Approaches In Psychology

Question 1

Wundt’s Contribution

Answer 1

First text book of psychology - Principles of Physiological Psychology published in 1873
Opened first psychology specific laboratory - at the University of Leipzig, Germany in 1879
Used scientific methods to study structure of sensation and perception - through systematic and objective investigation, using repeatable and reproducible conditions, controlling variables and exposing candidates to easily replicated stimuli, such as a ticking metronome
Showed introspection could be used to study mental state in replicable experiments - by someone examining their own conscious experiences as objectively as possible

Question 2

Behaviourist Approach

Answer 2

Argues we are born tabula rasa
We are not born with built-in mental content
All behaviour learnt from interaction with environment post birth
- language, gender development, aggression, prejudice
Nurture explanation
Behaviourists argue psychology should only study observable behaviour in controlled lab settings
- only way to study it scientifically
Behaviourist argue laws of learning are the same for humans and non-humans
- they say you can study animal learning in labs and make generalisations about human behaviour

Question 3

Classical Conditioning

Answer 3

Pavlov = Russian psychologist and famous for his experiments with dogs
- the research was critical in discovery of one of the most important concepts - classical conditioning
- learning through association
STAGES
1. Uncontrolled stimulus -> uncontrolled response
2. Neutral stimulus-> neutral response
3. Uncontrolled stimulus + neutral stimulus -> uncontrolled response
4. Controlled stimulus -> controlled response

Question 4

Operant Conditioning

Answer 4

Skinne
Suggested concept of free will was an illusion
All human interaction was a result off conditioning
Built on Pavolv’s work and developed
Developed classical conditioning
- learning through reinforcement and punishment
- we will repeat behaviours with positive consequences (reinforcement)
-will stop behaviours with negative consequences (punishment)

Question 5

Reinforcement and Punishment

Answer 5

Positive Reinforcement- receive+good consequences (from bad)
Negative Reinforcement- taken away+good consequence (from bad)
Positive Punishment- receive+bad consequence (from good)
Negative Punishment- taken away+bad consequence (from good)

Question 6

Operant Conditioning Studies

Answer 6

1. Every time the animal presses the lever it received a good pellet
   - demonstrates positive reinforcement
   - behaviour will increase to get more rewards
2. An animal is subjected to an electric shock and pressing the lever stops it
   - demonstrates negative reinforcement
   - behaviour will increase to stop what it doesn’t like
3. Every time the animal presses the lever it receives an electric shock
   - demonstrates (positive) punishment
   - behaviour will decrease to stop getting the unpleasant thing

Question 7

Social Learning Theory

Answer 7

About learning though observation and imitation
Builds on behaviourism
We learn new behaviours by watching and imitating another person, also known as role models
This is a processes called modelling
We ,at model parents, siblings, friends, celebrities, influencers, etc

Question 8

Models

Answer 8

People are most likely to be imitated if the child or adult identifies with them
Identification and modelling is more likely to occur if the model is similar to the person, such as the same age, gender, etc
Models are often influential or powerful, such as celebrities
Models can be anyone as long as you identify with them

Question 9

Process of Imitation

Answer 9

A child’s learning is acquired through imitation of attitudes and behaviours that is modelled by significant people
When a model is provided, behaviour can be quickly acquired
A key determining factor on whether Oenone will imitate someone’s behaviour is the observers ability to perform the behaviour and the consequences of the behaviour

Question 10

Meditational Processes

Answer 10

Attention - the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention - how well the behaviour is remembered
Motor Reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished (did the perceived positive consequences outweigh the perceived negative consequences)

Question 11

Social Learning Theory Experiment 1

Answer 11

Children watched:
- Adults behaving aggressively towards Bodo Dolls (condition 1)
- Adults behaving nicely towards Bodo Dolls (condition 2)
Children who saw the aggressive behaviour also behaved aggressively
Children who saw the non-aggressive behaviour didn’t-t behave aggressively

Question 12

Social Learning Theory Experiment 2

Answer 12

Children watched adults behaving aggressively towards Bodo Dolls and:
- Rewarded (condition 1)
- Punished (condition 2)
- No consequence (condition 3)
Those who observed aggression behaviours being rewarded were more aggressive than those who saw no consequence and even more than with punishment

Question 13

Social Learning Theory Experiments Conclusion

Answer 13

The research suggests that children are likely to imitate acts of violence observed in an adult role model
Modelling aggressive behaviour is more likely if the behaviour was rewarded, due to vicarious reinforcement
- vicarious reinforcement is experiencing the reinforcement through someone else

