APPROACHES Flashcards
define psychology
the scientific study of the humans minds and functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context
what did wilhelm wunt do?
created the first empirical research by breaking down behaviours into basic elements.
he called this approach structuralism
define wilhelm wundts ‘introspection’
his first attempt to study the structure of the human mind, he asked participants to reflect their own thoughts in detail and describe them
strength of wilhelms wundts ‘introspection’
the high control
controlled extraneous variables
controlled environment. therefore, research can be considered a forerunner into later approaches in psychology
weakness of wilhelms wundts ‘introspection’
relies on pps to self report their mental processes. produces subjective data
therefore
wouldn’t meet scientific criteria as its difficult to establish laws of behaviour
define a ‘science’
a thing that discovers general laws that allow us to predict outcomes
uses systematic and objective measures
5 steps to achieve conclusion
1- ask a question
2- state a hypothesis
3. conduct experiment
4. analyse results
5. come to conclusion
psychology goals
hint* DEPC
D- description, what occurred?
E- explain, why did it occur?
P- predict, identify conditions
C- change, psychology knowledge to prevent unwanted behaviour
define ‘the behaviourist approach’
a way of explaining behaviour in terms of whats observable and in terms of learning
name 4 assumptions of the behaviourist approach
- everyones born as a blank state
- everything we learn is through conditioning
- focus on observable behaviour that can be scientifically measured
- animals have same principals of learning
whats classical conditioning
learning that occurs when 2 stimuli become associated together
define operant conditioning
behaviour learnt through consequences of our behaviour through reinforcement and punishment
name the 3 types of operant conditioning
positive reinforcement- more likely to behave this way to gain reward
negative reinforcement- more likely to display behaviour to avoid negative consequence
punishment- behaviour less likely to occur to avoid punishment
what was pavlovs dog study
- unconditioned stimuli was the dog food, caused drool
- a bell was then introduced as neutral stimuli, associated w food
- by the end, the dog was conditioned to drool when hearing the bell due to the association with the food
what does pavlovs dog experiment an example of
classical conditioning
what was skinners box study
every time the rat presses the lever its rewarded with food.
therefore the rat is positively reinforced to press the lever as it receives the reward and continues this behaviour
what does skinners box study show
operant conditioning
who created the ‘little albert’ study
watson and rayner
explain watsons and rayners study with little albert
showed phobias could be learned.
little albert associated the loud sound with a rat that was placed with him
this then spread to rabbits and cotton wool.
supports the idea that behaviour can be learnt through association
define the social learning theory
way of explaining behaviour that occurs through observation and imitation of others behaviour
2 assumptions of the social learning theory
- all behaviour is learnt through experience
- behaviour is more likely to occur when a role model performes the behaviour
name the 4 mediational processes
ARMM
- attention- seeing behaviour
- retention- remembering it
- motor reproduction- ability
- motivation- reason to perform behaviour
define the identification within social learning theory
role models, more likely to imitate the role models. this is called modelling
2 ways of modelling
1. observer imitates
2. produces behaviour
role model doesnt need to be present
whats vicarious reinforcement
when the frequency of certain behaviors increases as a result of observing others rewarded for the same behaviors
what happened in banduras bobo doll experiment
- 36 boys and 36 girls watched adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll
- children who saw aggression imitated
same sex influenced
experimental design- IG
children who saw reward were more aggressive
strength 1 of social learning theory
considers cognitive factors in learning, behaviourist approach does not.
therefore, the slt can provide a more complete explanation
strength 2 of SLT
it can explain how children learn from others+ the media, explaining how cultural normalities are formed.
therefore, can help us understand children’s behaviour such as social roles
weakness 1 of SLT
in the bobo doll, boys were more aggressive than girls which cannot be explained by SLT.
therefore, bandura may have not considered other factors eg: biological like testerone levels
weakness 2 of SLT
banduras ideas were formed by observing behaviour in a lab, increasing demand characteristics
therefore the research may tell us little about how children learn aggression, reducing validity
define the cognitive approach
the approach that emphasizes the study of mental processes such as thinking, perception, attention, and memory.
name 2 assumptions of the cognitive approach
internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
the workings of the human mind and a computer are the same
define a ‘schema’
a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that are developed from experience. they help take shortcuts in thinking and may influence cognitive processing
name a similarity between human and computer models
the central processer ( brain ) changes info into a code and uses ‘stores’ to hold information like a computer
whats cognitive neuroscience
a scientific study of biological structures that help explain mental processes
- which part of the brain are involved in which role
strength 1 of cognitive approach
uses scientific measures therefore has high control, the study has been established by a credible base
strength 2 of cognitive approach
dominance in psychology has helped develop therapies such as cbt therapy, helped society
weakness 1 of cognitive approach
human emotion aren’t considered within computers, therefore, this suggests the cognitive approach oversimplifies and ignores other factors
machine reductionist?
weakness 2 of cognitive approach
cognitive psychologists are only able to infer mental processes from artificial tasks.
