APPROACHES IN PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
Who opened the first ever lab entirely dedicated to psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
What year and where was the first ever lab entirely dedicated to psychology opened
1879
Leipzig, Germany
What significant beginning is market by Wundt’s work
The beginning of scientific psychology
What roots does scientific psychology separate it from
The philosophical roots
What type of attempt did Wundt first use to study the mind under controlled conditions
The systematic attempt
What was wundts aim
To analyse the nature of human consciousness.
What is wundts pioneering method called
Introspection
Define introspection
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
What was wundts main objectives with standardised procedures
Try and develop theories about mental processes, such as language and perception.
What did Wundt and his coworkers record when developing theories about mental processes
Recorded individuals experiences of various stimuli they were presented with, such as different objects or sounds.
What did Wundt and coworkers do with the results when investigating theories about mental processes
Divided their observations into three categories - thoughts, images and sensations
What is the name given to the way in which Wundt was isolating the structure of consciousness
Structuralism
How was Wundt’s work structuralism (talk about stimuli, instructions and order)
The stimuli Wundt and his co-workers experienced were always presented in the same order and the same instructions were used for all participants.
What is one strength of Wundt’s work
Some of his methods were systematic and well-controlled (scientific)
How did Wundt ensure that possible extraneous variables were not a factor
All introspections were recorded in the controlled environment of the lab
What was standardised so that all participants received the same information and were tested in the same way in Wundt’s experiment
Procedures and instructions
What can Wundt’s research be considered as a forerunner for
Later scientific approaches in psychology
What is one limitation to aspects of Wundt’s research
Other aspects would be considered unscientific today
What was Wundt’s method for collecting data
Is this subjective or objective
Subjective as it relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes.
Why is self-reporting subjective
May have personal biases
Participants may have hidden some of their thoughts
What is difficult to establish from subjective data
‘Laws of behaviour’
What approach came around in the 1900s
Behaviourist
Which behaviourist questioned the value of introspection
John B. Watson
What did Watson and later B.F. Skinner propose about truely scientific psychology
It should only study phenomena that can be observed objectively and measured
What approach dominated psychology for 50 years after 1900s
Behaviourist approach
What in the 1950s caused a new approach to emerge
The digital revolution
What approach emerged due to the digital revolution in the 1950s
The cognitive approach
What did cognitive psychologists compare the mind to
A computer
What do cognitive psychologists do to test their predictions about memory and attention
Complete experiement
What did the cognitive approach ensure about the study of the mind
It was a legitimate and highly scientific aspect of the discipline
What approach arrived in the 1980s
The biological approach
What do researchers in the biological approach area take advantage of to investigate physiological processes.
Advances in technology to investigate physiological processes as they happen
Give two examples of how technology is used in the biological approach to investigate physiological processes as they happen
Scanning techniques - fMRI and EEG
Study live activity in the brain
What newer method has also allowed us to better understand the relationship between genes and behaviour
Genetic testing.
What is one strength of modern psychology
Research in modern can claim to be scientific
What can the learning approaches, cognitive approach and biological approach all rely on to investigate theories in a controlled and unbiased way
The use of scientific methods - e.g. lab studies
What is one limitation within modern psychology
Not all approaches use objective methods
Which two approaches reject the scientific approach
The humanistic approach
The psychodynamic approach
What does the humanistic approach prefer to focus on rather than scientific approach
Focuses on the individual experiences and subjective experience
What does the psychodynamic approach prefer to focus on rather than scientific approach
What is the link between this method and representative samples.
Makes use of the case study method which does not use representative samples.
What might humans respond to in research that is damaging to an experiement
Respond to demand characteristics
What is the behaviourist approach - definition
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
Name in chronological order the established psychological approaches (7)
Psychodynamic approach
Behaviourist approach
Humanistic approach
Cognitive approach
Social learning theory
Biological approach
Cognitive neuroscience
What is the focus of study in the behaviourist approach
What is seen as irrelevant
Only concerned with behaviour that can be observed and measured.
Not concerned with investigating mental processes of the mind.
