Approaches in psychology Flashcards
What is psychology known as?
The scientific study of the mind and behaviour
Name the 5 approaches in psychology?
Behavioural, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic and humanistic
What was William Wundt known as?
The farther of experimental psychology
In 1879 what did William Wundt do?
Opened the first institution for experimental psychology in Germany. He separated psychology from philosophy and focused on studying the mind in a more structures and scientific way
What method did Wundt develop?
Introspection
What is introspection?
Psychological method which involves analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally
Name 2 problems with introspection.
It doesn’t explain how the mind works, it relies on people describing their own thoughts and feelings, which isn’t objective and doesn’t provide data that can be used reliably
Wundt believed in reductionism, what is it?
Idea that things can be reduced to simple cause and effect processes
What are the 5 features that make something a science?
Objectivity, control, predictability, hypothesis testing and replication
What is one argument for psychology being a science?
Allport (1947) said psychology has the same aims as a science to predict, understand and control.
What is one argument against psychology being a science?
They use unreliable methods to study the data and it is hard to get a representative sample of the population for a study so findings can’t be generalised.
When did behaviourism start, and who developed it?
1900s by John Watson
What are the 3 assumptions made about behaviourism?
1)Nearly all behaviour is leant there’s only a couple of exceptions like inborn reflexes/instincts
2) Animals and humans learn in the same ways we learn by the same principles based on stimulus-response associations (rejection of internal mental processes)
3) The ‘mind’ is irrelevant
Who studies classical conditioning in dogs?
Ivan Pavlov (1900s)
Explain what Pavlov did.
Before conditioning: A certain stimulus like food is the UCS and triggers a natural reflex like salvation
During conditioning: UCS repeatedly presented with another stimulus like a bell (NS)which triggers salivation UCR
After conditioning: Overtime the bell presented by itself (CS) triggers salivation (CR)
Suggesting they had formed a temporal association
How can Pavlov’s experiment be related to human development?
Having its needs dealt with and gaining comfort naturally makes a baby happy, but being happy is an inborn reflex its not learnt. Comfort is an UCS that produces happiness which is an UCR, the babies mother will talk to it while she feeds it and changes its nappy so the mothers voice becomes the CS producing the CR of being happy
What are the 5 principles of classical conditioning?
Generalisation, discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery and higher order conditioning
What is the key idea behind classical conditioning?
Learning through association
In CC what is generalisation?
When stimuli similar to the original CS produce the CR
In CC what is discrimination?
When stimuli similar to the original CS don’t produce the CR, this can be achieved by withholding the UCS when the similar stimulus is used
In CC what is extinction?
When the CR isn’t produces as a result of the CS, this happens when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS following it
In CC what is spontaneous recovery?
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 during which its not been used
In CC what is higher order conditioning?
When a new CS produces the CR as the animal associates it with the original CS. This can be achieved by consistently presenting the new CS before the original CS
Who investigated operant conditioning?
B.F Skinner
What study is Skinner famous for?
Skinner box with the rats
What is the main idea behind operant conditioning?
Learning as a result of consequences of their actions
What is positive reinforcement?
When something ‘desirable’ is obtained in response to doing something (chocolate bar given to well behaved student)
What is negative reinforcement?
When something ‘undesirable’ is removed when something happens (no homework given if they pass the test)
Name 3 weaknesses of conditioning?
Conditioning can’t explain all human behaviour, most studies are done on animals making generalisation hard and genetics seem to influence and limit what different species can learn by conditioning
Environmentally Reductionist
Who conducted the experiment on ‘Little Albert’ and in what year?
Watson and Rayner (1920)
Name 3 things that have been discovered through experiments on humans.
Our genes influence behaviour,
we can learn in ways other than conditioning and mental,
cognitive processes are relevant to understanding behaviour
Who developed the Social Learning Theory and when?
Bandura in 1960s
What does the SLT agree with?
The idea that people can learn by conditioning but also claims that they learn a lot from role models, people must focus their attention on the the role model, perceive what they do and remember it in order to learn how to do it
What is modelling?
