Approaches Flashcards
Wundt and introspection - AO1
Wundt’s lab - first psychology lab in Leipzig, introduced introspection to study the human mind.
Introspection is the examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings.
Standardised procedures - observations of objects and sounds are recorded. Thoughts, images and sensations associated with objects like a metronome.
Structuralism - consciousness divided into categories - thoughts images sensations.
First psychological journal.
Wundt and introspection - AO3
+ Scientific - controlled + standardised. Minimised extraneous variables. Forerunner to later scientific approaches like behaviourism.
- Subjective data - self-report of mental processes is subjective. Participants may have hid thoughts. Can’t therefore establish meaningful laws of behaviour.
+ Father of psychology - credit!
Emergence of psychology as a science - AO1
1900’s - behaviourists - observable behaviours only - scientific. Watson and Skinner.
1950’s - cognitive approach - introduction of computers - digital revolution. Likened mind to a computer and tested predictions about memory using experiments.
1980’s - biological approach. Controlled and scientific - fMRI’s and family studies. Cognitive neuroscience is the dominant approach now.
Emergence of psychology as a science - AO3
+ Scientific methods of modern psychology are objective. Lab studies used in behaviourism, cognitive approach and beyond. No different to natural sciences.
- Subjective data of humanistic and psychodynamic approach - case studies. All psychological research is open to demand characteristics. Scientific approach to understanding human thought may not be possible.
- Lack of paradigm. Kuhn argues that any science must have a paradigm - shared set of principles, assumptions and methods. Psychology doesn’t have this as too much internal disagreement.
Behaviourism - AO1
Did Pavlov feel inclined to feed his dogs when he heard a bell?
Assumptions - observable behaviour is all that needed to be studied. Should be studies in controlled lab conditions. Basic processes same in all species. ‘Blank Slate’ all experience is learned - tabula rasa.
Classical conditioning - Pavlov - association of UCS with NS. Bell and saliva. (Not actually a bell - metronome)
Operant conditioning - Skinner - rats and pigeons - reinforcement and punishment. Lever leads to avoidance of electric shock or a treat - the Skinner box. Distinction between positive and negative conditioning.
Behaviourism - AO3
+ Well-controlled research - scientific and extraneous variables removed. Cause and effect demonstrated.
C.P - reductionism - learning more complex than just observable behaviour - e.g. SLT draws attention to cognitive factors.
+ Real-world application - token economy systems in prisons and psychiatric institutions work on the basis of operant conditioning. Eg. schizophrenia
- Environmental determinism - no room for free will - pessimistic. Skinner himself said there was no free will - every action a result of conditioning history. Implications for the legal system and how we live.
Social learning theory - AO1
Assumptions - behaviour is learned from experience. Also learned through observation and imitation. Builds on behaviourism.
Vicarious reinforcement - observation leads to imitation if behaviour is vicariously reinforced - we see a reward for imitating behaviour.
Bandura study - children watched an adult behave aggressively towards a Bobo doll - hit with hammer and shouted. Children were more aggressive when they watched an aggressive model.
Mediational processes - attention, retention, motivation, reproduction. Cognitive element - makes us more likely to imitate a behaviour. First 2 - learning, second 2 - performance.
Identification - more likely to imitate if we identify with model. Demonstrated in Bobo doll study - boys would imitate same-sex model more often.
Social learning theory - AO3
+ Cognitive factors - less reductionist. Bandura recognised drawbacks of behaviourism. Learning would be laborious if we had to solely rely on our own actions.
C.P - still underestimates influence of biology. Observational learning may be a result of mirror neurons in the brain, which allow us to empathise with others.
- Contrived lab studies - demand characteristics in Bobo doll study (designed to be hit). Doesn’t tell us about how children act in real-life.
+ Explains development of cultural differences - e.g explains how gender roles are transmitted in society. Imitation of ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ behaviours. Can account for real-world behaviour.
Cognitive approach - AO1
Assumptions - internal mental processes can be studies through inference. Mind is like a computer, and can be studied scientifically.
Role of schema - beliefs and expectations affect thoughts and behaviour. Schemas are innate or learned - packages of information. Innate - grasping schema. Learned - ordering coffee. Mental shortcut, but lead to perceptual errors - people see rabbit in duck/rabbit illusion at Easter.