Why did behaviourists such as John B. Watson reject introspection
It involved too many concepts that were vague and difficult to measure.
What method do behaviourists rely on to maintain more control and objectivity within research
Lab studies
How would behaviourists describe a baby’s mind
As a blank slate which is written on by experience
What did behaviourists suggest post Darwin
The basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species
Due to beliefs in the behaviourist approach post Darwin, what can replace humans as experiemental subjects
Animals
What are the two important forms of learning identified by behaviourists
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Define classical conditioning
Learning by association.
Describe the process of classical conditioning
Two stimuli are repeatedly paired together - an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and a new ‘neutral stimulus (NS)
The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone.
Who first demonstrated classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov (1927)
What did Pavlov show could happen in dogs with classical conditioning
Dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly present at the same time as they were given food.
Describe Pavlov’s findings in terms of stimuli and response
Dogs learned to associate the bell (neutral stimulus) with the food (an unconditioned stimulus) and would produce the salivation response (conditioned response) ever time they heard the sound.
Define operant conditioning
A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences.
What are the two possible consequences of behaviour in operant conditioning
Reinforcement or punishment
Define reinforcement
A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated
What are the two types of reinforcement
Positive and negative
Who suggested operant conditioning
B.F. Skinner (1953)
Operant conditioning behaviour is shaped by its ___
Consequences
Outline the process of positive reinforcement
Example
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed.
Sticker given to student by teacher for answering a question in class
Outline negative reinforcement
Occurs when an animal or human avoids something unpleasant and the outcome is a positive experience.
Give an example of negative reinforcement
A student hands in an essay to not be told off.
Avoiding something unpleasant (the telling off) is the negative reinforcement.
Outline punishment
Example
An unpleasant consequence of behaviour.
Being shouted at by a teacher for talking during a lesson.
Finding a way to avoid punishment is what type of reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
What does punishment do to the likelihood of an action being repeated
Decreases the likelihood of
What are two strengths of the behaviourist approach
It is base on well-controlled research
The principles of conditioning have been applied to real-word behaviours and problems.
What measurement and setting does behaviourists focus on
Measurement of observable behaviour
Highly controlled lab settings
Breaking down behaviour into ___ allows all other possible ___ variables to be removed.
Stimulus-response units
Extraneous
What is the counterpoint to the behaviourist approach being based on well-controlled research
Behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process
What is the important influence on learning that behaviourists may have ignored
Human thought
What other approaches have draw attention to human thought and mental processes involved in learning
Social learning theory and the cognitive approach
Give an example of where conditioning has been applied to real-world problems
Operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that have been used successfully in institutions, such as prisons and psychiatric wards
What is one limitation of the behaviourist approach
It sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences
What did skinner suggest about past conditioning experiences
Everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history.
Our past conditioning history determines the outcome of our decisions.
What does skinners suggestions on reinforcement history ignore the influence of
Free will
Who proposed the social learning theory
Albert Bandura
What is the social learning theory
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
What are the two types of reinforcement in the learning theory
Direct and indirect
What did Bandura propose about the way in which we learn
Learn through the observation and imitation of others
What is imitation
Copying the behaviour of others
Outline vicarious reinforcement
What is it a key factor of
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
Imitation.
What is social learning theory often described as the bridge between
Bridge between behaviourist learning theory and the cognitive approach
Why is social learning theory described as the bridge between behaviourist learning theory and the cognitive approach
Because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in learning.
What processes were identified by Bandura
Mediational processes
Define mediational processes
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
Name the 4 mediational processes
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
Outline attention as a mediational process
The extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Outline retention as a mediational process
How well the behaviour is remembered
Outline motor reproduction as a mediational process
The ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
Outline motivation as a mediational process
The will to perform the behaviour.
What is motivation in mediational processes often determined by
Whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
Which two mediational processes relate to learning of behaviour
Attention and retention
What two mediational processes relate to the performance of behaviour
Motor reproduction and motivation
Unlike in traditional behaviourism what might not be the case with learning and performance of behaviour
Need not occur together
Can observed behaviours be stored
Yes and reproduced at a later time
What is identification
A desire to be associated with a particular person or group often because they possess desirable characteristics.
