Approaches in Psychology

Question 1

John wants a genetic test. Explain why John’s genotype will not reveal whether he will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease? (4 marks)

Answer 1

The genetic test reveals the genotype not the phenotype
John’s genotype will only reveal his set of genes (not their interaction with the environment)
A genetic test will only reveal if he is predisposed to suffering Alzheimer’s disease but will not reveal whether he will develop the disorder
Environmental factors may contribute to the disorder (it depends on an interaction between inherited factors and the environment).

Question 2

Describe the structure of the personality according to the psychodynamic approach. (4 marks)

Answer 2

Personality is made up of 3 parts; the id, ego and superego. (This point is essential for 4
marks)

The id: Focuses on self (selfish), irrational and emotional, deals with feelings and needs, seeks pleasure/hedonistic (reference to ‘pleasure principle), formed from birth-18mo, unconscious part of the mind

The ego: Rational, balancing the id and superego, reference to ‘reality principle’, formed between 18mo-3yrs, conscious part of the mind

The superego: Reference to ‘morality principle’, acts as the conscience or moral guide, based on parental and societal values, formed between 3-6yrs, unconscious
part of the mind

Elaboration regarding the dynamic nature of the three components

Experience/conflicts in childhood shape the development of the 3 parts affecting how a
person behaves

Question 3

Describe the id

Answer 3

Focuses on self (selfish), irrational and emotional, deals with feelings and needs, seeks pleasure/hedonistic (reference to ‘pleasure principle), formed from birth-18mo, unconscious part of the mind

Question 4

Describe the ego

Answer 4

Rational, balancing the id and superego, reference to ‘reality principle’, formed between 18mo-3yrs, conscious part of the mind

Question 5

Describe the superego

Answer 5

‘morality principle’, acts as the conscience or moral guide, based on parental and societal values, formed between 3-6yrs, unconscious
part of the mind

Question 6

Tatiana’s parents are concerned about her mobile phone use. She is an anxious child and has low self-esteem. Tatiana only feels good about herself
when she receives messages or positive comments on social media. She feels safe when she has her phone and socially isolated without it.
Tatiana’s parents worry that her dependence on her mobile phone is starting to affect her well-being and achievement at school.
Outline the humanistic response to Tatiana?

Answer 6

Hierarchy of needs: Tatiana requires her mobile phone to meet her safety needs, ‘feel safe’, love and belonging needs, ‘socially isolated without her phone’, ‘ feels good about herself when she receives messages or comments on social media’, self-esteem needs, ‘low selfesteem’/‘ feels good about herself when she receives messages or comments’

Self-actualisation – ‘achievement at school’

Conditions of worth linked to feeling the need to text friends and use social media for acceptance and friendship

Incongruence and negative feelings of self-worth applied to ‘low self-esteem’/ ‘feels good
about herself when she receives messages or comments’ and/or anxiety

Question 7

Summarise the humanistic approach in 5 bullet points

Answer 7

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – motivation to achieve progression through the levels

Rogers’ focus on the concept of self and self-acceptance

Incongruence between self-concept and ideal self leading to negative feelings of self-worth

Person-centred approach to therapy - client led

Self-actualisation – fulfilling one’s potential

Unconditional positive regard rather than setting conditions of worth

Question 8

Evaluate the humanistic approach

Answer 8

Limited application of the humanistic approach due to its abstract concepts

The humanistic approach is not reductionist which may improve validity

Humanistic approach lacks empirical evidence to support its claims

Consideration of influence eg. counselling, theoretical influence etc.

Discussion regarding whether behaviour is due to free will or environmental factors

Question 9

Describes Wundt’s use of the term introspection?

Answer 9

Investigating internal events by examining conscious thoughts and feelings

Question 10

Discuss Wundt’s role in the emergence of psychology as a science?

Answer 10

First to open a laboratory designated to the scientific study of psychological enquiry under controlled
conditions facilitating accurate measurements and replication

Focus was on trying to understand psychological processes of perception etc and structuralism rather
than philosophical or biological processes

He later recognised that higher mental processes were difficult to study using his procedures and this
encouraged others to look for more appropriate methods and techniques, paving the way for
approaches such as scanning

Introspection still used today in areas such as therapy and studying emotional states demonstrating
its value as one way mental processes can be investigated

Issues of determinism and predictability could be presented as a strength or limitation.

