Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
17th-19th Century
psychology is seen as a branch of philosophy, at best it is understood as a branch of experimental philosophy
1873
Wundt publishes the first book on psychology, ‘Principles of Physiological Psychology’
1879
Wundt opens the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Psychology is now a subject in its own right.
1900s
Freud publishes the interpretation of dreams and the psychodynamic approach is established
1913
Skinner establishes the behaviourist approach; Watson psychology and behaviourist views are established
1950s
Rogers and Maslow develop the humanistic approach
1960s
the cognitive revolution came with the introduction of the digital computer; Bandura proposes the social learning theory
1980s
the biological approach begins to establish itself and be the dominant psychological perspective
Eve of the 21st Century
cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline to bring together cognitive and biological approaches
Abraham Maslow
believes that humans are motivated beyond needs of biological survival and fundamental to human nature is the desire to reach your full potential. Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs emphasising uniquely human motivational factors, theorising that high level needs are a later evolutionary development of the human species
Accommodation
the process of developing new schemas
Alfred Adler
a neo-Freudist who believed that Freud focused too much on sex, so developed individual psychology, which was centred on the drive that all people have to compensate for their feelings of inferiority
Allport (1947)
combined the scientific methods of behaviourism with Freud’s theories of unconscious motivation
Anna Freud
youngest daughter of Sigmund Freud, had a strained relationship with her mother, followed her father into psychology and studied child development
Aversive Conditioning
the logic behind ABA, where an undesirable behaviour is paired with an unconditioned negative stimulus so the behaviour is associated with negativity
BF Skinner
suggested that learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate in their environment, known as operant conditioning
Positive Punishment
something that is added to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour
Positive Reinforcement
something that is added to increase the likelihood of a behaviour
Negative Punishment
something that is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour
Negative Reinforcement
something that is removed to increase the likelihood of a behaviour
Bruehl (1990)
stated that Freud’s characterisation of females simply reflected the reality of Western patriarchal structure of the time
Carl Rogers
pointed out that individuals strive to achieve self-actualisation because they are motivated towards self-improvement, felt that Freud had dealt with the “sick half” of psychology so humanists should concern themselves with explanations of health growth in humans
Cartesian Dualism
a theory by Rene Descartes, which states that the mind and body are separate things
Castration Anxiety
occurs during the Oedipus Complex, where a boy starts to feel sexual desire for his mother and is scared that if his father finds out, he will castrate him. This is far more fearful than penis envy, hence males have a stronger superego and are more moral than females
CCT
Client Centred Therapy
where the therapist provides clients with unconditioned positive regard and the person is studied in their environmental context, ideographically, as an individual case and is given a lead role in therapy
Charles Darwin
came up with evolutionary theories, allowing for the emergence of psychology as a science
Classical Conditioning
where a neutral stimulus is repeatedly associated with an unconditioned stimulus to create a conditioned response
Generalisability
this occurs when a conditioned response (CR) is elicited by a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS)
Discrimination
this occurs when the person or animal learns to differentiate between similar conditioned stimuli (CS) and a conditioned response no longer occurs to a similar stimulus
Extinction
when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), eventually the conditioned response (CR) will cease
Cognitive Approach
applying scientific methods to make inferences about thought processes
Cognitive Neuroscience
the biological basis for thought processes
Congruence
where there is consistency between ideal self and actual behaviour
Consciousness
the small amount of mental activity we know about, which is unaware of activity in the unconscious, eg thoughts, perspectives
Continuous Reinforcement
where the desired behaviour is reinforced every single time it occurs, possibly resulting in a stronger response
Czikzentmilyi and Hunter (2003)
used introspection to study happiness in their work in the area of positive psychology
Defence Mechanisms
used by the ego to maintain balance between the id and superego, to avoid anxiety and intra-psychic conflict
Blocking
a phenomenon in which a previously-learned thought process prevents or delays the learning and conditioning of new behaviour
Denial
refusing to believe something because it is too painful to acknowledge the reality
Displacement (in DM)
transferring feelings from the true source of the distressing emotions onto a substitute target
Distortion
faulty or inaccurate thinking, perception, or belief
Repression
unconscious forgetting; forcing a distressing memory from the conscious mind
Sublimation
where you sublimate your true desire for something socially acceptable
Deficiency Needs
a term for all of the levels of Maslow’s 5-level hierarchy of needs apart from the top level of self-actualisation
Determinism
the theory that there is a reason for all behaviour
Dream Analysis
Freud described this as ‘the royal road to the unconscious’. This involves a therapist interpreting dreams in order to provide insight about what the dream represents. Freud thought this was a way of accessing the unconscious mind.