What is the person identified with called
The role model
What is the process of imitating a role model called
Modelling
Define modelling from an observers perspective
From an observer’s perspective, modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model.
Define modelling from a role models perspective
From the role model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may then be imitated by an observer.
How does a person become a role model / what defines a role model
If they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have high status.
Does a role model have to be physically present in the environment
No
What does role models not having to be physically present in the environment have important implications for
The influence of the media on behaviour.
What are two strengths of the Social learning theory
It recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning
Social learning theory principles have been applied to a range of real-world behaviours
Can classical or operant conditioning offer an account of learning on their own
Not an adequate one
What was Bandura’s observations on learning being stored and not always occurring due to classical or operant conditioning (quote)
‘From observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide to action’
What is the counterpoint to Social Learning theory recognising the importance of cognitive factors
It has been criticised for making too little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning
What did Bandura claim about biological factors, learning potential and what determines learning
Claimed natural biological differences influenced our learning potential but thought learning itself was determined by the environment.
What does recent research show us about biological factors and observational learning
Observational learning may be the result of mirror neurones in the brain which allow us to empathise with and imitate other people
What differences in behaviour and norms can the social learning theory be able to explain
Cultural differences in behaviour.
Can explain how social/cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies
Define the cognitive approach
An approach focused on how our mental processes affect behaviour
Give three examples of mental processes that can affect behaviour
Thoughts, perceptions and attention
What does the cognitive approach argue about the study of internal mental processes
That they can, and should be studied scientifically
Define internal mental processes
‘Private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
What ares of human behaviour previously neglected by other approaches have been studied by the cognitive approach
Memory, perception and thinking
How do cognitive psychologists study memory, perception and thinking
Why
They are studied indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside peoples minds on the basis of behaviour.
The processes are private and cannot be observed
Define inference
The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour
What are a persons beliefs or expectations often referred to as
Schema
Define schema
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing.
What are schema developed from
Experience
Give the example of schema and chairs
You have a schema for a chair - something with legs that you can sit on.
Thats a package of information learned through experience that helps you respond to the object appropriately
What is the type and what is the schema or behaviours like in babies
Born with a simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping.
As we get older what happens to our schema
It becomes more detailed and sophisticated
What do schema enable us to do with information
Allows us to process a lot of information quickly.
Prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
What might schema also distort
What does this lead to
Out interpretations of sensory information leading to perceptual errors
What do cognitive psychologists use to help them understand internal mental processes (2)
Theoretical and computer models
Are theoretical or computer models abstract or concrete
Theoretical models - abstract
Computer models - concrete things
What is one important theoretical cognitive model
The information processing approach
Hat does the information processing approach suggest
Information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages.
What are the stages in the information processing model - multi-store model.
Input, storage and retreival
What is the information processing model based on
Based on the way that computers function
Computer models of the mind have proved useful in the development of what
Artificial intelligence
Define cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes.
What technique is used to place specific cognitive functions
Brain mapping
Brain mapping be seen in research as early as
The 1860s
What did Paul Broca identify in brain mapping in the 1860s
He identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe (became known as Broca’s Area) could permanently impair speech production.
What brain imaging techniques have allowed scientists to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes
fMRI and PET scans
What have fMRI and PET scans allowed scientists to do with mental processes
Scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes
Who’s research was able to show how different types of long-term memory may be located
Buckner and Petersen (1996)
What did Buckner and Petersen’s research on location of types of long-term memory require the use of
Episodic and semantic memory
What did Buckner and Petersen show about location of long-term memory using episodic and semantic memory
Different types of long-term memory may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex
What technique has also proved useful in establishing the neurological basis of some mental disorders
Scanning techniques
Give an example of an area of the brain linked to a mental disorder (OCD)
Link between the parahippocampal gyrus and OCD.
Appears to play a role in the processing of unpleasant emotions.
