Approaches

Question 1

Wundt: What is Structuralism and Meta-cognition?

Answer 1

Breaking down mental processes into its basic components
Thinking and reflecting about our memory and decisions (study consciousness)

Question 2

Wundt: What is Introspection?

Answer 2

The process of observing consciousness and being aware of sensations and perceptions

Question 3

What is Wundt’s + Introspection evaluation?

Answer 3

+ Wundt used subjective methods and places real human experience at the front of cognitive studies, high mundane realism
+ Wundt’s focus on mental processes through Introspection have paved the way for researchers to test unobservable matters
- Introspection is not replicable, is very subjective due to individual differences, Wundt struggled to replicate his sessions of Introspection, This limits the reliability of Introspection as a scientific method.
-It could be argued others such as Pavlov had a larger input into the origins of psychology than Wundt

Question 4

Emergence of Psychology as a science

Answer 4

1879: Wundt opened the first lab in Germany and introduced Introspection
1900’s: Freud developed the psychodynamic theory and psychoanalysis (unconscious motives and drives)
1913: Watson and Skinner proposed behaviourism, behaviour is learnt through environmental conditioning
1950’s: Rogers and Maslow developed the humanistic approach, emphasise the importance of free will, Phenomenology: investigating actual human existence
1960’s: cognitive psychology is suggested using the computer models, inferences
1980’s: Biological approach is made possible by medical and technological advances, brain scans to track activity and structure
2000’s+: Cognitive neuroscience combines biological and cognitive, helps with brain damage/illness

Question 5

Psychodynamic: The role of the unconscious

Answer 5

There are distinct divisions between aspects of the brain
Conscious: aspect that we are aware of
Preconscious: Where dreams and ‘Freudian slips’ stay, both reveal secret desires/thoughts/fears
Unconscious: hidden depths and mass we are unaware of (trauma)
Psychoanalysis is used to confront traumas

Question 6

Psychodynamic: Structure of the personality

Answer 6

3 parts to the personality which develop at different stages of life
ID: present from birth, Instinctive and operates according to the pleasure principle. ensures our biological needs are met
EGO: Develops age 2, uses the reality principle, mediates between the ID and superego, uses logic
SUPEREGO: Develops age 5, act using the morality principle and follows societies rules, learn restrictions from the same-sex parent

Question 7

Psychodynamic: Defence mechanisms

Answer 7

A way of protecting the ego in conflict between the ID and superego
-Repression: Not remembering something due to lack of access because it is hidden in the unconscious (hidden)
-Displacement: Focusing strong emotion onto an uninvolved object to reduce feelings
-Denial: Refusing to accept threatening thoughts
Projection: Saying threatening thoughts are someone else’s
Regression: Returning to a less advanced state

Question 8

Psychodynamic: Psychosexual stages

Answer 8

Oedipus complex: Boys unconsciously desire closeness to their mother and fear their father due to castration anxiety
Electra complex: Girls unconsciously experience penis envy, close to their father and envy their mother
-Oral: (0-1) mouth is the focus of pleasure, conflict arises around breastfeeding, Oral fixation: addiction, sarcasm, overeating
-Anal: (1-3) Anus is the focus, toilet-training (retentive or expulsive) Retentive: Neatness, perfectionist Expulsive: Messiness, chaotic, insensitive
-Phallic: (3-6) Genitals are the focus, conflict causes the Oedipus and Electra complex Phallic fixation: Overambition, impulsivity
-Latency: (6-puberty) Resolves earlier issues
-Genital: (puberty+) Genitals are the focus, sexual desire becomes conscious Genital Fixation: Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships and penetration

Question 9

Evaluate the Psychodynamic approach

Answer 9

+Real-world application: Introduced psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, which allows access to the unconscious (dream analysis, hypnosis), also shapes therapy and counselling that we use today, high ecological validity
- Freud’s therapies are only effective on patients with mild neurosis, ignored severe psychosis disorders, lack of validity
+ The approach has explanatory power, has a huge influence on drawing connections between childhood and adult behaviours and is still used today in therapy, high significance
- Popper: Untestable concept, unfalsifiable , used subjective and unscientific methods, should be seen as a psuedoscience (fake science)

Question 10

Psychodynamic: Little Hans

Answer 10

Developed a phobia of horses due to seeing one collapse, experiences repression of feelings for his mother
Case study: Not scientific, subjective data and analysis, ungeneralisable to others

Question 11

Behaviourism: Key assumptions

Answer 11

Only interested in measurable and observable behaviour
Watson: everyone is born with a ‘blank slate’, nurture debate, all behaviour is environmentally learnt