Question 11

Identify two glands that form part of the endocrine system and outline their functions.

Answer 11

Thyroid gland: secretes thyroxine/increases metabolic rates and affects growth

Adrenal glands: secretes adrenaline/controls the sympathetic division in the fight or flight response

Pituitary gland: causes other glands to secrete their hormones or directly produces effects (eg,
causing the breasts to lactate).

Question 12

Define overt observation study?

Answer 12

The researcher watches and records behaviour of a group that knows it is being observed.

Question 13

Briefly discuss one way in which a covert observation of children might be more beneficial than an overt observation

Answer 13

Compared to an overt observation if the researcher is covert then the children are completely unaware
that they are being monitored and this increases the likelihood of the behaviour that is produced being
spontaneous and natural

The researcher can also be more certain that covertly collected data are more likely to be valid measurements of behaviour and/or that these behaviours might therefore indicate possible cause and effect relationships.

Question 14

Describe the methodology, theory and application of Pavlov’s research?

Answer 14

Methodology: Pavlov demonstrated the importance of learning by association in his conditioning
experiments – salivation in dogs; the experiments showed learning could be investigated
experimentally and using non-human participants

Theory: provided theories of learning and laws of learning – classical conditioning

Application: provided therapies for the treatment of disorders such as phobias and addictions
(aversion therapies and flooding).

Question 15

Discuss the contribution of Pavlov’s research to our understanding of human behaviour.

Answer 15

Scientific methods led to raised status for psychology but also meant that non-observable behaviour
could not be studied in this way

Therapeutic techniques in SD and flooding and aversion therapy have been successful in eliminating
maladaptive behaviours in real life

Neglect of the whole person – especially in treatment strategies of aversion therapy/SD/flooding

Difficulties involved in extrapolation from animal research to human behaviours

Use of the Little Albert case

Issue of environmental determinism and lack of focus on free will

Comparison with other approaches such as SLT.

Question 16

Explain the function of the endocrine system. (4m)

Answer 16

To regulate cell or organ activity within the body and control vital physiological processes in the body

To release hormones/chemical messengers from glands into the bloodstream which then bind with
specific receptors in order to regulate the activity of cells or organs in the body

Examples of specific hormones to illustrate effects such as adrenaline and fight or flight response

Reference to how imbalance in hormones might lead to dysfunction for example, high levels of cortisol
causing Cushing’s disease.

Question 17

Give three ways in which internal mental processes can be studied?

Answer 17

Using computer models
Using inference
Using theoretical models

Question 18

Briefly outline three limitations of the cognitive approach in psychology.

Answer 18

Over-reliance on computer models
Focus on how rather than why a process might occur
Relies on artificial testing

Question 19

Jamil watches his older brother, Sahib, washing the family car. He sees his brother use a bucket of water and a sponge to clean the car and a hose to rinse it. Their father praises Sahib. Later, the family see Jamil with a bowl of water washing his toy cars.
Use your knowledge of three features of the social learning explanation of behaviour to explain Jamil’s behaviour.

Answer 19

Copying of observed behaviour of someone is imitation: as when Jamil copies the car-washing
behaviour of Sahib using a bowl of water and toy cars

Copying the behaviour of a specific person or role model is called modelling: in this case Jamil washes
the cars that are available to him

When a specific person produces behaviour that is a positive role model, this is also modelling: such
as Sahib washing the family car which shows Jamil how to wash ‘something’

When an observer is influenced by some quality of the person they observe to copy their actions, this
is identification. Jamil is attracted to the fact that his brother is older/male and wants to be like him

When an observer experiences indirect rewards/sees someone rewarded for actions this is vicarious
reinforcement: as when Jamil sees Sahib praised by Dad for car-washing and doing a similar act in
the hope of a similar reward

Mental processes like attention/motor reproduction affect whether or not an observer can copy a seen
behaviour and these are mediational processes. Here Jamil cannot wash the family car but is able to
wash his own cars.