How has the focus of cognitive neuroscience changed in resent years
What has it recently included
Expanded recently to include the use of computer-generated models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain.
What mind-mapping technique has been developed as a result of computer-generated models that are designed to read the brain
Brain fingerprinting
What are two strengths of the cognitive approach
It uses objective scientific methods
It has practical application
What two words described the type of methods cognitive scientists use to infer cognitive processes at work
Employ highly controlled and rigorous methods
What is the location of research in the cognitive approach
What does this mean for the data
Lab studies
Reliable and objective data
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience has allowed what two fields to come together
What does this do to the scientific basis of study
Biology and cognitive psychology
Enhances scientific basis of study
What is the counterpoint to the cognitive approach using objective scientific methods
Cognitive psychology relies on the inference mental process, rather than direct observation of behaviour
What can cognitive approaches suffer from as a result of the reliance on the inference of mental processes
Suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature.
What are research studies of mental processes often carried out by
What is the negative to this
Artificial stimuli
It may not represent everyday experience
Overall from the counterpoint to the cognitive approach using objective scientific methods what may cognitive processes lack
External validity
Despite the cognitive approaches aid in AI what and OCD what are two other fields it has helped in and have a practical application
Treatment of depression
Improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony
What is one limitation to the cognitive approach
It is based on machine reductionism
what has the computer analogy / machine reductionism been criticises for in the cognitive approach
Machine reductionism ignored the influence of human emotion and motivation and how this may affect our ability to process information
Give an example of machine reductionism causing flaws in real world application - cognitive approach
Human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as the influence of anxiety on eyewitnesses.
What type of determinism is the cognitive approach founded on
Soft determinism
Define the biological approach
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
What does the biological approach suggest about everything psychological
What does this mean we must look at first
At first it is biological so to fully understand human behaviour we must look at biological structures and processes within the body.
Define biological structure
An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing
Where does the mind live for a biological perspective
What does this mean about thoughts, feelings and behaviour
The mind lives in the brain
Thoughts, feelings and behaviour have a physical basis.
Define neurochemistry
Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate biological and psychological functioning
What two things rely heavily on chemical transmissions in the brain
Thought and behaviour
What carriers out chemical transmissions in the brain
Neurotransmitters
What has an imbalance of neurochemical in the brain been implicated as a possible cause of
Mental disorder
Give an example with schizophrenia being cause by an imbalance of neurochemical in the brain
Schizophrenia is thought to be caused by the overproduction of dopamine
Define the term genes
Make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism and psychological features.
How are genes transmitted
From parent to offspring
What studies are used to investigate whether certain psychological characteristics have a genetic basis
Twin studies
How are results from twin studies analysed
Analysing concordance rates
What are concordance rates in twin studies
The extent to which twins share the same characteristics
If a characteristic is genetic what would we expect in twin studies
We would expect all identical twins to be concordant
What is the scientific name for identical twins
Monozygotic
What is the scientific name for non-identical twins
Dizygotic
Define the term genotype
The particular set of genes that a person possesses
Define the term phenotype
The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment
Phenotype is the way that genes are expressed through what 3 things
Physical, biological and psychological characteristics
What can be the case for genes being expressed in identical twins
Despite having the same genes the phenotype or way they are expressed can be different in identical twins
What do biological psychologists accept about much of human behaviour depending on
What debate is this
An interaction between inherited factors and the environment
Nature-nurture
Define evolution
The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
Who proposed the theory of natural selection
Charles Darwin
In what century was the theory of natural selection proposed
The 19th century
What is the main principle of the theory of natural selection
Any genetically determined behaviour enhances an individuals survival (and reproduction) will continue in future generations.
