approaches in psychology Flashcards
what is the assumption of the behaviourist approach
all behaviour is learnt from the environment
what do behaviourist psychologists study ( and reject )
observable behaviour
reject cognition
what is classical conditioning
learning through association
what are the examples of classical conditioning
Pavlovs dogs
Little Albert
how does classical conditioning work
diagram
UCS —> UCR
UCS + NS —-> UCR
CS ——> CR
what is operant conditioning
learning through rewards and consequences
how do rewards help behaviour
reinforces good behaviour increases likelihood of repetition
what are the two types of reinforcement
positive and negative
what is positive reinforcement
the addition of something that strengthens behaviour
what is negative reinforcement
the removal of the unpleasant stimulus which strengthens behaviour
what is punishment
the unpleasant consequence to extinguish bad behaviour
what is an example of operant conditioning
Skinners box
what are the strengths of the behaviourist approach
- real world application and token economies eg schools and prisons
- scientific
- can help people with phobias
what are the limitations of the behaviourist approach
- lacks ecological validity
- unethical
- ignores cognition
what is the assumption of the biological approach
all behaviour is influenced by our genetic makeup and inheritance
what biological factors will affect our behaviour
- genes
- brain
- hormones
- nervous system
how does evolution affect our behaviour
natural selection
weaker genes die out and adaptive genes survive
human behaviours are all similar eg facial expression
what are genetics
genetic makeup of an organism and how genes influence behaviours and characteristics
what is hereditry
traits characteristics and behaviours inhereted by the parents
what is a genotype
actual genetic makeup of a person
what is a phenotype
the physical expression of the gene through environmental interaction q
what studies does the biological approach use
family studies, identical twins, adoption studies
how do psychologists measure if a trait is genetic or learnt from environment
concordance - higher percentage = more likely to be genetic
what are the issues with MZ adoption studies
- very rare
- never get 100% concordance rate
- cannot isolate the role of learning
strengths of the biological approach
scientific
lab based high control
limitations of the biological approach
limited data
lacks ecological validity
Deterministic - crime
what is the assumption of the cognitive approach
that behaviour is driven by internal processes
what is a schema
packages of ideas that hold information
what are the advantages of schemas
allows you to interpret the world
stops you feeling overwhelmed
what are the issues with schemas
could make a perceptual error
what is the human computer analogy
human minds are compared to computer processing
what is a limitation of comparing humans to computers
ignores human emotion and motivation and free will
what are theoretical models
theories of behaviour that are represented in picture format
what does inference mean
educated guess based on the available information
what is cognitive neuroscience
map thinking procresses to areas of the brain
what are two examples of advanced tech involved in cognitive neuroscience
PET scans
FMRIs
what are the strengths of the cognitive approach
scientific
what are the limitations of the cognitive approach
theoretical
machine reductionism
real world application
what is the assumption of the social learning theory
learning occurs through the observation of role models
where does SLT fall with behaviourism and cognitive
combines the idea of learning from the environment and the fact that we have internal processes
Name a key SLT psychologist
Albert Bandura
what is vicarious reinforcement
children and adults observe other peoples behaviour and take note of the consequences
what are the two types of models that supports observational learning
live models
symbolic models
what is a live model
people who are present in our environment eg parents teachers
what is a symbolic model
people who are present in the media eg celebs
what are the 4 steps of learning by observation
- behaviour must be modelled by somebody/ role model
- observer must identify with the role model eg gender age interests
- behaviour must be observed
- behaviour is imitated
what are the 4 mediational processes associated with SLT
- attention - must notice the behaviour
- retention - you must remember it
- reproduction - able to repeat behaviour
- motivation - must have a reason to do it
what is the Bobo doll experiment
recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave violently towards a doll
the children then play w the doll and see if they copy the violent tendencies
what does the bobo doll experiment teach
teaches that mediating cognitive factors must be intervening between observation and behaviour
how can SLT be applied to the real world
used in token economies and systematic desensitisation
what are the strengths of SLT
- considers cognitive factors
- provides a more complex explanation of the mind
what are the limitations of SLT
- lab settings high control
- only looked at short term effects
what is the assumption of the psychodynamic approach
all behaviour is driven by the unconscious mind
what are the three parts of the mind
- conscious mind
- pre conscious mind
- unconscious mind
what is the conscious mind
mind where you are aware of things and how you are feeling
what is the pre conscious mind
deeper thoughts and feelings thought to emerge in dreams
what is the unconscious mind
mass of desires and traumatic memories that you repress
what are the 3 types of personality
ID
superego
ego
what is ID
primitive personality, selfish, gratification needed instantly
what age do you develop ID
born with it
seething mass of ID
what is the superego
morality, sense of right and wrong
developed from the same sex parent
what is the ego
mediates between ID and superego, reality
uses ego defence mechanisms
what are the three ego defence mechanisms
denial
repression
displacment
what is denial ( ego defence)
refusing to accept reality
what is repression ( ego defence )
pushing memories or feelings to the unconscious mind
what is displacement ( ego defence )
transferring true feelings onto a safer target
what are the 5 psycho sexual stages
oral
anal
phallic
latent
genital
what happens at each stage
new area of focus of pleasure occurs
too much or too little focus at each stage can cause you to get stuck
what is the oral stage
- focus of pleasure is the mouth
- occurs around ages 0-1
what are the adult behaviours associated with the oral stage
biting nails, smoking, critical, sarcastic
what is the anal stage
- focus of pleasure is the bum
- occurs ages 1-3
- potty training child either witholds or expels faeces
what is electra
- girls desire fathers
- worry they have been castrated
- penis envy
- identify with their mother
- desire a baby
what is the phallic stage
- focus is on the genitals
- occurs around 3-5
oedipus and electra are introduced
what are the adult behaviours associated with the anal stage
anal retentive - perfectionist
anal expulsive - messy
what is oedipus
- boys desire their mothers
- scared of their fathers
- scared of castration
- decide to internalise their father
what is the latent stage
- focus is friendships / school
- no fixation
- ages 6-13
- earlier conflicts are repressed
what is the genital phase
- puberty onwards
- sexual desires
what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach
- Freud introduced the idea of treating physical health and mental health differently
- considers the role of early childhood
what are the limitations of the psychodynamic approach
- unfalsifiable
- unscientific
- subjective
- based all his findings on middle ages women with mental disorders