Question 12

Behaviourism: Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning

Answer 12

Learning through association
Dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell
1.Unconditioned Stimulus (food): leads to an automatic response
2.Unconditioned Response (saliva): the automatic response
3. Pair the UCS with a Neutral Stimulus (bell): causes no response alone
4. the NS will begin to produce the UCR
5.The NS becomes a conditioned stimulus which triggers the conditioned response of salivating

Question 13

Behaviourism: Skinner’s Operant Conditioning (4 consequences of behaviour)

Answer 13

Learning is an active process
Positive Reinforcement: Add a pleasant stimulus to reward or encourage behaviour (a treat/reward)
Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour (doing work to avoid a consequence)
Positive Punishment: Add an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour (chores)
Negative Punishment: Remove a pleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour (taking phone)

Question 14

Behaviourism: Skinner’s box

Answer 14

Rats were places in a box with a lever, light and a food chute, when the lever was pressed food was released showing Positive Reinforcement
If food no longer appeared when the lever was pressed the rat quickly stopped pulling the lever showing Extinction
Skinner also used another version with an electrified floor, the lever would stop the electricity for 30 seconds showing Negative Reinforcement
Spontaneous recovery: A conditioned behaviour reoccurs after not being practised for a long time

Question 15

Behaviourism: Little Albert - Watson + Rayner

Answer 15

He was shown objects which he was content with and showed no fear, A loud noise struck as he was shown a white mouse, which caused fear in Albert, the phobia is now a conditioned response to all the objects
Generalisation: Fear of 1 object caused a general fear of all the objects

Question 16

Evaluate the Behaviourist approach

Answer 16

+ Focuses on measurable and observable behaviours, emphasised the importance of replication. Influenced psychologies development as a science, high validity and can show causality (skinner box- behaviour is visibly learnt)
+ Real-life application, Positive Reinforcement is used in educations, prisons to encourage positive behaviour, Classical conditioning has been used to treat phobias and addictions, High ecological validity.
- States animals are ‘machine-like’ and only respond to environments, ignores the importance of mental processes, lack of application to humans

Question 17

SLT: Key assumptions

Answer 17

-Children learn through observation of role-models behaviour (influential figures or people of a higher status) and then imitate this behaviour
-Learning is not innate, absorb knowledge through environments/ social contexts
-Children are more likely to imitate a same-sex models behaviour

Question 18

SLT: Key terms- 1.Imitation 2.Identification 3.Vicarious Reinforcement

Answer 18

1. Replication of a behaviour that ahs been observed
2. An observer associates themself with a role-model and aspires to be like them
3. Observing someone else be reinforced for a behaviour and then imitating it

Question 19

SLT: Mediational Processes

Answer 19

Learning behaviour: Attention (noticing behaviour, stimuli focus)-> Encoding (remembering the behaviour, rehearse/encode)
Performing behaviour: Imitation (practicing the behaviour)-> Motivation(desire to be rewarded for the behaviour)

Question 20

SLT: Bandura’s Research of aggression

Answer 20

Aim- To investigate the effect of observed aggression and same-sex modelling on a child’s behaviour
Method-72 ppts, 36 boys + girls ages 3-6yrs
1.Rated each child’s aggression before the experiment and used a matched pairs design
2. Used 3 conditions of models: Aggressive and non-aggressive (male and female for both) and a control condition
-Children observed the behaviour for 10 minutes
-Aggression Arousal: told they could not play with toys to build frustration
-Imitation: Child in a room for 20 minutes with aggressive and non-aggressive toys and the bobo-doll, children were observed by 2 observers through a one-way mirror
Results: Children from the aggressive condition were more likely to be aggressive towards the bobo-doll
Boys were more physically aggressive, girls were more verbally aggressive
Children were more likely to imitate the behaviour of the same-sex role-model
Conclusion: Aggression can be learnt via mechanisms, Imitation can occur after a single exposure, Can learn in one setting and be imitated in a different setting

Question 21

Evaluate the Social Learning Theory

Answer 21

+ SLT is capable of explaining cultural differences in behaviour, children learn from individuals around them and through the media. this can explain how cultural norms and transmitted through society, helps us understand a range of behaviours
- The use of laboratory experiments may significantly influence behaviour causing demand characteristics. Therefore the research may not be reliable to tell us how children actually learn aggression in everyday life, lack of ecological validity
-Lacks reference to biological factors influencing behaviour. Boys have more testosterone which causes higher levels of aggression, lack of validity
-All children were from the same school, this provides and ungeneralisable sample and results, the age range also makes the results ungeneralisable to children of all ages