What happens in terms of the traits and gene pool if an individual with advantageous traits survives but does not reproduce
The traits do not remain in the gene pool for successive generations
What are two strengths of the biological approach
It has real-world application
It uses scientific method of investigation
Increased understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain is associated with the use of what treatment
What is this treatment for
Psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders
Give an example of how the biological approach has promoted a treatment via a use of drugs
(Reference a neurochemical)
Has promoted the treatment of clinical depression using antidepressant drugs that increase levels of serotonin at synapses in the brain
What is a counterpoint to the real-world application of the biological approach to drug therapy
Antidepressant drugs do not work for everyone
Who completed a study on the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs for everyone - biological approach
Andrea Cipriani et al (2018)
What did Cipriani compare in their research for the effectiveness of drug therapy on all - biological approach
Compared 21 antidepressant drugs
What did Cipriani find about the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs for everyone - biological approach
Found wide variations in thier effectiveness.
Although most of the drugs were more effective than placebos in comparative trials, the researchers concluded that the effects of antidepressants in general were ‘mainly modest’
What precise and highly objective methods are used to investigate genetic and biological basis of behaviour in the biological approach
Scanning techniques
fMRIs and EEGs
What do enhances in technology specifically scanning techniques allow for reliability of research in the biological approach
Possible to accurately measure physiological and neural processes in ways that are not open to bias
What is one limitation of the biological approach
It is determinist
What does the biological approach say that human behaviour is governed by rather than free will
Governed by internal, genetic causes
What is evidence against behaviour being governed by genetic causes and the biological approach being determinist
Not even identical twins who share the same genes look and think teh same.
An individuals genotype expression is heavily based on the enivronment
Explain when a purely genetic explanation for behaviour like the biological approach becomes problematic
Crime.
Could a violent crime be excused due to behaviour being controlled by a ‘crime gene’
Genotype + ____ = phenotype
Environment
Define the psychodynamic approach
A perspective that described the different forces (dynamics) , most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience.
Who suggested that our conscious mind is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’
Sigmund Freud
Define the unconscious
The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour
How much of our mind is made up of the unconscious
Most of it
What does the unconscious mind store and what does it have a significant influence on
Stores biological drives and instincts
Significant influence on behaviour and personality
What type of memories does the unconscious also contain
Threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed, locked away and forgotten.
What can be accessed through dreams or ‘slips of the tongue’
Threatening and disturbing memories
What did Freud call the access of bad memories through dreams and ‘slips of tongue’
Parapraxes
What is just under our conscious mind
The preconscious
What is held in the preconscious and can we access it
Contains thoughts and memories which are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access if desired
What word does Freud use to describe personality
Tripartite
Name the three parts of personality stated by Freud
Id, ego and superego
Define Id
Entirely unconscious, made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification
What principle does Id operate on
Pleasure principle
Which of Freud three parts of personality is present at birth
Id
Define ego
The ‘reality check’ that balances the conflicting demands of the id and superego
What principle does the ego work on
The reality principle
At what age does ego develop
Around the age of two
What does ego do to balance the demands of Id and superego
Employs a number of defense mechanisms
Define defence mechanisms
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego
Define superego
The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self - how we ought to be.
At what age is the superego developed
Around the age of 5
Superego is developed at the end of what stage
The phallic stage
What principle is the superego based off
The morality principle
What is the superego our sense of
Right and wrong
What does the superego do in relation to same sex parent and ego
Represents the moral standards of the child’s same-gender parent and punishes the ego for wrongdoing through guilt.
Define psychosexual stages
Five developmental stages that all children pass through.
What process occurs at each psychosexual stage
What is the outcome of
There is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development.
What must a child do to successfully progress onto the next psychosexual stage
The child must resolve a conflict
If a psychosexual conflict is not resolved what occurs
Impact on adult life
Fixation and the child becomes ‘stuck’ and carriers certain behaviours and conflicts associated with that stage through to adult life.
Name the 5 psychosexual stages in order
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
At what age does the oral psychosexual stage occur at
0-1 years
Describe the oral psychosexual stage
Focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother’s breast can be the object of desire
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict for the oral psychosexual stage
Oral fixation - smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical
At what ages does the anal psychosexual stage occur
1-3 years
Describe the anal psychosexual stage
Focus of pleasure in the anus.