Question 14

Cognitive Approach Key Assumptions

Answer 14

1. Internal mental processes, such as memory, perception and reasoning direct and forget behaviour
   - cognitive psychologists say this was ignored by behaviourists
2. Internal mental processes should be studied scientifically using objective and experimental methods
3. Cognitive psychologists study internal mental processes by making inferences based on observed behaviour
4. Schemas can affect a person’s beliefs or expectations and behaviour
5. We can use computer and theoretical models to help us understand internal mental processes

Question 15

Internal Mental Processes

Answer 15

Perception - the process of taking in and interpreting information from our senses
Attention - there process by which we focus on a particular source of information rather than others
Memory - the process of retaining and recalling information
Language - the study of communication and thinking in relation to language
Thinking - the process of retaining and recalling information

The internal mental processes can be seen as interconnected processing systems that allow us to make sense of and response appropriately to the world

Question 16

Schemas

Answer 16

Schemas are packets of information about the world around us
They are stored as long-term memory
We have different types of schemas for different things such as objects, motor schemas, concepts and events
They allow us to process information quickly as ‘mental shortcuts’ and prevent us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
However, they can be problematic and cause cognitive distortions which can lead to perceptual errors

Question 17

Schemas Supporting Research

Answer 17

Allport and Postman Experiment (1947)
Aim - to investigate schemas affect on recall
Participants - black and white Americans
Method - white participants were shown an image of an argument with a well-dressed black man and a white man with a razor. Participants passed the story to each other through serial reproduction. This was repeated with the black participants
Results - white participants: after a few tellings, the black man was the aggressor black participants: the results were more accurate with the white man remaining the aggressor
Explanation - the white people may use their stereotypical previous knowledge (schemas) to distort the image they saw, due to the racist views at he time - the black people has more accurate schemas, so didn’t distort the image

Question 18

Theoretical Models

Answer 18

Diagrammatic representation of the steps involved in mental processes
They represent processes that we would otherwise not be able to see

Question 19

Computer Models

Answer 19

Software presentations of internal mental processes that are created in collaboration with computer scientists
They involve programming computers to see if information processing instructions produce a similar out put in computers as humans
- if they do then we can suggest that similar processes are going to be going on in the human mind
- such computer models have proved useful in the development of artificial intelligence, such as Alpha Go

Question 20

What is Cognitive Neuroscience?

Answer 20

The scientific study of the influences of brain structure on mental processes
Mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions has a long history in psychology

Question 21

What is an Early Example of Cognitive Neuroscience?

Answer 21

In the 1860s, Paul Broco had identified how to damage an area of the frontal lobe (known as Broca’s Area) that could permanently impair speech production

Question 22

What has happened in the last 20 years that has allowed for the emergence of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 22

There has been an advancement in brain imaging techniques such as FMRI and PET scans
Scientists have been able to systematically observe these an describe the neurological basis of mental processes

Question 23

What was Tulving et al 1994 able to show about episodic memory (memory about events) and semantic memory (knowledge memory)?

Answer 23

In research involving tasks that require the use of episodic and semantic memory, Buckner and Peterson were able to show how these different types of long term memory may be located in opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex
As well as this, the system in overall charge. Of working the memory (the central executive) is thought to reside in a similar area (Braver at al. 1997)

Question 24

What part of the brain is linked to OCD and why might it be linked to OCD (proven with brain scanning techniques)?

Answer 24

The part of the brain believed to be linked to OCD is the parahippocampalgyrus
This was first brought in to the use of scanning techniques establishing the neurological basis of mental disorders
This is because there is evidence that parahippocampalgyrus is associated with the processing of unpleasant emotions and this functions abnormally in OCD

Question 25

How is cognitive neuroscience now expanding and what possible future applications might this have?

Answer 25

The focus of cognitive neuroscience has expanded recently to include the use of computer-generated models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain
This has led to the development of mind-mapping techniques known as ‘brain finger printing’
One possible future application of this could be to analyse the brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to determine if they are lying in court

Question 26

The Biological Approach

Answer 26

Nature Approach - sees behaviour as rooted in the physiology and biological processes in the body
It examines the processes that occur and looks for how that may affect an individuals reaction and behaviour
It explains behaviour through:
- genetics
- the nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
- the biochemistry of the body

Question 27

Genetics

Answer 27

Assumptions:
1. Biological psychologists believe that the genes an individual possesses influences behaviour
- this also means that there is a belief in the process of evolution
2. Behaviour evolves the same way as physical characteristics through the process of evolutionary adaption

Question 28

Genotype

Answer 28

The individuals unique genome or DNA sequence
DNA provides the genetic code on how the individual will develop
Genetic make-up occurs at conception
23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell
Humans have 100,000 genes in each cell
The genotype dictates such characteristics as eye colour and hair
Each person (apart from identical twins) has a unique genotype