Dream Work
where the unconscious mind alters the true meaning of the dream into something less disturbing; the process that alters latent content into manifest content
Condensation
involves combining several ideas into a single dream object or event; for example, a dog representing both your father and your lover
Displacement (in DW)
involves shifting the emotional significance of an object to a less important object; for example, Freud claimed that animals in dreams represent other people
Secondary Elaboration
involves the unconscious mind stringing together images into a logical order of events
Symbolisation
involves the representation of a repressed idea through symbols; for example, a ladder may symbolise ambition
Edlington Attacks
in 2009, two brothers, aged 10 and 11, tortured and attempted to kill two other boys, aged 9 and 11, in a premediated attack that was interrupted by a dog walker. The brothers’ father was abusive and hit them, their mother and their younger siblings. Social learning theory states that these boys had seen that their father, who hurt others, was never hurt himself, therefore he was rewarded for his violence. If the boys hurt others, they would not be hurt themselves, and would therefore be rewarded
Ego
develops between 1-3 years and is executive of the personality, using its cognitive abilities to manage and control the id and balance its desires against the restrictions of reality and the superego. The ego aims to gratify the id’s impulses in line with what is realistically possible considering the environment it’s in
Ego Ideal
inner image of oneself as one wants to become
Empiricism
a theory by John Locke, encapsulating the belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience and can be studied using the scientific method
Erogenous Zones
the various areas that children obsess over during the different psychosexual stages
Eros
the instinctive drive to survive
Evolutionary Theories
those by Charles Darwin, which set the stage for the emergence of psychology as a science
Experimental Psychology
the recognised term for psychology between the 17th and 19th century
Father of Psychology
a name for Wilhelm Wundt
Fixation
failure to successfully navigate a stage’s particular conflict, leaving some libido left in that stage. Fixation at any stage determines adult personality and behavioural traits, and traces from that stage will remain in their behaviour as an adult. Fixation may occur due to trauma, pleasant or unpleasant experiences, change in environment, and does not necessarily need to happen during that stage, but may happen afterwards and cause someone to regress back to that stage
Fixed Rate Ratio
where the behaviour is reinforced after a certain number of presses, used in token economies in prisons, schools and psychiatric institutions
Frederick Bartlett
showed how memories can be distorted by schemas, found that when he told his students stories about a Native American battle, they tended to miss parts out and change things when they later recalled the stories because parts of the stories did not fit with the participants’ cultural schemas
Free Association
the individual is encouraged to relax and say anything that comes into their mind, however ridiculous. The idea is that the ego will be unable to carry out its normal role of keeping check of threatening unconscious impulses, an the conflict can be brought into consciousness. Once verbalised, the therapist can interpret and explain
Freudian Slips
the result of conflict between unconscious and conscious interaction, considered to reveal unconscious associations and motives
Fully-Functioning Person
someone who has achieved all levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, including self-actualisation
Gestalt Therapy
involves helping the client become whole by getting them to accept every aspect of themselves using techniques such as confrontation, dream analysis and role playing
Griffiths (1994)
used introspection to study the cognitive processes of fruit machine gamblers by asking them to think out loud whilst playing a fruit machine into a microphone on their lapel
Growth Need
a term for the need to achieve self-actualisation as theorised by Maslow
Hello-Goodbye Effect
where patients exaggerate symptoms at the beginning of treatment to ensure treatment and minimise them to express gratitude to the therapist
High Order Conditioning
this is also known as second order conditioning, occurs when a previously neutral stimulus elicits a conditioned response
Holism
an idea seen in the humanist approach where you look at the whole person
Horney (1927)
stated that Freud’s work has no face validity in assuming that a woman is mentally affected by a wish for male attributes and that if women envied men, it would be because of social status
Humanist Psychology
believes in the ideas of free will, self-actualisation and congruence
Ideographic Approach
based on case studies and techniques that are subjective and open to bias
Individual Psychology
developed by Alfred Adler, a neo-Freudist who believed that Freud focused too much on sex, so developed this approach that centred on the drive that all people have to compensate for their feelings of inferiority
Inference
an assumption on mental processes that cannot be directly seen
Intra-Psychic Conflict
conflict between the id and superego, leading to anxiety that the ego attempts to avoid by using defence mechanisms to maintain balance
Introspection
involves participants reflecting on their own cognitive processes and describing them, an idea that Wundt came up with that is now only used when studying gambling addicts
Ivan Pavlov
the Russian man who discovered classical conditioning in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Whilst studying the enzymes in dog’s saliva, he noticed that the dogs would start salivating as soon as they heard the footsteps of the researcher who fed them. Pavlov realised the dogs had associated food with this stimulus. He later conditioned the dogs to associate food with bells. He later applied this to humans, repeating the experiment with children.