Question 20

Describe the biological approach in psychology

Answer 20

Humans are viewed as biological beings and it is expected that behaviour will/can/should be explained
using references to biology

Genetic basis of behaviour – genes, genotype and phenotype

The human nervous system

Structure and function of the brain including localisation of brain functions and subsequent behaviours

Neurotransmitters and example(s) of how these affect behaviour

Evolution and the importance of natural selection

Question 21

Evaluate the biological approach

Answer 21

Real life applications of the approach – the use of drugs to counteract neurotransmitter imbalance –
examples of these. Benefits of these

The scientific methods used by biologists/biopsychologists might reduce behaviours to unrealistic actions and therefore lose sight of the possible impact of factors such as cognition and culture on behaviour

The danger of looking for biological cause of all behaviours has led to problems like the search for the
‘criminal gene’

Difficulty of separating the likely impact of both nature and nurture – the positive contributions of other
approaches in psychology

Emphasis on scientific methods – rigour of experimentation, scanning techniques, twin and family
studies. Relevant research examples to support this point

Using the experimental method involves a high level of control, allows inference of cause and
effect/increases reliability and validity of conclusions drawn

Comparisons with other approaches

Question 22

Describe how Jack’s parents could use operant conditioning to encourage him
to use the potty/toilet?

Answer 22

Jack’s parents could use positive reinforcement by giving him a sticker when he uses the potty/toilet, which is a
reward to encourage him to use the potty/toilet again

A sticker would be an example of a secondary reinforcer or they could give him food, which is a primary reinforcer

Jack’s parents could remove vegetables from his dinner, which Jack doesn’t like (1).

They could shout at him when he doesn’t use the potty/toilet, which is punishment to discourage him from using a nappy (1)

Question 23

Summarise systematic desensitisation as a treatment for phobias.

Answer 23

SD involves client being introduced to the phobic object whilst inducing a relaxation response
• The client is given relaxation training through hypnosis / drugs / muscle control
• A hierarchy of anxiety provoking situations is drawn up between therapist and client
• Client moves through each stage of the hierarchy replacing anxiety with relaxation

Question 24

Evaluate the use of desensitisation to phobias

Answer 24

AO3
• Studies investigating the effectiveness of systematic
desensitisation, e.g.
o Capafóns et al. (1998): phobia of flying
o Iglesias et al. (2013): driving phobia
o Lang et al. (1963): snake phobia
o McGlynn et al. (1999): in vivo snake phobia
• Marks (1975) concluded that systematic desensitization with relaxation is no more effective than graded exposure
so proposed ‘exposure therapy’ as a replacement
• In vivo exposure therapy is typically more effective than in vitro, relaxation, imaginal, and cognitive therapy (e.g.
Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2008)
• SD lacks validity to real life situations although the use of virtual reality (VR) or hypnosis-guided SD (HGSD) can be
used

Question 25

Explain one weakness of social learning theory.

Answer 25

One weakness of social learning theory is that it ignores hormonal imbalances as a reason for human behaviour(1), so biological theory may account for human behaviour that has not been learnt through observation (1).

Question 26

Describes the aim of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 26

To relate mental processes to brain structures

Question 27

Outline the fight or flight response.

Answer 27

Hypothalamus prepares the body for action/emergency response.

Involves the release of adrenaline (from the adrenal gland/medulla).

Direct effects of adrenaline, eg increase heart rate – constricts blood vessels, increasing rate of blood
flow and raising blood pressure – diverts blood away from the skin, kidneys and digestive system –
increases blood to brain and skeletal muscle – increases respiration and sweating

Question 28

What prepares the body for the flight or fight response?

Answer 28

The hypothalamus

Question 29

What are some direct effects of adrenaline?

Answer 29

Increase heart rate – constricts blood vessels, increasing rate of blood flow and raising blood pressure

Diverts blood away from the skin, kidneys and digestive system – increases blood to brain and skeletal muscle –

Increases respiration and sweating

Question 30

Explain how reinforcement might be used to encourage primary school children to pick up litter in the playground.

Answer 30

Direct primary reinforcement (e.g. deliberately rewarding children who pick up litter).