Question 29

Phenotype

Answer 29

The phenotype of an individual the product of what happens when the genotype interacts with the environment
With a physical characteristic such as height, the genotype dictates maximum height an individual can reach, and environment determined the actual height that is reached
The same goes for psychological characteristics, in that there may be a genetic predisposition to a behaviour but it may not express itself due to the environment inhibiting it

Question 30

Twin Studies

Answer 30

As monozygotic twins are 100% genetically similar, the believed likelihood of them both having a behaviour/disorder compared with the likelihood of dizygotic twins gives an indication of how much the behaviour may be genetic
If mz show a higher likelihood of sharing behaviours/disorders than mz twins, then it can be argued there is a genetic component
- this is thought to be down due to similar genes
Twin studies are correlations between 2 sets of twins and measure the correlation between one twins behaviour and then other on similarity
- this is called concordance

Question 31

Interpreting Twin Studies Data

Answer 31

MZ concordance is significantly higher than DZ concordance rate
- the characteristics has a genetic component
MZ concordance rate is the same or similar to DZ concordance
- the characteristics has an environmental cause
MZ concordance is 100%
- the characteristic is genetically caused
MZ concordance is significantly less than 100%
- the characteristic has an environmental component

Question 32

Twin Concordance Facts

Answer 32

IQ concordance - mz=86% dz=60%
Depression concordance - mz=46% dz=20%
Aggression concordance - mz=87% dz=72%
Extraversion concordance - mz=55% dz=25%

Question 33

Evolution and Behaviour

Answer 33

Evolution occurs due to variations in characteristics between individuals being inherited due to those features being more adaptive (helping ensure survival and reproduction)
- this is the process of natural selection
Evolution is a slow and gradual process
- so behaviours that arose and helped our early ancestors survive and reproduce in what is known as the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA) should exist
- this is known as biological preparedness
- for example, the fight or flight response when faced with a potentially dangerous stimuli

Question 34

Psychodynamic Approach Introduction

Answer 34

The word ‘psychodynamic’ means ‘mind driven’
The psychodynamic approach is most closely associated with the work of Sigmund Freud
At the heart of this approach is the idea that our behaviour can be explained by forces (dynamics) that can drive us to behave the ways we do
Many of these dynamics are unconscious (unknown to us) and are a result of an interaction between innate (inborn) drives and early childhood experiences

Question 35

Iceberg Comparison

Answer 35

Freud famously compared our mind to an iceberg
Most of an ice rug is h underwater, with only a small portion showing above the water, and he said this is was our mind is like
The part of our memory that is ‘above the water’ is the conscious mind
- this contains current thoughts and perceptions
The part of our memory that is ‘just under the water’ is the preconscious boundary
- this is information we are not consciously aware of but can easily brung to our conscious mind
The part of our memory that is ‘far under the water’ is our unconscious mind
- Freud claimed that 7/8 of an iceberg is submerged under water, and this is the same proportion of how much of our mind is our unconscious mind
- by definition, it is inaccessible and therefore unknown to us
- it contains things such as:
~ traumatic memories
~ secret fears
~ secret desires (aggressive and sexual)
~ conflict between wants and morals
~ childhood psychosexual fixation

Question 36

Adult Personality Structure

Answer 36

Freud believed that the adult personality is structured into 3 parts (the tripartite personality) that develop at different stages in our lives
ID ‘Devil On The Shoulder’:
- operates according to the pleasure principle
- wants instant gratification (selfish - will do anything to get it)
- 2 key drives
~ Thanatos (aggression)
~ Libido (pleasure)
- Only innate part of our memory
EGO
- develops around aged 2
- operates according to the reality principle
- it considers consequences
SUPEREGO ‘Angel On The Shoulder’
- develops around age 5-6
- operates according to the …… principle
- considers ethics
Makes you feel good for doing morally right and bad/guilty for doing morally wrong
There is a continuous (unconscious) conflict between the Id and Superego
It is the job of the Ego to manage this conflict

Question 37

The Structure of the Personality

Answer 37

The Ego need to balance the conflicting demands of the Id and the Superego, which is needed if you are to be a psychologically “well-balanced” individual
However, for some individuals, their Ego cannot manage the dominant part of their personality
A person with an dominant Id might be:
- aggressive
- self-centred
- selfish
- unpleasant
- criminals
- impulsive
A person with a dominant Superego might be:
- a “moral saint”
- feel obliged to follow all of the rules to a T
- overly selfless
- make others feel bad for not doing as much as they are

Question 38

Defence Mechanisms

Answer 38

Defence mechanisms refer to strategies that your ego will (unconsciously) develop and use to protect itself from trauma or Id-Superego conflict by distorting or denying the reality of the situation
We all use defence mechanisms but we use different ones to different extents
These work unconsciously
The include:
- repression
- denial
- displacement
* regression
* projection
* sublimation