Involves observing and imitating another person, it requires identification with the model where certain characteristics are picked up on
Can learn from live models (people around us) or symbolic models (people in books or on tv)
Name 2 ways the behaviours can be learnt (SLT)?
Reinforcement- positive or negative makes the behaviour more likely to happen in the future and Vicarious reinforcement
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Seeing others being rewarded for a behaviour influences someone in whether they choose to imitate the behaviour
Name the 4 meditational processes.
Attention, retention-remembering what was observed, motor reproduction, ability to reproduce the behaviour and motivation, evaluate the direct or indirect results of imitating the behaviour
What type of theory is SLT?
Reductionalist
What does it mean that SLT is reductionist?
Explains things through very basic cause and effect mechanisms, explaining behaviour as a result of learning from others and ignores any biological explanations
What were some of the main comments made about Bandura’s study into SLT?
That it shows reinforcements isn’t needed for learning, that bobo dolls are meant for aggressive plat and your meant to hit them and that it emphasises learning as the case of behaviour and so is on the nature side of the nature-nurture debate.
What is cognitive psychology?
How we interpret the world
What does the cognitive approach study?
Explains the mind through cognitive processes, which is all about how we think. It uses experimental procedures and methods to test behaviour
In the cognitive approach what can the mind be compared to?
A computer, humans are treated as information processors and the theoretical models are used to explain and make inferences about the mental processes that lead to certain behaviours
What are the 3 main research methods that cognitive psychologists use?
Lab experiments, field experiments and natural experiments
What are the 3 principles behind the cognitive approach?
Our mental systems have a limited capacity, a control mechanism oversees all mental processes and there is a two-way flow of information
What do cognitive psychologist use to represent particular features of the human mind?
Computer models
Explain how the computer models show features of the human mind?
The brain is the processor it has data input into it and output from it. Some parts of the brain from networks but some can work sequential meaning that one process must finish before the other starts and they all work in parallel too
What are they differences between humans and computers?
Humans are influenced by emotions and motivational factors, humans have an unlimited and unreliable memory but computers have a limited but reliable memory humans also have free will
What does a schema consist of?
All information you know about an object, action or concept
What do schemas help you do?
Organise and interpret information and experiences
Explain how schemas work.
When information is consistent with a schema, it is assimilated into the schema. When information is inconsistent within a schema accommodation occurs and the schema has too change in order to resolve the problem
What are the 3 types of schema?
Role, event and self schemas
What is as role schema?
These are ideas about the behaviour which is expected from someone in a certain role
What is an event schema?
These are also called scrips and contains information about what happened in a situation
What is a self schema?
These contain information about ourselves based on physical characteristics and personality, as well as beliefs and values
Name a problem with schemas?
They can stop people from learning new information
When did neuroscience begin to develop?
1970s
What is cognitive neuroscience?
An approach which maps human behaviour to brain function
What has brain-imaging techniques allowed psychologists to discover?
When and where things happen in the brain in relation to peoples behaviour at the time
Name 3 types of cognitive neuroscience.
Lesion studies (look at people with brain damage to see how behaviour is effected), electrophysiology (using electric and magnetic fields to measure brain activity) and neuroimaging
Name 2 strength of the cognitive approach.
It considers mental processes which are overlooked in other approaches and has a big influence on the development of therapies
Name 2 weaknesses of the cognitive approach.
