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approaches in psychology Flashcards

1
Q

what is psychology? (approaches)

A

-the scientific study of the human mind & its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context

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2
Q

what is science? (approaches)

A
  • means of acquiring knowledge through systematic & objective investigation
  • aim is to discover general laws
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3
Q

what is introspection? (origins of psychology)

A
  • the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images & sensations
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4
Q

what was Wundt’s contributions to psychology? (origins of psychology)

A
  • 1879
  • Leipzig, Germany
  • opened the first lab that was dedicated to psychological experiment & enquiry
  • first person to understand psychological processes
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5
Q

how was introspection an attempt by Wundt to make psychology more sceintific? (origins of psychology)

A
  • it marked the separation of modern scientific psychology form its broader philosophical roots
  • attempted to break down conscious thoughts into constituent parts to be measured
  • isolated the structure of the consciousness (structuralism)
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6
Q

how did Watson & early behaviourists criticise introspection for being unscientific? (origins of psychology)

A
  • data produced was subjective & varied from person to person so it became difficult to establish general principles
  • thoughts are private; Watson thought you should only measure what is observable
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7
Q

how are laboratory experiments more scientific than introspection? (origins of psychology)

A
  • in lab studies variables can be controlled & therefore measured
  • general laws can be created
  • what is measured is sometimes an interference
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8
Q

are EEG & fMRI scans more scientific than lab experiments? (origins of psychology)

A
  • yes
  • they can investigate live activity in the brain
  • studying brain processes with scans are more objective as they are not open to interpretation (people can’t manipulate how their brain functions)
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9
Q

what are the main assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • unconscious activity is the key determinate of how we behave
  • we possess innate ‘drives’/‘instincts’ that ‘energise’ our minds to motivate behaviour as we develop through our lives
  • the psyche is comprised of the id, ego & superego
  • childhood experiences have significant importance in determining the personality when we reach adulthood
  • defence mechanisms help the ego to mediate between the id & superego
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10
Q

what is the id? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • entirely unconscious
  • exists from birth
  • drives us to satisfy selfish/aggressive urges that demand immediate gratification
  • acts upon ‘pleasure principle’
  • impulsive & irresponsible
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11
Q

what is the ego? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • only conscious part of the personality
  • develops between 2 - 4 years
  • acts rationally
  • balances conflicting demands of id & superego
  • acts according to the ‘reality principle’
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12
Q

what is the superego? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • entirely unconscious
  • develops between 4 - 5 years
  • concerned with keeping moral norms
  • acts according to the ‘morality principle’
  • attempts to control the id with guilt
  • represents the ideal self ( how we ought to be)
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13
Q

what are the psychosexual stages? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • developmental stages that all children go through (each stage has a conflict that may affect adult development)
  • oral stage
  • anal stage
  • phallic stage
  • latency stage
  • genital stage
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14
Q

what is the oral stage? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • 0 - 18 months
  • pleasure from feeding (mouth, tongue, lips)
  • oral passive vs oral aggressive
  • major developments = weaning off formula/breastmilk
  • adult fixations = smoking, overeating
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15
Q

what is the anal stage? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • 2 - 3 years
  • pleasure from retention or expulsion of faeces from the anus
  • anal retentive vs anal expulsive
  • major developments = toilet training
  • adult fixations = orderliness (retentive) & messiness
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16
Q

what is the phallic stage? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • 4 - 6 years
  • pleasure from genitals
  • major development = resolve Oedipus/ Electra complex
  • adult fixations = deviancy, sexual dysfunction
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17
Q

what is the latency stage? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • 7 - 11 years
  • repression of sexual instincts/ urges
  • sublimation to schoolwork, hobbies, friends etc
  • major development = developing defence mechanisms
  • adult fixations = none
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18
Q

what is the genital stage? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • 12+ years
  • heterosexual intercourse
  • major developments = reaching full sexual maturity
  • if all stages are completed successfully the person should be sexually mature & mentally healthy
  • perversions may arise due to fixations in earlier stages
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19
Q

