Approaches Flashcards
What is meant by introspection?
This is the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic thoughts, images and sensations
What did the participants have to do in wundts method of introspection?
They had to give standardised procedures where ppts were giving a ticking metronome and they would report their thoughts, sensations and images
What is the A03 for origins of psychology?
Strength - Wundts methods are scientific
Limitation - Some parts are not scientific (ppts had to report their own mental processes)
Strength - Modern psychology can claim to be scientific ( learning/cognitive/biological approach all rely on scientific methods)
What is the behaviourist approach?
An approach only concerned with behaviour that can be observed and measured in a controlled lab study experiemnt
What is classical conditioning (pavlovs research)?
This is where you learn through association
UCS (food) –> UCR (salivation)
NS (bell) –> NO RESPONSE
NS + UCS
CS (bell) –> CR (salivation)
What is operant conditioning (Skinners Research?)
This is where learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment, so behaviour is shaped and maintained by consequences
- When a rat activated a lever –> rewarded with a food pellet
- Not pressing a lever –> electric shock
A desirable consequence led to behvaiour being repeated
What are the three types of consequences of behaviour?
Positive reinforcement - being rewarded when behaviour is performed
Negative reinforcement - when an animal or human produces behaviour that avoids something unpleasant
——– They both increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated ————
Punishment - An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
A03 Evaluation for the Learning Approach
STRENGTH - There is scientific credibility ( observable behaviour within controlled lab settings )
STRENGTH - There is real life application (token economy systems )
LIMITATION - There is a mechanistic view ( cant compare animals and humans as we have more mental events that occur during learning)
What is social learning theory?
Learning takes place in a social context through observation and imitation of others behaviour
What is vicarious reinforcement?
When behaviour is seen to be rewarded it is much more likely to be copied than behaviour that is punished
What are the 4 mediational processes? - slt
Attention - whether behaviour is noticed
Retention - whether behaviour is remembered
Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour
Motor Reproduction - Being able to do it
What is banduras research? - slt
— Children watched an adult behavie aggresively or nicely towards a bobo doll.
If they saw aggression they were more likely to be aggressive/
— Children saw an adult either be rewarded, punished or not rewarded/punished.
If they saw agression being rewarded they more more likely to be agressive themselves
A03 EVALUATIONS FOR SLT
LIMITATION : Relies too heavy on evidence from lab studies (demand characteristics)
LIMITATION : Underestimates the influence of biological factors ( boys showed more aggression eg testosterone)
STRENGTH : SLT can account for cultural differences in behaviour ( how children learn from those around them and how they imitate gender roles, so it can explain universal behaviours )
What is the cognitive approach and the role of infeernce ?
This is how mental processes affect behaviour
Study mental processes indirectly by making inferences on the basis of behaviour
What is theoretical models ( cognitive approach )
An information processing approach suggesting information flows through a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval
How do cognitive psychologists study mental processes?
They make inferences by looking at behaviour
What is the use of computer models in the cognitive approach?
Computer models are used to imitate the human mind so psychologists can test whether their ideas about information processing are correct
What is schema
in the cognitive approach?
This is packages of information that act as a mental framework for any incoming information recieved by the cognitive system
What is cognitive neuroscience?
This is the study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes by using brain scanning technology so neuroscientists can describe the neurological basis of mental processing
A03 EVALUATION - Cognitive approach
STRENGTH - They use scientific and objective methods ( controlled and rigorous methods of study so the mind has a credible basis )
LIMITATION - Approach is based on machine reductionism ( cognitive approach oversimplifies human mind by comparing to a computer )
LIMITATION - Approach lacks external validity ( infer mental processes, research uses artifical stimuli so doesn’t represent every day experience)
What is the biological approach (summary)
- Behaviour has a genetic and neurochemical basis eg how low levels of serotonin causes ocd
- The mind lives in the brain meaning all thoughts, feelings, and behaviour have a physical basis
- Twin studies are used to investigate the genetic basis –> concordance rates (higher in MZ twins)
- Genotype –> their actual genetic make up
- Phenotype –> The expression of genotype which is influenced by environmental factors (nature v nurture)
- The theory of evolution –> Any genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction will be passed onto future generations to give the offspring advantages (eg attachment behaviour in newborns promote survival therefore they are adaptive)
A03 EVALUATION : Biological Approach
STRENGTH : Scientific methods of investigation ( include scanning techniques and drug trials - accurate)
LIMITATION : Difficulty of seperating nature vs nurture (twins behave similarity which would be due too genetics but their environment would be a confounding variable so it could support nurture rather than nature)
STRENGTH : Biological approach has real life application (development of psychoactive drugs that treat mental disorders)
What is the psychodynamic approach?
The different forces that operate on the mind, human behaviour and experiences
What is the mind made up of?-psychodynamic
Unconscious - what we unaware of and stores the drives and instincts that influence our behaviour
Conscious - What we are aware off
Pre- conscious - memories that we arent aware off but can access
What is the triparte structure of personality?
ID - Operates on pleasure principle and requires instant gratification
Ego - Works on reality principle and is the mediator between id and superego
Superego - Morality principle and punishes ego through guilt
What is the five psychosexual stages of development?
Each stage must be resolved to move on otheriwise it leads to fixation and is carried through adult life
- Oral (0-1) - pleasure focus = mouth = smoking, nail biting
- Anal (1-3) - pleasure focus = anus (withhold and eliminate faeces) = perfectionists or messy
- Phallic (3-5) - pleasure focus = genitals = narcissitic, reckless
- Latency - Earlier conflicts are repressed
- Genital - Sexual desires become conscious
What is the Oedipus complex?
This is where in the phallic stage little boys develop incestuos feelings towards mother and murderous towards father.
Later they repress and take on gender roles
Girls experience penis envy
What are defence mechanisms?
They are unconscious strategies used by the ego
- Repression - force memory out of conscious mind
- Denial - refuse to acknowledge reality
- Displacement - misplace feeelings to a substitute target
A03 EVALUATIONS - PSYCHODYNAMIC
STRENGTH - Practical application in real world ( psychoanalysis where you access the unconscious)
LIMITATION - Untestable concepts (can not test unconscious level)
STRENGTH - Explanatory power (explain a wide range of behaviours and drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality )
LIMITATION - Based on psychic determinism ( explains all behaviour as determined by unconcsious childhood conflicts and something random is driven by unconscious forces, so free will has no influence)
What is the humanistic approach?
Emphasises importance of subjective experiences and self determinism
What is maslows hierachy of needs?
Physiological needs > Safety > Love > Esteem > Self actualisation
What is self actualisation?
Desire to grow and meet ones psychological needs to be the best they can be
What is the aim of therapy (humanistic approach)
To establish congruence between self concept and ideal self to ensure they dont enter a state of incongruence
What should happen in client centered therapy?
The patient should recieve
- Genuiness
- Empathy
- Unconditional positive regard (which contrasts to conditions of worth in childhood)
A03 HUMANISTIC APPROACH
STRENGTH - Anti Reductionist (advocate holism so they consider meaningful human behaviour within real life context)
LIMITATION - Untestable concepts ( hard to test congruence as it is subjective)
LIMITATION - Collectivist v individualist
STRENGTH - Positive (people have control so offers a refreshing alternative)
How does the humanistic approach prevent personal growth?
By its roots in childhood were children have a lack of uncondintional positive regard and conditions of worth
