Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
what is psychology?
scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context
what are the features of science?
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Controll - fair test, same conditions
Objectivity- without bias or influence
Replicability- repeatable
Empiricism- gained through observation
what are the names of the three philosophers who had an impact of psychology’s development?
- Rene Descartes (1596- 1650)
- John Locke (1632-1704)
- Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
how did Rene Descartes (1596-1650) have an impact on the development of Psychology?
- french philosopher
- suggested the mind and body are independent from each other (philosophical stance known as Cartesian Dualism)
- demonstrated his own existence with the quote “I think therefore I am”
how did John Locke (1632-1704) have an impact on the development of Psychology?
- proposed Empiricism (the idea that all experience can be obtained through the senses, and that human being inherit neither knowledge not instincts)
how did Charles Darwin (1809-1882) have an impact on the development of Psychology?
- evolutionary theory that human and animal behaviour has changed over successive generations, so individuals are stronger, more adaptive genes survive and reproduce -> weaker genes are weeded out (survival of the fittest)
why is Wundt’s work significant? and how?
- it marked the beginning of scientific psychology- separating it from its broader philosophical roots.
- he did this by setting up the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig Germany in 1870s
what did Wundt propose (according to him…) ?
no one could observe an experience better than the person having the experience
what was Wundt’s aim? what did it lead to?
analyse the nature of human consciousness and this represented the first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions.
what was Wundts method known as and what is it?
- Introspection
- means looking into
- examination of ones thoughts
what is the method that Wundt uses?
- participants focused on a complex stimulus
- report back their conscious thoughts during their tast
- asked to report back their inner experiences
what did Wundt claim?
with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed systematically as they occurred during introspection
what happened to participants in Wundts investigations?
• presented with a controlled stimuli
• asked to provide a description of the inner processes they were experiencing as they looked or listened
• this made is possible to compare different participants reports in response to the same stimuli and establish general theories about perception and other mental processes
what had to be described by participants in Wundts investigation?
• intensity, duration, mode (sense they felt) and quality of sensation
what did Wundt aim to develop?
theories about mental processes such as language and perception
what is structuralism?
isolating the structure of consciousness
true or false,
“the stimuli that Wundt snd his coworkers experienced were always presented in the same order and same instructions were issued to all”
TRUE
what are some of the main assumptions about the psychodynamic approach?
- unconscious forces in our minds determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour
- our behaviour as adults is storngly influenced by childhood experiences
- abnormal behaviour is a result of mental conflict
- the mind can be divided into three levels of consciousness which can be illustrated by the iceberg analogy: unconscious mind- hidden below surface has the most influence on our personality
explain the three dif levels of consciousness?
- conscious = small amount of me tak activity we jnow about & responsible for dealing wifh out everyday aftuons of thtr present (fhoughts and perceptions)
- preconscious = things we could be aware of if we wanted to or tried, responsible for storing easily accessible memories and past events ( memories & shared knowledge)
- unconscious = things we are unaware of and cant controll, stores all our experiences especially traumatic (fears, unacceptable sexual desires, violent motives, immoral urges, selfish needs, shameful and traumatic experiences)
what model insinuates that out personality is split into three?
tripartite
describe the ID
- present at birth
- impulsive and unconscious part of brain
- demands immediate satisfaction
- pleasure principle
- gain gratification
- animal prt of psyche
- governed by instinctual drives like sex, food and drink.
- if frustrated it becomes aggressive
describe the ego
- present at 2/3 years
- conscious rational part
- function is to work out realistic ways to balance the demands of the id in a socially accepting way
- governed by reality principle
- balance super ego and id
describe the super ego
- present at 4/5 years
- represents child sense of right and wrong and their ideal self
- seeks to perfect and civilise our behaviour
- learned through identification with parent and others
- moral part of the psyche
- behave in ways our parents would approve
- punishes with anxiety and guilt
what is the dynamic ideal or equilibrium?
three components of the brain in a state of balance
what are ego defence mechanisms?
ways that the ego protects itself from unconscious thoughts and feelings that may cause stress if they become conscious
- used to deal with the conflicts of the superego and id
name the 8 different ego defence mechanisms?
- denial, displacement, repression, projection, regression, reaction formation, rationalisation, sublimation
define denial?
the unconscious refusal to accept reality
define displacement
take anger or impulse and divert it from its source to someone else
define repression
burying of the problem into the consciousness so that you no longer think about them
define projection
disguising their own threatening impulses by pinning them on other people
define regression
retreating to an earlier stage of development
define reaction formation
switching unacceptable impulses into their opposite
define rationalisation
justifying actions and covering up the real unconscious reasons
define sublimation
re channelling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable stuff
why is the psychosexual stage of development theory controversial? But why is it okay?
because Freud suggests sexual energy is present right from birth, however he is talking about unconscious desires so children are not aware of these needs
what does Freud call the different parts of our bodies that become particularly sensitive as we grow?
erogenous zones
what is libido?
our sexual energy
name the five stages in the psychosexual stage of development? and whats a way to rememeber them!!!
oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital
Old Age Pensioners Love Guinness
describe the oral stage?
• 0-1 years
• mouth is the focus of sensation and pleasurable experiences (organ of pleasure)
• the ID is dominant
• babies can become fixed if over or under fed
• key experience is weaning- child loss of intimate contact with mother
describe the anal stage
• 1-3 years
• organ of pleasure is now the anus
• child becomes aware of reality - ego develops
• too strict or lax potty training can cause fixation
• fixation may lead to either an anally retentive (obession with detail and controll) or an anally expulsive (emotional outbursts) personality
explain the phallic stage
• 3-6 years
• organ of pleasure is genitals
• child becomes aware of gender differences and becomes obsessed with their own genitals
• most important stage according to Freud
• where the oedipus complex occurs
explain the latency stage
• 6 years old - puberty
• sexual desires remain dormant
• children want nothing to do with opposite sex
• social and intellectual development occurs
explain the genital stage
• puberty to maturity
• marks beginning of mature adult sexuality
• ID makes powerful demands in form of heterosexual desures
• opposite sex is now needed to satisfy the labido
what is fixation
• too much or little stimulation the libido might become fixated in the stage and this would affected the development of the adult is personality
true or false Freud viewed homosexuality as abnormal!
true
summarise the oedipus complex
• originates form the greek tragedy of King Oedipus who unwittingly married his mother and killed his father
• in the phallic stage- children have unconscious sexual desires for their opposite sex parents and this makes them resentful of the same sex parent and they see them as a competitor for love