Use of vicarious reinforcement (e.g. watching a film or seeing teacher deliberately rewarding children
who pick up litter).

Credit other relevant application (e.g. negative reinforcement, behaviour shaping)

Question 31

What is generalisation?

Answer 31

When stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response

Question 32

What is discrimination? How can this be achieved?

Answer 32

When stimuli similar to the original CS don’t produce the original CR.

This can be achieved by withholding the UCS when the similar stimulus is used

Question 33

What is extinction? When does this happen?

Answer 33

When the CR isn’t produced as a result of the CS.

This happens when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS following it.

Question 34

What is spontaneous recovery? When does it happen?

Answer 34

When a previously extinct CR is produced in response to the CS

This happens when the CS is presented again after a period of time in which it has not been used

Question 35

What is higher order conditioning? How can this be achieved?

Answer 35

When a new CS produces the CR because the animal associates it with the original CS

This can be achieved by consistently presenting the new CS before the original CS.

Question 36

What is inference?

Answer 36

Making assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed/going beyond the immediate research evidence.

Question 37

Summarise social learning theory?

Answer 37

learning takes place in a social context
• learning occurs via observation of the behaviour of others and the rewards or punishments received
for the behaviour – vicarious reinforcement
• other people act as models and the characteristics of models influence the likelihood of imitation of
the behaviour
• learning and performance are not the same activity
• mediational processes, eg attention, retention, motivation, reproduction, affect production of
behaviour
• reciprocal determinism and the concept of free will
• concept of identification.

Question 38

Evaluate social learning theory?

Answer 38

• use of evidence to support social learning theory, eg Bobo doll study
• benefits of the experimental approach to investigate social learning theory and issues with
experimental evidence that might affect the validity of the results and therefore the conclusions
drawn
• focus on human traits of consciousness and rationality which cannot be demonstrated with animal
research, addresses the influence of mediational processes on learning – neglected by
behaviourists
• provides explanations that relate to behaviours such as aggression and intellectual development
• does not pay much attention to the impact of biological, heredity or maturational factors on
behaviour, evidence from these areas of research does show they do have an impact.
• can account for cultural differences in behaviou

Question 39

When are line graphs good to use?

Question 40

Why use a sign test?

Answer 40

Quantitive data
Show a statistical difference
Decide if difference due to chance or a real effect
Only used with one group

Question 41

Explain the function of the endocrine system.

Answer 41

To regulate cell or organ activity within the body and control vital physiological processes in the body

To release hormones/chemical messengers from glands into the bloodstream which then bind with
specific receptors in order to regulate the activity of cells or organs in the body

Examples of specific hormones to illustrate effects such as adrenaline and fight or flight response

Reference to how imbalance in hormones might lead to dysfunction for example, high levels of cortisol
causing Cushing’s disease

Question 42

List three features of the cognitive approach

Answer 42

Using computer models
Using inference
Using theoretical models

Question 43

List weaknesses of the cognitive approach

Answer 43

Over-reliance on computer models

Focus on how rather than why a process might occur

Relies on artificial testing

Question 44

Jamil watches his older brother, Sahib, washing the family car. He sees his brother box
use a bucket of water and a sponge to clean the car and a hose to rinse it. Their father praises Sahib. Later, the family see Jamil with a bowl of water washing his toy
cars.

Use your knowledge of three features of the social learning explanation of behaviour
to explain Jamil’s behaviour.

Answer 44

copying of observed behaviour of someone is imitation: as when Jamil copies the car-washing
behaviour of Sahib using a bowl of water and toy cars
• copying the behaviour of a specific person or role model is called modelling: in this case Jamil washes
the cars that are available to him
• when a specific person produces behaviour that is a positive role model, this is also modelling: such
as Sahib washing the family car which shows Jamil how to wash ‘something’
• when an observer is influenced by some quality of the person they observe to copy their actions, this
is identification. Jamil is attracted to the fact that his brother is older/male and wants to be like him
• when an observer experiences indirect rewards/sees someone rewarded for actions this is vicarious
reinforcement: as when Jamil sees Sahib praised by Dad for car-washing and doing a similar act in
the hope of a similar reward
• mental processes like attention/motor reproduction affect whether or not an observer can copy a seen
behaviour and these are mediational processes. Here Jamil cannot wash the family car but is able to
wash his own cars.