Research is often carried out in artificial situations and fails to take individual differences into account
what are the 3 basic assumptions of the biological approach
1) Human behaviour can be explained y looking at biological stuff such as hormones and genetics
2) if we explain all behaviour using biological causes, unwanted behaviour could be modified or removed using biological treatments (medication)
3) experimental research conducted using animals can inform us about human behaviour and biological influences
what do genes contain
info that makes us unique in appearence
what is darwins theory of evolution
Suggests overtime individuals who are better adapted to their environment through having better genes are more likely to survive to reproduce and pass on their useful genes
those who are less-well adapted will be less likely yo survive and reproduce and pass on their genes through natural selection
whats the genotype
genes that they have
what do faulty genes cause
some diseases that have psychological effects (huntingtons disease)
whats the phenotype
characteristics their genes produce
what do biological psychologicals claim
genetics can explain “psychological traits”, these are things like gender, behaviour, personality and sexual orientation
they also study genetics to see which genes make some people more likely to develop things like mental illness or addictions
whats good for biological psychologists to study
twin and adoption studies
give an example of a twin study
gottesman (1991) a meta analysis of twin studies
why are twin studies good
Identical twins share 100% of their genes so in theory is someone has a mental disorder then they should both suffer from it but this isnt always the case
what is an example of an adoption study
Heston (1966) an adoption study of schizophernia
what are the 5 basic brain scanning techniques
1) PET scans
2) CAT scans
3) MRI scans
4) Functional MRI scans
5) SQUID magnetometry
what do PET scans do
Shows which part of the brain is active during different tasks, by studying PET scans we can link certain areas of the brain with particular functions
what does SQUID magentomery do
Produces accurate images of brain activity by measuring magnetic fields generated when neurons are activated
what is a study based on evidence from MRI scans
Maguire et al (2000) A study of taxi drivers’ brains
Give an example of an area of memory that has investigated brain structure
In a case study, Milner et al (1957) found that HM was unable to use his Long-term memory effectively, suggesting that hippocampus has an important role here
Give an example in psychopathology of when brain structure has been investigated
Szeszko et al (1995) found differences in the prefrontal cortex when comparing people with and without sz suggesting relationship between them
What is neurochemistry
All about the nervous system and neurotransmitters
Biological approach looks at the role they might play in explaining behaviour
what are the effects of neurotransmitters on behaviour (bio approach)
Too much or too little of a particular NT may produce psychological disorders (increased dopamine linked to sz)
Some bio psychologists investigated the impact NT have on behaviour
what are the strengths of the biological approach
1) Approach can provide evidence to support or disprove a theory- very scientific
2) If a bio cause can be found for mental health problems or for unwanted behaviour such as aggression then biological treatments can be developed to help individuals
what are 2 weaknesses of the biological approach
1) The approach doesn’t take into account the influence of peoples environment their families childhood experiences or social situations other approaches see these as being important
2) Using bio explanation for neg behaviour can lead to individuals or groups avoiding taking personal or social responsibility for their behaviour
in psychodynamic approach whats meant by ‘psycho’ and ‘dynamic’
‘psycho’ refer to the mind
‘dynamic’ refers to change or activity
who developed psychodynamic approach
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
What does the psychodynamic assume (3)
1) Human behaviour has unconscious causes that we aren’t aware of
2) From birth, humans have a need to fulfil basic biological motivations (food, sleep)
3) Childhood experiences are really important influence on the development of adult personality and psychological disorders
Freud said there was 3 levels of consciousness what are they
conscious, preconscious and unconscious
what is the conscious level of consciouness
this is what we are aware of at any given time
what is the preconscious level of consciousness
this is made up of memories that we can recall when we want to (phone number)
what is the unconscious level of consciousness
this is made up of memories and fears which causes us extreme anxiety and have therefore been ‘repressed’ or forced out of conscious awareness
what are the 3 parts of personality that freud defined
the id, ego and superego
what is the id
basic animal part of the personality that contains out innate aggressive and sexual instincts it wants to be satisfied by whatever means possible and obeys the ‘pleasure principle’
what is the ego
Exists in both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind and acts as a rational part known as the ‘reality principle’ develops within the first 3 years after birth and balances the id and the super ego to keep out behaviour in line
what is the superego
Both conscious and unconscious part of the mind this is the part of the mins that takes out morals into consideration and is involved in making us feeling guilty
around 4-5years of age when develops
what governs the way that we think
