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Psychology Research Methods > Approaches > Flashcards

Approaches Flashcards

1
Q

Who is Wundt and why is he significant?

A

Wundt is known as the father of psychology.
He set up the first psychology lab in Germany in 1879.
Published one of the first books on psychology and helped to establish the subject as an independent branch of science.

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2
Q

What did Wundt do?

A

He used controlled environments to establish general theories about mental processes.
He used scientific methods to study the structure of sensation and perception using introspection.

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3
Q

Define introspection

A

‘Investigating internal events by examining conscious thoughts and feelings’

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4
Q

Describe introspection

A

Focuses on present experiences
Wundt- individual focuses on an object, whilst listening to a stimulus, looking inwards and noticing sensations, feelings and images.

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5
Q

One assumption of psychodynamic approach.

A

Behaviour is due to unconscious motives

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6
Q

Feature one of the psychodynamic approach

A

The role of the unconscious

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7
Q

Describe the role of the unconscious

A

Conscious- part of the mind we are aware of
Preconscious- below conscious, includes thoughts and ideas which maybe become aware during dreams and ‘slips of the tongue’
Unconscious- unaware of- biological drives and instincts and threatening and disturbing memories which have been repressed or forgotten but continue to drive out behaviour.

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8
Q

Feature 2 of psychodynamic approach

A

The structure of personality

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9
Q

Roles of the id

A

Id-pleasure principle
Unconscious part of mind
Only present at birth
Focus on self and expects immediate gratification
Too overpowering= selfish personality

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10
Q

Role of the ego

A

Reality principle
Rational and conscious part of mind
Forms from 18months to 3years
Balances demands and conflicts of ideas and superego by using defence mechanisms

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11
Q

Role of superego

A

Morality principle
Forms between 3-6years
Arises through identification with same sex parent
Internalised sense of right and wrong
Based on parental values
Too overpowering= anxious personality or guilt

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12
Q

Feature 3 of psychodynamic approach

A

Defence mechanisms

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13
Q

Role/ purpose of defence mechanisms

A

Ego has a difficult job balancing demands of superego and id, uses defence mechanisms
Unconscious and stop the ego becoming overwhelmed
Overuse can affect behaviour and distort reality

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14
Q

Definition/ role of repression

A

Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious to the unconscious
Eg forgetting trauma of pet dying

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15
Q

Definition/ role of denial

A

Refusing to acknowledge an unpleasant aspect of reality
Eg , continuing to turn up to work after being sacked

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16
Q

Definition/ role of displacement

A

Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a less threatening substitute target
Eg slamming the door after an argument

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17
Q

Feature 4 of psychodynamic approach

A

Psychosexual stages

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18
Q

5 developmental stages (Freud)

A

Oral (0-1), Anal (1-3), Phallic (3-5), Latency (6-12), Genital (12)

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19
Q

Describe oral stage

A

0-1years
Gratification for id is gained from the mouth
Eg dummies, thumb sucking

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20
Q

Consequence of unresolved conflict at oral stage

A

Oral fixation- smoking, biting nails, sarcastic and critical in the future

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21
Q

Describe the anal stage

A

1-3 years
Gratification for the id is gained from the anus such as expulsion or withholding faeces

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22
Q

Consequence of unresolved conflict at anal stage

A

Anal retentive personality- perfectionist, obsessive
Anal expulsive personality- thoughtlessness, messy

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23
Q

Describe phallic stage

A

3-5years
Gratification for id is gained from exploring own genitals
Needs to identify with same sex parent and take on their values (if not become fixated)