Question 45

Summarise the biological approach in 6 bullet points?

Answer 45

Humans are viewed as biological beings and it is expected that behaviour will/can/should be explained
using references to biology

Genetic basis of behaviour – genes, genotype and phenotype

The human nervous system

Structure and function of the brain including localisation of brain functions and subsequent behaviours

Neurotransmitters and example(s) of how these affect behaviour

Evolution and the importance of natural selection

Question 46

Evaluate the biological approach?

Answer 46

Real life applications of the approach – the use of drugs to counteract neurotransmitter imbalance –
examples of these. Benefits of these

The scientific methods used by biologists/biopsychologists might reduce behaviours to unrealistic actions and therefore lose sight of the possible impact of factors such as cognition and culture on behaviour

The danger of looking for biological cause of all behaviours has led to problems like the search for the
‘criminal gene’

Difficulty of separating the likely impact of both nature and nurture – the positive contributions of other
approaches in psychology

Emphasis on scientific methods – rigour of experimentation, scanning techniques, twin and family
studies. Relevant research examples to support this point

Using the experimental method involves a high level of control, allows inference of cause and
effect/increases reliability and validity of conclusions drawn

Question 47

Give me an example of a neurotransmitter?

Answer 47

Dopamine

Question 48

Too much dopamine is linked to which disease?

Answer 48

Schizophrenia

Question 49

Which area of the brain is linked to memory?

Answer 49

Hippocampus

Question 50

Why use the experimental method?

Answer 50

Using the experimental method involves a high level of control, allows inference of cause and
effect/increases reliability and validity of conclusions drawn

Question 51

What is meant by the ‘behaviourist perspective’ in psychology?

Answer 51

All behaviour is learned from the environment via observation and imitation.

Or all behaviour is learned from the environment when a positive reinforcement is given for this behaviour.

Question 52

Give 2 weaknesses of research in a laboratory?

Answer 52

Lacks ecological validity

Possibility of demand characteristics

Question 53

Give 5 strengths of laboratory experiments?

Answer 53

• High control
• Shows cause and effect
• Useful
• Validity
• Reliability of observational checklist/other standardised features of experiment

Question 54

Give reasons the Bandura et al experiment was ethical?

Answer 54

• Not clear if parents gave consent (they may have done)
• Children were not harmed due to just playing with a doll.
• Permission may have been given by the nursery to take part.
• Too young to experience any permanent damage (would probably not remember it).
• Confidential as no names or photographs in the original paper.

Question 55

Give reasons Bandura et al was not ethical?

Answer 55

• Did not clearly get consent from parents.
• It is not possible to get consent from the children.
• No debrief given/impossible to do with a young child.
• No right to withdraw as the experimenter remained in the room during the experimental
session; otherwise a number of children would either refuse to remain alone or would
leave before the termination of the session.
• Children could have been harmed and found the study scary and/or comments about
harm caused during mild aggressive arousal

Question 56

State the purpose of the PET brain-scanning technique.

Answer 56

PET scans measure the activity of the brain

Question 57

Explain one strength and one weakness of the PET brain-scanning technique.

Answer 57

Strength
PET scans are a valid measurement of brain activity (1) as they provide a detailed image of brain activity during the completion of a task (1).

Weakness
PET scans involve injecting a radioactive glucose tracer into participants which could be dangerous (1) therefore limiting the number of times that it can be used with the same participants (1).

Question 58

Define what is meant by a naturalistic observation.

Answer 58

A naturalistic observation involves watching participants in their own environment

Question 59

Explain one strength and one weakness of the naturalistic observation method.

Answer 59

Involves watching others in a familiar environment to them which is high in ecological validity (1) resulting in participants being more likely to behave in a realistic way (1).

Weakness

Natural observations can be difficult to control as there are lots of extraneous variables in the environment (1) which may influence
participants to behave differently on the day the observation is completed (1).

Question 60

Describe ‘spontaneous recovery’ as a feature of classical conditioning.