different levels of consciousness
what can we use to visualise the personality
ice berg
tip is conscious
what did freud believe about the different parts of consciousness
they can be in conflict because the id wants instant satisfaction, whilst the superego tries to impose morals
these conflicts can lead to anxiety then its the egos job to mediate between the id and the superego to reduce this anxiety
How do superego to reduce this anxiety
through several unconscious defence mechanisms
what are the 3 unconscious defence mechanisms
repression, denial and displacement
what is repression
Involves the ego stopping unwanted and possibly painful thoughts from becoming conscious
what is denial
Where a threatening event or unwanted reality is simply ignored and blocked from conscious awareness
what is displacement
displacement happens when a negative impulses is redirected onto something else (person or object)
what are the 5 stages of psychosexual development
oral
anal
phallic
latent
gential
there’s an unconscious conflict at each stage which much be resolved before the best stages is reached
when is the oral stage present and what is a characteristics of it
0-18mths sucking behaviour
focuses of pleasure is the mouth and mothers breast is the focus desire
when is the anal stage present and what is a characteristics of it
18mths-3.5 yrs and keeping or discarding faeces
focus of pleasure is the anus and child focuses on withholding or expelling faeces
when is the phallic stage present and what is a characteristics of it
3.5-6yrs and genital fixation, oedipus and electra complex
focus pleasure is genitals
Libido is on genitals now
when is the latent stage present and what is a characteristics of it
6yrs-puberty
repressed sexual urges
previous conflicts are resolved and early year are largely forgotten
when is the genital stage present and what is a characteristics of it
puberty-adult awakened sexual urges
What’s the definition of a science
Discovering the physical and natural world systematically and objectively using empirical methods such as observation and experimentation
what is objectivity
absence of bias in research which can significantly impact a study design
what’s empiricism
idea that scientists must base their conclusions on data collected from the world
not just accepting theory or logical arguments
what was wundt interested in
research was called structuralism an attempt to uncover hidden structure of the mind by describing it in terms of its simplest definable components
much of his work focused on structure of sensation abs perception
experimental methods called introspection
what was the process of introspection
1) participants trained to report conscious experiences as objectively as possible
2) participants would be asked to focus on sensory object often a ticking metronome
3) participants would systematically report their experiences of the object by breaking their thoughts into separate elements participants would focus inward and report sensations feelings and images
Wundt made inferences not direct observations of mental processes
what’s positive evaluations about wundts effects on psychology
highly scientific due to controlled experiments systematic approach allowed him to develop general theories of mental processes and enabled others to replicate his findings
use of inferences influenced cognitive psychologists
one of the first to argue that behaviours are determined so they have a cause that can be studied objectively
what’s some negative evaluations about wundts effects on psychology
introspection considered to be subjective and not truly scientific can’t accurately report on their own mental states
inferences have been criticised as assumptions so could be mistaken
what so behaviours argue
behaviour is learnt through experiences and interactions with the environment
environmentally determined
difference between classical and operant conditioning
classical: involuntary response more of a reflex like response and are automatic about acquisition of a response
operant: voluntary response controlled by an organism about maintaining a response
pos evaluations for behaviourist approach
scientific objectively observe and measure stimulus-reinsert mechanisms
standardised procedures
practical applications such as effective counter conditioning
What does humanistic approach focus on
The individual and the person as a whole
What do humanistic approach believe
That all people are inherently good and that they are driven to achieve their full potential
It takes into account the feelings of the individual rather than just their observable behaviour it treats every person as unique
Persons behaviour is caused by their subjective feelings and their thoughts about themselves es especially about how they can become better people and learn new things
In terms of issues and debates what sides is the humanistic approach on
Idiographic rather than nomothetic (studying the individual rather than producing general rules which come from summarising a group of people)
Free will
Holistic
What does the humanistic approach disagree with
Ideas of other approaches which assumes that human behaviour occurs in cause and effect relationships instead believes in free will and that people can choose how to act not caused by external/bio factors
What did Maslow develop
Hierarchy of needs
1) self actualisation
2) need for esteem
3) need for love and belonging
4) need for safety
5) physiological needs related to survival
In the shape of a triangle with self-actualisation at the top
What’s meant by self actualisation
Realising your full potential and becoming the best you’re capable of being
What’s meant by need for safety