Child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
Name and describe the two consequences of unresolved conflict for the anal psychosexual stage
Anal retentive - perfectionist, obsessive
Anal expulsive - thoughtful, messy
At what ages does the phallic psychosexual stage occur
3-6 years
Describe the phallic stage of psychosexual stages
Focus of pleasure is the genital area
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict for the phallic psychosexual stage
Phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless
What is the description for the latency psychosexual stage
Earlier conflicts are repressed
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict for the latency psychosexual phase
There is none
Describe the genital psychosexual stage
Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
when does the genital psychosexual stage start
Alongside puberty
What is the consequence of unresolved conflict for the genital psychosexual stage
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
Are defence mechanisms conscious or unconscious
Unconscious
What do defence mechanisms ensure the ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by
Temporary threats or traumas
What do defence mechanisms often involve
Some distortion of reality
Are defence mechanisms viable as a long-term solution
In the log-term they are regarded as psychologically unhealthy and undesirable
What are two strengths of the psychodynamic approach
It introduces the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to physical treatments
Ability to explain human behaviour
Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders in what way
Rather than what
Psychologically rather than physically
What did new psychotherapy employ techniques for
Give an example
Techniques designed to access the unconscious
Dream analysis
How does psychoanalysis claim to help clients
By bringing their repressed emotions into their conscious mind so they can be dealt with
Psychoanalysis was the forerunner to what
Give example
Many modern-day ‘talking therapies’
Counselling
What is the counterpoint to psychotherapy
It is regarded as inappropriate and even harmful for people experiencing more serious mental disorders like schizophrenia
Why is psychoanalysis not going to help someone with schizophrenia
Paranoia and delusional thinking mean that those with the disorder have lost their grip on reality and cannot articulate their thoughts in the way required for psychoanalysis.
When did the psychodynamic approach remain a key force in psychology
For the first half of the 20th century
Name 4 phenomena that the psychodynamic approach has been able to explain
Personality development
The origins of psychological disorders
Moral development
Gender identity
What two things is the psychodynamic approach also key in linking
Connection between experiences in childhood, such as parent-child relationship, and out later development.
What is one limitation of the psychodynamic approach
Much of it is untestable
Who argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification
Karl Popper
What did Karl Popper argue about the psychodynamic approaches scientific credibility
The psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification.
It is not open to empirical testing.
Why are many of frauds theories difficult if not impossible to test
They are said to occur at an unconscious level.
What about the way in which Freud carried out investigations makes it difficult to are universal claims about human behaviour
Given an example
His ideas were based on the subjective study of single individuals
Little Hans
At what psychosexual stage does the Oedipus complex fit in
Phallic stage
Define displacement within the psychodynamic approach
Transferring feelings from the true source of distressing emotions onto a substitute object
What type of determinism is frauds theory most associated with
Psychic determinism
Define the humanistic approach
An approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each persons capacity for self-determination
Is the humanistic approach determinist or free will orientated
Free will
Define free will
The notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour / thoughts are not determined by internal biological or external forces
Are people still effected by external and internal influences in the humanistic approach
What else is there that effects development
Yes
Active agents who can determine their own development
Name the humanistic psychologists who reject more scientific models
Roger’s and Maslow
What do Roger, Maslow and other humanistic psychologists reject
More scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour
What is the person-centred approach in psychology
The idea that as active agents we are all unique, and psychology should concern itself with the study of subjective experience rather than general laws.
Do humanistic psychologists believe in general laws or the study of subjective experience
Study of subjective experience
Who was one of the founding fathers of the humanistic movement
Abraham Maslow
What was one of Maslow’s main interests and what did he describe it as
What motivates people to
Hierarchy of needs that motivate out behaviour
Define Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
A five-levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic physiological needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved
What did Maslow believe the primary goal was
Self-actualisation
Define self-actualisation
The desire to grown psychologically and fulfil one’s full potential - becoming what you are capable of
Name the hierarchy of needs from the bottom moving up.