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24
Q

Consequence of unresolved conflict at phallic stage

A

Phallic personality- narcissistic, reckless and problems with authority

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25
Describe latency stage
6-12 years Earlier conflicts are repressed
26
Describe genital stage
12 years Sexual desires become conscious alongside puberty
27
Consequence of unresolved conflict at genital stage
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
28
One assumption of the learning approach- behaviourism
Humans are born as a blank slate
29
Feature one of learning approach- behaviourism
Classical conditioning pavlovs theory
30
Describe classical conditioning feature
Pavlov explained how behaviour is learnt through stimulus response association Learning a NS paired with with UCS that produces UCR, if this is repeated the individual associates the NS with the UCS and the NS becomes UCS which creates UCR
31
Describe pavlovs research
UCS- food UCR- salivation NS- bell Dogs were presented with food and pavlov rang a bell at the same time, he repeated this and the dogs learnt to associate food with bell Bell came CS which caused CR of salivation
32
Feature 2 of learning approach- behaviourism
Operant conditioning
33
Define operant conditioning
Learn behaviour through rewards and punishment Skinner- behaviour is influenced by consequences of own actions
34
What are the types of reinforcement
Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement
35
What is positive reinforcement
When a reward is given for a behaviour, this behaviour is encouraged so the behaviour is repeated to gain the same reward
36
What is positive reinforcement in Skinners research
Hungry rat in skinners box Every time the rat pressed the lever the rat was rewarded with food Behaviour was repeated as the rat was conditioned to press the lever through positive reinforcement to get the same outcome
37
What is negative reinforcement
Performing a behaviour to remove and unpleasant consequence so the behaviour is repeated to avoid the unpleasant consequence
38
What is negative reinforcement in Skinners research
Skinner ran an electrical current across the floor which caused the rat discomfort, the rat would move around until it knocked the lever which would stop the current. The rat would repeat this behaviour as they learnt that pressing the lever would avoid the unpleasant consequence
39
One assumption of the humanistic approach
All humans can determine their own behaviour and have free will
40
Feature one of humanistic approach
Free will
41
Describe feature one- free will
Humanism argues free will is possible Humans are self determining so our behaviour is due to own choices and we can reject ant internal or external influences
42
Feature 2 of humanistic approach
Self actualisation
43
Define self actualisation
Maslow- hierarchy of needs Self actualisation- for personal growth ^ Esteem needs- respect of others(achievement and confidence) ^ Love needs- family and friends ^ Safety needs- home, job, health ^ Physiological needs- survival (food,water)
44
Feature 3 of humanistic approach
The self, conditions of worth and congruence
45
Describe self
Actual self- how we view ourselves in terms of what we are and can do Comes from own experiences of world and people Ideal self- person we feel we should be or want to be
46
Describe congruence
Congruence occurs when there is a match between perceived self and ideal self When there is a mismatch between percieved and ideal we are in a state of incongruence Likely to have low self worth and poor psychological health
47
Describe conditions of worth
If a person has issues of low self esteem and worthlessness as an adult this could be consequences of childhood Parents or significant others placing limits on love “Proud if u pass exams” Can lead to incongruence
48
One assumption of learning approach - SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
SLT suggests learning is through observing a model and imitating a model
49
One feature of social learning theory
Observational learning
50
Describe observational learning
Identification- where an individual associates themself to a role model due to similarity and wants to be like them Imitation is used to describe when an individual observes role model behaviour and copies it Vicarious reinforcement- sees role model rewarded for behaviour increases chanve of imitation for same reward
51
What does observational learning lead to
Modelling- process of imitating the behaviour of a role model
52
Feature 2 of social learning theory
Four meditational processes (ARRM)
53
What are 4 meditational processes (ARRM)
Attention- learning occurs when they attend to a models behaviour Retention- to reproduce modelled behaviour must store memory of this in LTM, info must be easy to store and observed repeatedly Reproduction- must have skills and capabilities to be confident to reproduce models behaviour, more likely if behaviour is easy to replicate Motivation/ reinforcements- may be motivated to imitate the behaviour because they have seen someone else rewarded for the behaviour or because they identify with model
54
Banduras study
Bobo doll Controlled environment 2 conditions- aggressive , non aggressive Aggressive- hitting on head with mallet, verbal aggression 70% of children un non aggressive grouos had 0 ratungs of aggressuon Agressive condition- higher aggression scores
55
One assumption of biological approach
All human behaviour is at first biological, the mind lives in the brain
56
One feature of biological approach
Influence of genes in behaviour
57
Describe influence of genes on behaviour
Behavioural characteristics are genetically inherited, behaviours run in families Due to inheritance of one or many maladaptive genes eg SERT Closer the genetic link the greater the risk Genetic probability is measured by concordance rates Monozygotic- 87% Dizygotic- 47%
58
Define genotype
A genotype is a specific set of genes that an individual has inherited from biological parents and is unique to them
59
Define phenotype
Product of what happens when the genotype interacts with the environment. How our genes are expressed through physical, behaviour and psychological characteristics, observable traits or behaviours shown by an individual
60
Feature 2 of biological approach
Influence of biological structures on behaviour
61
Describe influence of biological structures on behaviour
Biological structure is an organ eg brain Brain is one biologicals structure which can influence behavuoyr Abnormalities in size, shape or function can lead to certain behaviours Enlarged ventricles in brain can increase likelihood of schizophrenia
62
Feature 3 of biological approach
The influence of neurochemistry on behaviour
63
Describe influence of neurochemistry
Neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger in the brain which passes info from one synapse to another to produce behaviour Imbalance can cause abnormal behaviour Imbalance of neurotransmitter dopamine is linked with SZ Imbalance of serotonin is linked with anxiety, depression and OCD
64
Feature 4 of biological approach
Evolution and behaviour
65
Describe evolution and behaviour
Charles Darwin- natural selection Any genetically determined behaviour that increases an individual’s chances of survival and reproduction will be passed to future generations eg aggression Being aggressive will at some point have been advantageous in terms of survival and reproduction

Psychology Research Methods (6 decks)

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