at this level you strive to feel safe physically psychologically and economically
what’s meant by need for esteem
at this level you’re focused on achievement and gaining respect from others
what’s meant by need for love and belonging
at this level you’re focused on achievement and gaining respect from others
what’s meant by physiological needs related to survival
at this level you source the food, water shelter and sleep you need to stay alive (as well as sex to reproduce)
what did maslow believe
believed that we spend our lives trying to reach the top of the hierarchy but that hardly anyone every gets there
He also stated that u til lower levels are met you can’t attempt to satisfy higher levels of needs
what’s a problem with humanistic approach
quite westernised concept
assumes everyone has the ability to self actualise but this could be incorrect as self actualisation may be limited to the most intelligent well educated people
what are the 4 main characteristics of self actualised people
1) strong sense of self-awareness
2) a fully accepting view of themselves and other for who they are
3) the ability to deal with uncertainty and the unknown
4) a strong sense creativity
what did maslow believe that self-actualisation could be measured using
‘peak experiences’
these are times where the person feels wonder and euphoria towards the world around them
after these experiences people often feel inspired with a renewed sense of self-awareness
what did aronoff 1967 study
tested whether the highest levels of hierarchy are only satisfied once the lower levels are
job demands and the hierarchy of needs
compared people in two jobs in the british west indies (fisherman and cane cutters)
apart from maslow who else talked about self-actualisation
rogers
what did rogers claim
that all people are inherently hood and that they are motivated to achieve their fullest potential
what’s different between maslow and rogers
rogers didn’t believe the route to self-actualisation was strict as maslow had described
thought that people move towards self-actualisation depending on their own thoughts about themselves and the way that they are treated by others
believed that everyone has a need to be regarded by others a good light and shown love
what did roger describe
two parts of the self
outlined the differences between how someone sees themselves and how they would like to be
he suggests their self-concept is created and develops in a way which depends on whether they receive unconditional positive regard or whether conditions of worth are set for them
what are two parts of the self described by rogers
unconditional positive regard
conditions of worth
what’s mean by unconditional positive regard (one part of rogers self)
this is where the person gets affection no matter what their behaviour is like
we need unconditional positive regard to have a positive self-concept
what’s mean by conditions if worth (one part of rogers self)
this is where approval and affection is given as a result of behaving in a certain way
although this treatment can help someone learn to fit in with the rules of social life rogers believed that it could stop them from reaching self-actualisation
This is because the person may focus on keeping other people happy rather than developing their own personality
what do they need to receive love and account
unconditional positive regard
and so experience congruence and become a fully-functioning person
when do people experience incongruence
if they are set conditions if worth then their ideal self becomes something different to the self-concept and the person experience incongruence
what did rogers develop his ideas into
form of therapy
what did rogers believe that many psychological problems caused by
incongruence
where mismatch between someone’s self-concept and ideal self
what did rogers therapy aim to do
remove this incongruence by making it possible for the person to become their ideal self
what was rogers therapy known as
client-centred therapy also known as person-centred therapy
how does rogers client-centred therapy work
focuses on client they are in charge of what is talked about and it’s their responsibility to eventually solve their own problems
the therapists job is to try and make the client aware of their thoughts actions and behaviours
they can do this by carefully rephrasing the clients sentences and repeating them back
unconditional positive regard- genuineness and empathy are really important in person-centred therapy
the therapist if supportive of client no matter what they do or say with the aim that the client will come to value themselves
what’s the evidence that rogers therapy seems to work
Gibbard and Hanley (2008) studied the impact of person-centred therapy on a group of patients suffering from common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression
they studied almost 700 people over 5 years
a questionnaire was used to measure the extent of their condition before and after therapy
it was found that nearly 70% of the RPS showed a significant improvement in their mental health after taking part in person-centred therapy
name a few strengths of the humanistic psychology
very positive approach states people are striving to be better
free will is a major part less restrictive than more deterministic approaches
good for understanding complexity nature of human behaviour
treats people as individuals and takes the whole person into account
qualitative data rich in detail so therapy can be analysed
counselling techniques have been shown to be effective
name a few weaknesses of the humanistic psychology
less emphasis on factors such as genes
lacks objectivity largely based on feelings and subjective reports