Question 39

Repression

Answer 39

DEFINITION
Pushing a painful memory deep down into the unconscious mind so it is effectively forgotten
EXAMPLE
Childhood abuse

Question 40

Denial

Answer 40

DEFINITION
Refusing to accept the reality of a situation
EXAMPLE
An addict saying “I could stop and time:

Question 41

Displacement

Answer 41

DEFINITION
Redirecting unacceptable feelings from the original source to a safer, substitute target (‘kick the cat’)
EXAMPLE
You take out frustration with your boss on a colleague

Question 42

Regression *

Answer 42

DEFINITION
Reverting back to immature behaviour from an earlier stage of development
EXAMPLE
An adult having a temper tantrum

Question 43

Projection *

Answer 43

DEFINITION
Attributing one’s own unacceptable feeling and thoughts to others and not yourself
EXAMPLE
A cheater accusing, without evidence, their partner of cheating

Question 44

Sublimation *

Answer 44

DEFINITION
Replacing socially unacceptable impulses with socially acceptable behaviour
EXAMPLE
Taking up rugby or boxing to let out aggression

Question 45

Defence Mechanism Issues

Answer 45

Defence mechanisms are only supposed to be used for a short period of time to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats
However, if we over rely on defence mechanisms, this can result in psychological issues
For example, over reliance on denial might result in addiction or over reliance on displacement might result in aggression
Over reliance in repression will prevent you from “getting closure” and may result in depression or eating disorders

Question 46

Psychosexual Stages

Answer 46

For Freud, childhood experiences shape our adult personality
He proposed that psychosexual development takes place in a series of 5 stages that hge called psychosexual stages
Act each stage there is a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next psychosexual stage
Any unresolved conflict result in that child becoming fixated (stuck in that stage and this fixation will result in certain behaviour and personality traits continuing through to adult life
This all happens unconsciously
The names of the stages refer to the part of of the body to which the libido is attached to and the part where you are receiving pleasure and gratification

Question 47

Oral Stage

Answer 47

AGE
0-18 months
DESCRIPTION
Pleasure comes via the mouth through feeding
- specifically through breastfeeding
~ too much breastfeeding results in too much gratification
~ too little or no breastfeeding results in too little gratification
~ these will result in fixation
CONSEQUENCES OF FIXATION
Oral personality General traits:
Gum chewers, nail bitters, thumb suckers, pen chewers, smoking/vaping
Too much gratification - orally receptive person:
- can’t get enough of things in your mouth
- over indulge in food and drink
~ very nurturing and also encourage other to indulge in food and drink
- quite gullible
Too little gratification - orally aggressive person:
- shout, swear, bite, spit, etc

Question 48

Anal Stage

Answer 48

AGE
18 months-3 years
DESCRIPTION
Pleasure comes from bowel movement and poo
Too much gratification comes from very relaxed potty training
Too little gratification comes from overly strict potty training
These will result in fixation
CONSEQUENCES OF FIXATION
Too much gratification - anally expulsive
- messy, disorganised, never on time, rebellious
- generous and creative
Too little gratification - anally retentive
- neat, organised, punctual, stingy, stubborn
- respectful of authority figures

Question 49

Phallic Stage

Answer 49

AGE
3-6 years
DESCRIPTION
Develop a fascination with their genitals and those not the opposite sex
Boys enter the Oedipus Complex
- they sexually desire their own mother
- angry and jealous of their father
- they fear their dad will discover this and punish him
~ they develop castration anxiety (fear as punishment their dad will castrate him)
- they overcome this by identifying with their dad
~ they internalise his morals, values and gender roles
- their desire for their mother is displaced to other women
Girls enter the Electra Complex
- they realise they don’t have a penis
~ they believe that they have already been castrated
- they blame their mother for this
- they experience massive penis envy and feel powerless
- they begin to desire their father as he has a penis
- this makes them jealous and hostile towards their mother
- they overcome this by identifying with their mother and internalising her morals and values
- they repress their penis envy but continue to have it their whole lives
~ they have children as a substitute
The superego develops while internalising
CONSEQUENCES OF FIXATION
If you don’t identify with your same sex parent, you will become fixated and have a phallic personality
You will:
- be vain and centre of attention
- have problems with authority
- experience gender dysphoria
- become sexually dysfunctional
- for males, this will cause you to be gay

Question 50

Latency Stage

Answer 50

AGE
6-12 years
DESCRIPTION
No psychosexual development takes place
Children focus on developing social and intellectual skills

Question 51

Genital Stage

Answer 51

AGE
12+
DESCRIPTION
Focus of pleasure reverts to the genitals
During puberty their is an exploration of sexual feelings and desires
This should result in you settling down in a loving and healthy heterosexual relationship in your 20s