Theoretical and computer models. Information processing approach. Theoretical models are abstract - MSM. Computer models are concrete - mind is likened to a computer and applied to artificial intelligence.
Cognitive neuroscience - ties brain structures with mental processes - e.g. Broca’s area. Uses fMRI. Long term memories located in prefrontal cortex. ‘Lie detectors’ in court.
Cognitive approach - AO3
+ Scientific methods - lab studies create reliable objective data. Cognitive neuroscience - enables biological and cognitive approaches to come together scientifically.
C.P - artificial stimuli e.g Baddeley/Peterson - cognitive research may lack external validity.
+ Real-world application - artificial intelligence, depression, eyewitness testimony, memory - anything from the spec.
- Machine reductionism, ignores role of emotions and motivation. Research has shown that emotions (anxiety) affect memory. May weaken the validity of the approach.
Biological approach - AO1
Assumptions - the mind and body are the same. Materialist/physicalist position. All thought and behaviour has a physical basis.
Neurochemical basis for behaviour - role of neurotransmitters e.g. serotonin and its role in OCD/schizophrenia.
Genetic basis for behaviour - concordance studies with MZ and DZ twins. Environment assumed to be the same.
Genotype - genetic make-up. Phenotype - the way genotype is expressed. E.g. PKU (Ted) can cause learning difficulties (genotype) but with the right diet will not manifest (phenotype.)
Evolution and behaviour - natural selection of genes based on survival value and reproductive success - Darwinian.
Biological approach - AO3
+ Real-world application - psychoactive drugs. Shows value but also supports role of neurotransmitters. Antidepressants.
C.P - antidepressants do not work for everyone - must be other influences. Recent meta-analysis found wide variations in effectiveness of antidepressants.
+ Scientific methods - precise and objective e.g. scanning fMRI and EEGs/ Can establish causal links. Reliable findings.
- Biological determinism. Governed by biological processes - no room for free will. Implications for legal system - criminal genes that cause higher aggression.
Psychodynamic approach - AO1
Role of the unconscious - conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg. Unconscious mind made of biological drives and instincts, as well as repressed traumatic memories. can be accessed through Freudian slips or dreams. Preconscious contains thoughts and memories we can access if desired.
Personality tripartite
Id = primitive, pleasure principle. Present from birth.
Ego, formed age 2 = reality principle. Mediator between other two parts. Manages conflict through defence mechanisms.
Superego = formed age 5, at the end of the phallic stage sense of right and wrong, morality principle. Punishes ego for wrongdoing through guilt.
Psychosexual stages - oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital. Conflict leads to fixations. Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical.
Anal retentive - perfectionist, obsessive.
Anal expulsive - thoughtless, messy.
Phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless.
Conflict in genital stage - difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.
Defence mechanisms - used by ego to keep id and superego in check and reduce anxiety - repression, denial, displacement, sublimation. Long term are unhealthy.
Psychodynamic approach - AO3
+ Real-world application - psychotherapy - came from psychoanalysis. Employs dream-analysis and uncovering of repressed memories.
C.P - not suitable for all e.g. schizophrenia.
+ Explanatory power - influential theories about personality, moral identity and gender identity. Significant in drawing attention to connection between childhood and later life. Influence on art, literature and psychology.
- Untestable, unfalsifiable concepts - based on case studies. Pseudoscientific. Little Hans and horse - castration anxiety from Oedipus complex.
+ Some support - more likely to be attracted to someone who looks like opposite-sex parent.
Humanistic psychology - AO1
Free will - people are self-determining active agents. Rejects more scientific models - psychology should concern itself with subjective experience.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Self-actualisation.
Self-esteem - recognition
Love and belongingness - family
Safety needs - security, employment
Physiological needs - shelter, sleep, sex.
Self-actualisation - innate tendency to want to reach potential. Growth need. All other levels are deficiency needs.
Rogers - Personal growth requires congruence between self and ideal-self. Incongruence creates negative feelings and prevents self-actualisation. Congruence can be achieved through counselling psychology (client-centred therapy) - genuine, unconditional positive regard. Goes against conditions of worth experienced in childhood.
