Approaches Flashcards
Cognitive approach
a modern approach to a human behaviour that focuses on how we think. It assumes that our thought processes affect our behaviour.
Inference
a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.
Schema
a pattern of thought or behaviour that organizes categories of information and the relationship among them.
Theoretical model
diagrammatic representations of the steps involved in mental processes e.g. the information-processing model.
Information processing
a framework to explain and describe mental processes. the model likens the thinking process to how a computer works.
Genetic
belonging to or relating to genes recieved by each animal or plant from its parents.
Genotype
the part of the genetic makeup of a cell, and therefore of any individual, which determines one of its characteristics.
Phenotype
the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
Evolution
the process by which different kinds of living organisms are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth.
Nature vs Nurture
concerned with the extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited or acquired characteristics.
Concordance
agreement or consistency.
Twin/family studies
conducted on identical or fraternal twins. they aim to reveal the importance of the environmental and genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders.
id
the part of the psyche associated with instinctual, repressed, or antisocial desires, usually sexual or aggressive.
Ego
The ego is the psychological component of the personality that is represented by our conscious decision-making process.
Super Ego
The superego is the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates.
Psycho-sexual stages
is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido (sexual energy) that develops in five stages.
Defence mechanism
is an unconscious psychological mechanism that reduces anxiety arising from unacceptable or potentially harmful stimuli.
Displacement
is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.
Denial
a psychological defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality.
Repression
unconscious mechanism employed by the ego to keep disturbing or threatening thoughts from being conscious.