therefore, they can be seen as unrealistic and lack external validity
define inference
making a conclusion about how mental processes operate on observed behaviours
disadvantage of schemas
may lead to misrepresentation due to stereotypes
define the psychodynamic approach
different forces ( usually unconscious ) that operate on the mind and direct behaviour
4 assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
- personality is made up of 3 parts
- unconscious activity is key to behaviour
- we have instincts which motivate behaviour
- childhood experiences impact adult personality
whats the role of unconscious in the psychodynamic approach
to hold our instincts, drives and fears etc
its key to determine how we behave
name and define the 3 defence mechanisms in psychodynamic approach
denial- not acknowledging
repression- mind blocks negative thoughts/ impulses
displacement- placing feelings onto substitute target
3 features of the ID
- driven by the pleasure principale
- the source of our unconscious desires
- instinctual, developed first
3 features of the ego
- driven by the reality principal
- conscious
- finds a compromise between id and the superego
- acts as the inner adult due to it being logical
3 features of the superego
- driven by the morality principal
- thats wrong part of the personality
- conscience given by parents
weakness 1 of the psychodynamic approach
doesnt meet scientific criteria, cannot be tested with empirical methods as it focusses on the unconscious
therefore, reduced validity and potentially seen as a pseudoscience
weakness 2 of psychodynamic approach
suggests behaviour is determined by unconscious which we have no choice in.
feuds views show psychic determinism were too extreme
first stage of the psychosexual stages
oral stage
age 0-1
pleasure focus- mouth
if fixated may lead to smoking or drinking
second stage of the psychosexual stages
anal stage 1-3
going to the toilet , lead by praisals
if fixated, could lead to explosive personality or OCD
third stage of the psychosexual stages
phallic
age 3-5
unconscious desire for opposite sex
jealous of same sex
ends up imitating same sex
if fixated, could lead to envy or vanity
4th stage in psychosexual stages
latency
age 6- puberty
impulses repressed, calm period
if fixated, could lead to difficulty expressing emotion
final stage of psychosexual stages
genital
adult
libio re emerges and intimate relationships are formed
define the ‘biological approach’
the study of the biology of behaviour
focusses on nervous system, hormones and genes
examines relationship between the mind and the body
4 assumptions of the biological approach
psychology is a science and should be studied scientifically
everything psychological is at first biological
behaviour has a neurochemical and genetic base
animals can be compared to us
define concordance ratea
extent to which twins share the same genes
scientific words for identical and non identical twins
monozygotic- identical
dizygotic- non
is there a higher concordance rates in identical or non
identical
whats the difference between genotypes and phenotypes
genotypes are the genes possessed, the phenotypes are how the genes are expressed, they are influenced by the environment unlike genotypes which are not
whats the genetic base of behaviour
behaviour is inherited the same way physical traits are, we must look at biological structures to analyse human behaviour eg: genes, hormones
whats the role of evolution
genetic behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction are advantageous
the genes are adaptive and will be passed to offspring
strength 1 of the biological approach
the approach uses scientific methods
reliable data, good validity
strength 2 of biological approach
increased understanding of the biochemical process has led to drugs been developed to treat mental illnesses
sufferers can live semi normal lives
helps the worlds economy
weakness 1 of biological
approach is biological deterministic , due to its seen behaviour is governed by internal biological causes, which we cant control
may have a wider implication on the world eg: criminals have an excuse
weakness 2 of biological
cannot establish cause and effect. role of the neurotransmitter in mental illnesses comes from studies which show reducing neurotransmitters reduces the disorder.
cannot prove causation, only correlation
define the humanistic approach
the approach seed humans as affected by external and internal influences but have free will
4 assumptions of the humanistic approach
- humans have free will ( personal agency )
- all individuals are unique and have an innate drive to achieve maximum potential
- psychology should study the individual
- we can only understand behaviour by studying humans
who were the 2 main people within the humanistic approach
carl rogers and maslow
what did rogers say were our 2 basic needs
- positive self regard from others
- a feeling of self worth
define congruence
occurs when the ideal self and the self are in line with one another. the greater the state of congruence the higher our self worth
sentences of ‘conditions of love’
childhood lack of unconditional positive regard
a parent who sets boundaries of love can cause psychological issues
whats client centred therapy
a therapy which should provide
- genuineness
- empathy
- unconditional positive regard
2 aims of client centred therapy
- increase self worth
- reduce incongruence between self and ideal self
strength 1 of humanistic
holistic
should look at the subjective experience of the whole person and their experiences.
-higher validity as it considers every aspect
strength 2 of humanistic
humanists have been praised for having a positive view and they see people in control of their lives and freedom to change
therefore, the view is refreshing and optimistic, different from the rest
weakness 1 of the humanistic approach
many humanistic views would be more associated with individualistic ( focus on self ) and may not apply to collectivists ( group ) which emphasises the needs of the groups
therefore
- may not apply universally
- may only apply to culture it was created in
weakness 2 of humanistic
hard to test in a scientific way as its main focus is on feelings
define maslows heirarchy of needs
maslow believed we are born with the desire to grow create and love
we aim to reach self actualisation
but we must reach our key needs first
name the 2 types of models within cognitive approach
- computer models
- theoretical models ( MSM )