Physiological needs
Safety and security
Love and belongingness
Self-esteem
Self-actualisation
Name the deficiency needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from bottom to top
Physiological needs
Safety and security
Love and belongingness
Self-esteem
Name the growth needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Self-actualisation
When is a person able to progress through to the next stage in the hierarchy
Once the current need in the sequence has been met
What must be met in the hierarchy of needs before the individual can work towards self-actualisation
All the deficiency needs must be met
What do humanistic psychologists regard as an essential part of what it is to be human
Personal growth
What is personal growth
It is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied and goal-orientated.
Does everyone achieve personal growth
What might stop some people
No
Important psychological barriers
Who made an argument about the gap between self and ideal self in the humanistic approach
Carl Roger’s
What did Roger’s argue about personal growth, self and ideal self in the humanistic approach
(Key words)
For a personal growth to be achieved an individuals concept of self must be broadly equivalent to or have congruence with their ideal self.
Define self in the humanistic approach
The ideas and values that characterise ‘I’ and ‘me’ and includes perception and valuing of ‘what i am’ and ‘what I can do’
Define congruence in the humanistic approach
The aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord or match.
What will be the case if too big a gap exists between self and ideal-self
Experience a state of incongruence and self-actualisation will not be possible due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise from incongruence.
What did Roger’s develop to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self
Developed client-centred therapy
What is the more common term for client-centred therapy
Counselling
What is the goal of client-centred therapy
To help people cope with the problems of everyday living
What did rogers claim about many of the issues we experience as adults such as worthlessness and low self-esteem.
What causes them and explains them
Have their roots in childhood and can often be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard from our parents.
What will result from a parent setting boundaries or limits on their love of their child
Storing up psychological problems for that child in the future.
Define conditions of worth
When a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children.
‘I will only love you if…’
What did rogers see as one of his roles as an effective therapist in terms of conditions of worth
Being able to provide clients with the unconditional positive regard that they had failed to receive as children
Why did rogers refer to those in therapy as clients and not patients
He saw the individual as the expert on their own condition.
What does rogers mean by non-directive therapy mean
Therapy is not directed by the therapist and the client is just encouraged towards the discovery of their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere.
What were the three aims of Rogerian therapy
Increase the persons feelings of self-worth
Reduce the level of incongruence between the self-concept and the ideal self
Help the person become a more fully functioning person
In the UK and US where are similar skills to those in Rogerian therapy used (5)
Clinical settings
Education
Health
Social work
Industry
Is client-centred therapy acceptable for all
If not who is it best for
No
Best applied to the treatment of ‘mild’ psychological conditions such as anxiety and low self-worth
What are two strengths of the humanistic approach
It rejects attempts to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components (reductionism)
It is optimistic
What is the humanistic approach an advocate of
Holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person.
What is the counterpoint to the humanistic approach being holistic
Reductionist approaches may be more scientific
Why might the humanistic approach being more holistic make it less scientific
The ideal of science is the experiment, and experiments reduce behaviour to independent and dependent variables.
Can variables be easily broken down into single variables and measured in the humanistic approach
No
Relatively few can be
The humanistic approach is short of what type of evidence to support its claims
Empirical
Humanistic psychologists have been praised for promoting a positive image of what
Of the human condition
What did Freud see humans as prisoners of what
What did he see us existing between
Prisoners of their past
All of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’
What is one limitation of the humanistic approach
It may be culturally-biased
The central ideas to humanistic psychology such as individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth are more readily associated with what type of countries
Countries that have more individualist tendencies
Countries with collectivist tendencies emphasise the needs of what
The group and interdependence
In what type of countries might the ideals of humanistic psychology be less important
Collectivist
When humanistic psychology first emerged it was known as what force
The third force
What can cultural differences in behaviour help understand
Example
A range of behaviours
How children come to understand their gender role
One limitation of social learning theory
Evidence on which it is based was gathered through lab studies
Why are lab studies criticised
For their contrived natures
Participants may respond to demand characteristics
What experiment did bandura do
Bobo doll research
What can be argued against BoBo doll experiment
The main purpose of the doll is to strike it, the children were behaving in the way they thought was expected.
What does this mean for BoBo doll findings
Tell us little about how children learn aggression in every day life