John Locke
came up with the empiricism theory
Karen Horney
a neo-Freudist who theorised that if girls experience penis envy, males must experience breast envy
Latent Content
the true meaning of dreams; the repressed ideas in the unconscious mind that later appear
Libido
psychic energy that fuels the eros
Little Hans Experiment
5-year-old Hans developed a phobia of horses after witnessing a horse fall over, as he believed the horse had died. Freud psychoanalysed Hans and theorised that Hans was experiencing the Oedipus Complex, meaning he wanted to possess his mother and saw his father as a rival. He displaced his fear of his father onto the horse as the horse’s blinkers reminded him of his father’s glasses and the black around the horse’s mouth reminded him of his father’s beard and moustache
Machine Reductionism
comparing humans to computers, ignoring ideas of emotions and motivation on the cognitive system
Maguire et al (2000)
the aim was to investigate the function of the hippocampus in spatial memory, the participants for this study were sixteen healthy, right-handed, male licensed London taxi drivers It was a matched pairs design with 50 people who did not drive tests. The hippocampi of the taxi driver was significantly larger than the control subjects and the hippocampal volume correlated wit the amount of time spent as a taxi driver; this was a natural experiment
Maladaptive Schemata
schemas that can lead to negative thoughts, bias and prejudice, so can be very unhelpful
Manifest Content
the dream as it appears to the dreamer
Maslow’s 5-Level Heirarchy of Needs
a psychological theory that suggests needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to higher needs, developed by Abraham Maslow
Top Level (5)
self actualisation – accomplishment, mental growth
Second Level (5)
esteem – approval, recognition, self-confidence
Third Level (5)
social – friendship, group membership, social connection
Fourth Level (5)
safety – physical safety
Bottom Level (5)
physiological – food, shelter, clothing
Maslow’s 7-Level Heirarchy of Needs
an edited version of Maslow’s original hierarchy of needs that is now more commonly used
First Level (7)
self actualisation – accomplishment, mental growth
Second Level (7)
self actualisation– accomplishment, mental growth
Third Level (7)
aesthetic needs – music, art, nature
Fourth Level (7)
cognitive needs – self-awareness, pursuit of knowledge
Fifth Level (7)
esteem – approval, recognition, self-confidence
Sixth Level (7)
social – friendship, group membership, social connection
Seventh Level (7)
safety – physical safety
Bottom Level (7)
physiological – food, shelter, clothing
Materialism
the idea that every cognitive process is linked to brain activity
Mediational Process
described as the bridge between traditional behaviourism and the cognitive approach, these are the mental thought processes that the approach talks about and help mediate the learning process to determine whether a behaviour is worth acquiring
Attention
the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention
the extent to which 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
Modelling
where a person decides whether or not to imitate a behaviour
Neurosis
negative emotional state
Nisbett and Wilson (1977)
found that most people are remarkably unaware of what is influencing their behaviour
Noam and Chomsky (1959)
explained that language can’t be learned through classical and operant conditioning; instead, we build up mental models of the rules of grammar, such as the idea that (in English) we form the past tense by adding “-ed” to a verb
Nomothetic
the opposite of ideographic, meaning something is scientific
Oedipus-Electra Complex
causes the superego and gender identity to develop as the child identifies with one or other parent
Electra Complex
unconsciously, the girl realises she doesn’t have a penis, so starts to develop penis envy. She knows her father has a penis, so starts to develop sexual feelings for him and sees her mother as a rival. As the mother does not have a penis, the girl blames her mother for her own lack of penis, believing her mother has castrated her. To resolve this, the girl identifies with her mother. Her superego and gender identity develop and penis envy is replaced with a desire for a baby
Oedipus Complex
unconsciously, the boy starts to desire his mother and want to have sex with her. This leads to guilt and fear of the father, whose place the boy wants to take, and the fear takes the form of castration anxiety. The boy wishes to kill his father, and he is scared his father will castrate him if he finds out about his feelings for his mother. To resolve the desires of the id conflicting with the conscience of the superego, the boy identifies with his father, taking on his beliefs and values. This leads to the boy developing a superego and a sense of gender identity. The boy replaces his desire for his mother with a desire for other women.
