behaviour (OC).
E: Neglects role of free will and choice individuals have, could leave individuals feeling like they have no control over behaviour.
L: Limits behaviourist explanation of human behaviour.
AO3: Learning Approach: Behaviourism: Criticism: Environmental Reductionism
P: Criticised for environmental reductionism.
E: Approach reduces complex human behaviour down to simple basic units e.g. learning through stimulus response and association (CC) or being rewarded for behaviour (OC).
E: Neglects a holistic approach which would take into account a person’s culture and social context would influence and explain human behaviour.
L: Explanation lacks validity, doesn’t allow us to understand behaviour in context.
AO3: Learning Approach: Behaviourism: Strength: Prac Apps
P: Has prac apps.
E: Principles of theory that behaviour’s caused by CC’s led to treatment of systematic desensitisation.
E: Effective in treating phobias, helping individual unlearn maladaptive association to phobic stimulus by gradually exposing them to phobia whilst they apply relaxation techniques.
L: Important part of applied psychology, helps treat people in real world.
AO1: Background on Humanism: Positive Theory
-Humanistic Psychology developed in 1950’s and provided opposing viewpoint to behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches in how it explained human behaviour.
-Humanistic approach argued behaviourist and psychodynamic approach were too negative and instead developed positive theory, aimed to promote healthy growth in individuals.