features things which are hard to measure
idiographic which doesn’t create generalised laws less scientific approach
list which approaches are scientific and why
behaviourism: highly scientific as they focus entirely on observable stimuli and reposted for example Pavlov and Skinner they work using large samples and controlled conditions allows for precise replication of conditioning
Biological psychology: study directly observable physical processes such as brain activity they also use objective measurement devices such as fmri scanners and large scale placebo-controlled trials are used to test drugs so focuses on objective measurements
list which approaches arent scientific and why
SLT: uses experimental methods and large samples to investigate concepts like modelling and VR however these internal mental processes can’t be directly observed so inferences are made which could be incorrect
Cognitive psychology: use controlled experiments to support theories like the working memory model however as the models represent internal working processes that can’t be directly observed so only inferred not fully scientific
Psychodynamics: Freud based his theories on case studies clients would use introspection which has potential bias and concepts like super ego aren’t fully operationally defined not scientist studies
Humanistic: Rejects the scientific methods completely, arguing that human behaviour is too complex to be reduced to simple cause and effect and reject cause and effect so lacks empirical evidence to support claims
what type of determinism are the approaches and explain
behaviourism: hard environmental determinists, consider behaviour to be entirely the results of creatures interactions with environment not free will
STL: environmentally deterministic however Bandura argued reciprocal determinism behaviour caused by the environment, our behaviour determines the environment
Cognitive: soft determinists arguing there are causal factors that influence behaviour people learn scheme through experimce which acts as automatic templates for our behaviour but they also suggest that with conscious effort (free will) maladaptive automatic internal mental processes can be modified
Biological: Biological determinism suggests behaviour is entirely caused (hard) by out physical nature including hormones. Behaviours such as aggression and mental health discourse are explained due to dysfunctional genes not environment
Psychodynamic: Phychic determinism the idea unclear thoughts shape pjt consults behaviours these unconscious forces are formed in childhood and influence adult behaviour throughout life
Humanism: only approach that argues free will, the idea that humans have agency we are able to make out own decision ls free from restraints and have moral responsibility
Explain each approach in terms of the nature-nurture debate
Behaviourism: argue most important influence on behaviour are environmental (nurture) rewarding experiences causes behaviours to be repeated some role of nature due to innate reflex actions
SLT: explain behaviour through nurture including the direct stimulus-response mechanisms of behaviourists and social experiences (nurture) such as observing models and VR
Biological: most important influences on behaviour are hereditary (nature) they explain behaviour as due to the inheritance of DNA this codes for bio processes such as neurotransmitter transport in the brain imbalances lead to behaviour such as increased aggression or mental health conditions
Cognitive: argue both aspects are important, internal mental processes run on physical, bio hardware of the brain but argued to be closed to nurture as their explanation involve schemes formed though experiences in the world
Psychodynamic: include both nature and nurture within its theory (psychosexual stages of bio process that all children will experience) however the experiences the children have while passing through these stages shape the personality they will have as adults
Humanistic: holists which means they argue that any valid explanation of behaviour has to include a wide range of factors and how those factors influence of genes do nature but also nurture including all environmental influences from direct experiences
explain each approach in terms of reductionism
Behaviourism: highly reductionist explain behaviour due to stimulus response mechanisms
SLT: agree with stimulus response mechanisms but less reductionist as they include role of internal mental processes (mediational processes)
Cognitive: computer models explain mind as similar to computer CPU which is machine reductionist an over simplistic view that ignores importance of emotions
Biological: behaviour such as aggression attachment and mental health conditions like sz are explained as a results of chemical processes in brain which is highly reductionist over simplifying complex and highly personal experience if having emotion ignoring culture and cog factors
Psychodynamic: not reductionist explains behaviour for a range of factors such and bio in childhood and how unconscious mind interacts with conscious mind
humanistic: argue against any reductionist explanations of behaviour they claim only valid explanations is holistic taking everything into account
explain each approach in terms of psychological treatments
behaviourism: used in flooding and systematic desensitisation
SLT: uses modelling to display appropriate behaviour
Cognitive: cognitive principles have been used to develop cognitive behavioural therapy to reconstruct irrational thoughts
Biological: SSRI’s
Psychodynamic: psychotherapy, a taking therapy using introspection
Humanistic: Client-centred therapy focuses on mental illness but clients capacity for growth