Overactive Id
where someone is selfish and takes what they want
Overactive Superego
where someone feels guilty all the time and so commits crimes to be punished
Parapaxes
the result of conflict between unconscious and conscious intention, considered to reveal unconscious associations and motives
Partial Reinforcement
where the desired response is reinforced only part of the time, resulting in a weaker response
Penis Envy
occurs during the Electra Complex when the girl realises she doesn’t have a penis and becomes unconsciously convinced that her mother has castrated her. This is not as fearful as castration anxiety, as the girl does not identify as strongly with her mother and so has a weaker superego. Females never completely resolve the Electra Complex, so are not as moral as males
Phallic Personality
where someone is narcissistic, reckless or possibly homosexual due to fixation in the phallic stage
Pleasure Principle
operates the id, springs from the eros and the Thanatos
Pleasure Zone
the area where the person gets pleasure from during each psychosexual stage
Positive Psychology
the study of human flourishing
Preconscious
things we could be aware of if we wanted to or tired e.g. memories, stored knowledge
Primary Activity
activities that occur to gain pleasure during each of the psychosexual stages
Primary Process
used by the id to satisfy its needs, operates according to the pleasure principle
Primary Reinforcer
where a behaviour is immediately followed by a reinforcement or punishment
Principles of Physiological Psychology
the first book on psychology, published by Wilhelm Wundt in 1873
Pseudoscience
fake science
Psyche
personality
Psychoanalysis
involves effort to understand defences and unconscious motives during self-destructive behaviours
Secondary Reinforcement
where the desired behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs, possibly resulting in a stronger response
Self Concept
how a person currently perceives themselves
Spontaneous Recovery
after extinction, it only takes a few pairings of the unconditioned (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) for the conditioned response (CR) to reappear
Psychoanalytical Therapy
a method of therapy that looks at what conscious therapy reveals about the unconscious mind
Psychosexual Stages
Freud proposed that all children go through the same five states of development. Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and cause problems as adults.
Oral Stage
happens between 0-12/18 months
At this point, a child only has an id, and has not yet developed an ego or superego.
The focus of their libido is the mouth. Babies explore with their mouths and get pleasure from putting things in their mouths, being breast- or bottle-fed or sucking their thumbs.
Fixation in this stage can lead to nail-biting, over-eating, pen-biting or smoking, or being sarcastic or critical
Anal Stage
happens between 1-3/4 years
The focus of libido is the anus as this is when toilet-training takes place. The ego develops as parents impose restrictions. This is the first time the child experiences any sort of control.
This stage is split into two sub-stages.
Anal-Expulsive Stage
where children get pleasure from expelling faeces. Fixation in this sage can lead to messiness and an explosive temper
Anal-Retentive Stage
where children get pleasure from withholding faeces. Fixation in this stage can lead to being obsessive, controlling and not generous
Phallic Stage
happens between 3/4 – 5/6 years
The focus of libido is on the genitals as the child becomes more curious. The superego develops as a result of the Oedipus-Electra complex. Identification with one or other parent leads to the formation of gender identity. This was formed after Freud heard about parents experiencing sexual problems when their child was that age.
Fixation in this stage can lead to a phallic personality
Latency Stage
happens between 5/6 – puberty onset
earlier conflicts are repressed and gender identity is solidified as children spend more time in single-sex situations.
Fixation in this stage has no effect
Genital Stage
happens from puberty onwards
sexual desires, which have remained unconscious since the development of the Oedipus-Electra Complex, now become conscious alongside the onset of puberty. Fixation in this stage can lead to difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.
