Approaches (definitions) Flashcards
Imitation
Copying the behaviour of others
Identification
Associating with a role model and wanting to be like them
Modelling
Imitating the behaviour of a specific role model
Vicarious reinforcement
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced
Attention
The extent to which we notice another person’s behaviour
Mediational processes
Cognitive factors which influence learning (attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation)
Retention
The ability to remember an observed behaviour
Motor reproduction
The ability to perform an observed behaviour
Motivation
The will to perform an observed behaviour
Cognition
Mental processes: thoughts, perceptions, beliefs
Schema
A mental framework of knowledge and beliefs developed from experience which influence our cognitive processing
Cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of biological structures which underpin cognitive processes
Unconditioned stimulus
A thing that elicits a natural response
Unconditioned response
A thing that is naturally elicited by a stimulus
Neutral stimulus
A new stimulus (which has no natural effect) we deliver at the same time we give the old stimulus
Conditioned stimulus
A thing that elicits a response after conditioning has taken place
Conditioned response
A thing that is elicited after conditioning has taken place
Positive reinforcement
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed e.g. praise from a teacher for handing in homework on time
Negative reinforcement
Doing something to avoid something unpleasant e.g. paying your rent so as not to be evicted
Punishment
An unpleasant consequence of a certain behaviour e.g. being shouted at by your boss for always being late
Genotype
The particular set of genes that a person possesses
Phenotype
The characteristics of an individual based on both genes and the environment
Monozygotic twins
Identical twins (they share 100% of their genes)
Dizygotic twins
Non-identical twins (they share 50% of their genes)
Concordance rate
The extent to which two certain people share the same characteristic
Id
An entirely unconscious, selfish mass of drives and instincts that operates on the pleasure principle
Ego
The mediator which uses defence mechanisms to reduce conflict between the id and superego, based on the reality principle
Superego
Our internalised sense of right and wrong based on the morality principle, which punishes the ego through guilt
Defence mechanisms
Unconscious strategies used by the ego to reduce conflict between the id and superego (repression, denial, displacement)
Psychosexual stages
Five stages all children pass through (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital). Unresolved conflict in particular stages can have developmental consequences (fixations).
Oedipus complex
In the phallic stage boys develop sexual feelings for their mother and hatred for their father (their rival). Through fear of castration boys repress these feelings and identify with their father.
Electra complex
In the phallic stage girls experience penis envy and develop sexual feelings for their father and hatred for their mother. Over time these sexual feelings fade and are replaced by a desire for a baby, identifying with their mother in the process.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
A hierarchical sequence in which basic needs must be satisfied before higher needs can be achieved. (physiological, safety and security, love and belongingness, self esteem, self actualisation).
Free will
The claim that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces
Self-actualisation
The desire to reach one’s full potential (fulfilled, satisfied, and goal-oriented) through personal growth
Congruence
The difference between the self (the way someone sees themselves) and the ideal self (the person they want to be)
Conditions of worth
When parents place limitations on their love for their child i.e. “I will only love you if…”
Client-centred therapy
A humanistic therapy developed by Rogers which provides clients with the unconditional positive regard they failed to receive in childhood, in order to improve congruence and self-esteem
Repression
Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial
Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement
Transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotions onto a substitute target
Fixation
An emotional sticking point based on a psychosexual stage. Stress in adulthood prompts a return to this stage.
Q-sort
A humanistic test of self-actualisation which measures the difference between the conception of self and the ideal self
Introspection
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by isolating the structures of one’s own consciousness (thought, image, sensation)
Psychology
Psyche=mind
Logos=the study of
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions which affect behaviour in given contexts
Role model
Someone who is seen to have similar characteristics to the observer/ are attractive/ have high status
Internal mental processes
Private operations of the mind that mediate between stimulus and response
Classical conditioning
Learning by association
Operant conditioning
Learning through the consequences of behaviour
Genes
The inherited make up of DNA which determines physical and psychological features of an organism
Biological structure
An arrangements of parts to form an organ, system, or living being
Neurochemistry
Chemicals in the brain which regulate psychological functioning
Evolution
The natural changes in inherited characteristics in a population over generations