Answer 60

After extinction of an association between the CR and CS the conditioned response suddenly reappears (1). For example, if a dog previously salivated to a bell and stopped the dog may suddenly salivate to the bell again for no apparent reason (1).

Question 61

Anastasia fell off her bike several times whilst listening to her favourite band, Camban. Every time Anastasia now listens to the music of her favourite band
Camban she feels afraid.
Using classical conditioning, describe how Anastasia became afraid of her favourite band Camban.

Answer 61

Anastasia falling off her bike produces an unconditioned fear response (1) to the naturally occurring unconditioned stimulus of
falling off her bike (1). This has been paired with the neutral stimulus of her favourite pop band Camban (1) creating a conditioned stimulus of her pop band being associated with a conditioned response of fear (1).

Question 62

Denise wanted to investigate whether rewards could encourage the six-year-old
pupils in her class to learn their mathematical calculations. She plans to give each
pupil a ‘smiley’ sticker when they get a set of mathematical calculations correct.
Explain two ways that Denise could make sure her investigation is scientific.

Answer 62

Denise could standardise her procedure and get all the pupils to complete the same set of mathematical calculations (1),
thereby replicating the task for the pupils so she can test for reliability which is scientific (1).

Denise can measure the pupils’ performance by gathering quantitative data on the pupils’ mathematical calculations (1) which is an objective way to analyse the data about the success of
positive reinforcement (1).

Question 63

9 Evaluate operant conditioning as a way of explaining human behaviour.

Answer 63

Operant conditioning refers to the process of learning through
consequences.

If people are punished as a consequence for a particular behaviour then they are more likely to stop the behaviour.

Positive reinforcement results in people being more likely to repeat the behaviour as shown in token economy programmes.

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen behaviour.

Skinner’s (1948) animal studies showed that rats would press a lever to receive a reward, so behaviour can be learned through consequences.

Thorndike (1911) provides support for operant conditioning theory, however kittens were used so they have limited generalisability to humans.

Mestel and Concar (1994) found a token economy programme to be successful in treating cocaine addicts who were given shopping vouchers as rewards for staying “clean”.

The influence of hormones on human behaviour suggests that operant conditioning does not fully explain human behaviour.

Question 64

Melissa is a 16-year-old girl who has started to wear make-up like her favourite celebrity. She went shopping and bought new clothes like the ones she had seen in fashion magazines.
Melissa goes to the park with her friends, wearing her new clothes. At the park they
see a group of boys playing football. The boys stop playing football and smile at Melissa and her friends. After seeing the girls, some of the boys then began playing football more aggressively and shouting at one another.

Evaluate how evolutionary theory and social learning theory can explain human
behaviour. You must make reference to the context in your answer.

Answer 64

Social learning theory proposes that people learn through observing role models whom they pay attention to, imitating what they do.

Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) found that children were more likely to imitate the same sex role model.

Darwin’s evolutionary theory suggests that humans have evolved many traits that aid their survival.

Evolutionary theory suggests that men have evolved to be more aggressive towards other men in order to protect and/or attract a female mate.

AO2
Melissa observes the fashion clothes in the magazines she reads
and buys them for herself.

Melissa imitates her favourite celebrity wearing make up as she is the same gender as her role model.

The boys stop playing football and begin to use their speed by racing each other to get to Melissa and her friends first.

Some of the boys become more aggressive towards the other boys after seeing the girls as a way of impressing Melissa and her friends.

AO3
Mineka and Cook (1989) found Rhesus monkeys would imitate fear responses to crocodiles and snakes which supports observational learning.

Bandura, Ross and Ross’s (1961) study only used children from one nursery in the USA so generalisability may be limited.

Evolutionary theory is accused of being reductionist as it does not consider the influence of situational factors supported by social learning theory.

Buss (2005) summarised that men give into women (debasement) and threaten any males around them aiding their survival of the gene pool.

Question 65

A father teaches his child to use a fork to eat food. He shows her how to do it and says well done when she does it correctly. The child laughs and smiles each time she picks up her food with her fork on her own. Explain how social learning theory accounts for this?

Answer 65

Social learning involves an individual admiring a role model and copying
their behaviour.

Social learning involves attention, which is the process of noticing and being interested in the behaviour.