Q-Sort Assessment
developed by Stephenson in 1953 and was quickly adopted into CCT by Carl Rogers. This measures a person’s congruence using a series of cards each containing a personal statement. The person is first asked to choose ten cards to describe their ideal self and ten cards to describe their real self
Reality Principle
the principle which the ego operates according to
Reductionism
reducing complex phenomena to simple explanations
Rene Descartes
came up with the idea of cartesian dualism
Role Models
a person becomes a role model if they possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive or have high status; they may not be physically present, hence media has important implications of behaviour
Rorschach Inkblot Test
a test developed in 1921 by Swiss Psychologist Hermann Rorschach, similar to the free association, the ego is unable to keep check of threatening unconscious impulses, bringing the conflict to the conscious
Schema
a word psychologists use to describe a mental framework in which you file all knowledge about certain situations. For example, if you apply concept formation to dentist, you might categorise it as occupation, but your dentist schema would include everything you associate with the dentist. Everyone’s schemata are different
Role Schema
knowledge about how to act in a certain role e.g. expectations about how a waiter should act.
Event Schema
also known as scripts. Our knowledge and expectation about what should happen in certain scenarios e.g. going to the movies.
Self-Schema
also known as scripts. Our knowledge and expectation about what should happen in certain scenarios e.g. going to the movies.
Scientific Method
must be objective, systematic and replicable
Secondary Reinforcement
where the desired behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs, possibly resulting in a stronger response
Skinner’s Box
the rat of pigeon is placed in a box, having not been fed. The subject is hungry and performs various exploratory behaviours. By chance, they press the lever and food appears. Eventually, the subject learns that pulling the level gives them food, but the behaviour stops because the subject is full
Sigmund Freud
lived in the late 1800s, trained as a neurologist and then worked treating hysterical women, applying findings from abnormal patients to normal development
Soft Determinism
the view that determinism and free will is compatible
Spontaneous Recovery
after extinction, it only takes a few pairings of the unconditioned (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) for the conditioned response (CR) to reappear
Stereotype
an example of a schema that is an oversimplified set of ideas about a group of people, that can affect later thinking and behaviour
Structuralism
involves studying the structure of the human mind and breaking behaviours down into basic elements, established by Wilhelm Wundt
Subconscious
things we could be aware of if we wanted to or tried
Superego
develops between 3-6 years, insists we do the right thing, enforces moral restrictions, battles id impulses and opposes its desires, develops through identification with one or other parent, at which point the child internalises moral rules and social norms of society
Conscience
makes us feel guilty when we do the wrong thing
Ego Ideal
makes us feel proud when we do the right thing
Thanatos
the result of an unconscious wish for death that all humans have that is largely tampered by eros
Third Wave
another term for humanist psychology as it was developed to contest Freudism and behaviourism
Tripartite
composed of three parts
Unfalsifiable
where ideas cannot be refuted, so is unscientific
Universality
where something is true in all situations
Variable Rate Ratio
where the behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times, meaning behaviour will be prolonged and most resistant to extinction; the psychology behind gambling
Vicarious Reinforcement
for indirect learning to take place, the individual observes the behaviour of others. The learner may imitate this behaviour but only when it is seen to be rewarded rather than punished, thus the individual observes the behaviour but more importantly the consequences
War of the Ghosts Study (1932)
found that memory is reconstructive and that people store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemata lead to the process of distortion
Assimilation
schemata are distorted to become more consistent with cultural expectations
Levelling
stores become shorter as information seen to be unimportant is omitted
Sharpening
the order of the stories is changed to make sense of terms more familiar to their own cultures, and detail or emotions are added; the main themes are remembered, but unfamiliar elements are changed
Watson’s Behaviourist Manifesto (1913)
identifies the three main aspects of behaviourism: behaviour is a response to environmental stimulus; behaviourism is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviours; this can be studied in a systematic, objective way
Williams (1987)
argues that Freud’s theory is not alpha-bias because he did not claim that innate factors made men and women difference, rather that the social context transforms biological factors into mental representations that create difference, therefore explaining differences in terms of mental and social representation
Williams and Best (1982)
found that men are more aggressive, dominant, independent and autonomous compared with women, who are more nurturing, deferent, affiliated and are encouraged to develop expressive roles
Wish Fulfilment
the theory that dreams represent unconscious desires, thought and motivates that the conscious mind suppresses
Womb Envy
a theory put forward by Karen Horney that states men must envy women because of their ability to have children, so men compensate for that inability by achievement in other domains