If an individual is rewarded they are more likely to reproduce the learned behaviour and continue displaying it in future.

The learned behaviour may make the individual feel proud or good internally so serve as self-reinforcement.

AO2

Holly may see her father as a role model and want to imitate his behaviour with the fork.

Holly will notice and be interested in how her father holds the fork and how
he stabs the food.

Tom saying “well done” to Holly for using the fork correctly is a reward, which will encourage Holly to use her fork again.

Holly is smiling and laughing when stabbing the food with the fork correctly so this could show she is proud and so is self-reinforcement.

Question 66

Using an example of human behaviour, explain what is meant by ‘evolution’.

Answer 66

A process in which random (physical and behavioural) changes (over time) occur promoting
adaptation or maladaptive consequences.
OR
• A process of natural selection in which organisms with adaptive changes survive and
maladaptive ones die out.

Question 67

What do humanistic psychologists mean by ‘conditions of worth’?

Answer 67

The withholding of positive regard/love/affection/esteem

Question 68

Explain why a PET scan might be a more useful way of investigating localisation of
function in the brain than an EEG.

Answer 68

The PET scan is more useful because it identifies the specific area of the brain involved in the required task (1) whereas the EEG lacks this sensitivity/identifies the general
presence or absence of activity so localised function is less clear.(1)

Question 69

Using an example of human behaviour, explain what is meant by ‘evolution’.

Answer 69

A process in which random (physical and behavioural) changes (over time) occur promoting
adaptation or maladaptive consequences.
OR
• A process of natural selection in which organisms with adaptive changes survive and
maladaptive ones die out.

examples could include, facial expressions to signal emotional states such as smiling for
happiness; territorial behaviours such as fighting to defend resources; development of physical
structures to support human language abilities, rooting reflex and sexual selection for survival.

Question 70

How does the unconscious influence human behaviour?

Answer 70

Unpleasant memories repressed in the unconscious may cause us to develop anxiety disorders eg phobias.

Question 71

Define negative reinforcement?

Answer 71

Something unpleasant is taken away for the desired
behaviour

So they are more likely to repeat the behaviour

Question 72

Define punishment?

Answer 72

This is when something pleasant is taken away because
someone has shown undesired behaviour

Therefore, they are less likely to repeat the behaviour

Question 73

Evaluate aversion therapy?

Answer 73

It can be criticised on ethical grounds as the patients are
deliberately being made ill/sick/hurt/eq;
• However the patients give full informed consent so know what
will happen to them/eq;
• It doesn’t last long term as the patient may learn that having
alcohol doesn’t make you sick/eq;
• It has been shown to be more effective for addictions than
other treatments/eq;
• It doesn’t change the reasons for the behaviour so the
underlying problem may still be there/eq;

Question 74

Evaluate flooding?

Answer 74

It is a quicker treatment than systematic desensitisation as
they go straight to the feared object/eq;
• It can cause a lot of distress to the patient when
confronting their feared object/eq;
• Wolpe found that flooding did cure a girl of her phobia of
travelling in cars/eq;
• If the patient stops the treatment half way through they
will be more afraid of the object/eq;
• It doesn’t work as well on general phobias as it does on
specific phobias/eq;

Answer 75

Systematic desensitisation.
• Because it goes up the hierarchy of fears it isn’t as stressful as
flooding/eq;
• Capafons has shown that it can be used to get rid of fear of
flying/eq;
It can only be used for phobias and not for other disorders such
as schizophrenia.
• Psychoanalysts would say the reason for the fear hasn’t been
treated so the patient will still have issues/eq;
• Because the patient has learnt to relax the treatment can be
applied to other situations/objects/eq;

Question 76

Evaluate token economy?

Answer 76

• It may not generalise to situations where there are no tokens
as a reward for the desired behaviour/eq;
• It can be criticised as people are having basic rights taken
away from them in order to earn them with tokens/eq;
• Ayllon found that it improved behaviour in long term patients
in a psychiatric hospital/eq;
• It has been shown to cut down re-offending rates in
prisoners/eq;
• However this has usually only been short term and doesn’t
have a long term effect on their behaviour/eq;