what is the Oedipus complex? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • all young boys are sexually attracted to their mothers
  • boys see their fathers as competition/rivals for the mothers love
  • they fear their fathers and experience castration anxiety
  • boys identify with their aggressor & so will act like their fathers
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20
Q

what is the Electra complex? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • young girls have already been castrated & so experience penis envy
  • they admit inferiority (not having a penis) & look for a penis substitute
  • penis substitute is a baby
  • girls will imitate their mothers behaviour in order to have intercourse with their fathers (baby with be their fathers)
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21
Q

what are the three ego defence mechanisms? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • repression
  • displacement
  • denial
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22
Q

what is repression? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • burying an unpleasant thought/desire in the unconscious
  • e.g. traumatic childhood experiences may be repressed & therefore forgotten)
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23
Q

what is displacement? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • emotions are directed away from their source or target & towards other things
  • e.g. wringing a dishcloth in anger instead of taking it out on the cat scratching at the furniture
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24
Q

what is denial? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • a threatening thought is ignored or treated as if it were not true
  • e.g. people may find evidence of a cheating partner but will explain it away or make excuses for it
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25
Q

what two research methods are used in psychoanalysis? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • free association
  • dream interpretation
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26
Q

what is free association? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • expressing immediate (conscious) thoughts as they happen
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27
Q

what is dream interpretation? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • analysing the latent content (underlying meaning) or manifest content ( what is remembered from the dream)
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28
Q

what are some strengths of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • acknowledges the unconscious mind (💭)
  • case study methodology embraces complex behaviour my gathering information when conducting research (📚)
  • first to acknowledge the like between childhood trauma & adult behaviours
  • modern day psychiatry still utilizes Freudian psychoanalytic techniques (talking therapies are still used today)
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29
Q

what are some weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  • Freud overemphasised the role of childhood & sexual desires (💭)
  • case studies are not generalisable as the people being studied may not represent the rest of the population (📚)
  • case study evidence is not scientific & the theory of the conscious can’t be supported with evidence (falsification)
  • doesn’t use controlled experiments
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30
Q

what is the Little Hans case study? (psychodynamic approach)

A
  • psychodynamic approach
  • 5 year old boy who had a fear of horses
  • used by Freud as evidence for the Oedipus complex
  • Hans was analysed by Freud though letters sent to him by Hans’ father (could’ve been exaggerated/fabricated)
  • Freud theorised that Hans was experiencing castration anxiety as he was sexually attracted to his mother & felt threatened by his father
  • phobia present because horses reminded his of his father
  • CRITICISMS: no scientific evidence, Oedipus/Electra complexes based on data from individuals (can’t be generalised)
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31
Q

what is classical conditioning? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • learning through association
  • Ivan Pavlov
  • unconditioned stimulus creates an unconditioned response & neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus
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32
Q

what is operant conditioning? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • learning through consequence
  • BF Skinner
  • behaviour that is reinforced will be repeated & learned
  • behaviour that is punished will die out
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33
Q

what are the three main concepts of operant conditioning? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • positive reinforcement
  • negative reinforcement
  • punishment
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34
Q

what is positive reinforcement? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • increased the likelihood of behaviour being repeated by getting a pleasant consequence (e.g. food)
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35
Q

what is negative reinforcement? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • increases the likelihood of behaviour being repeated by escaping an unpleasant situation (e.g. escaping from electric shocks)
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36
Q

what is punishment? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • decreases the likelihood of behaviour being repeated by imposing an unpleasant consequence
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37
Q

what is the context behind the behaviourist approach?

A
  • pioneered by John B Watson
  • emerged at the beginning of 20th century
  • dominated first half of 20th century
  • rejected introspection as concepts were too vague
  • credited with developing psychology as a scientific discipline
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38
Q

what are the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

A
  • all animals are born ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate)
  • all behaviours are learned from interaction with the environment
  • not interested in mental processes - only things that can be observed & measured
  • highlighted the importance of control & objectivity
  • all animals learn the same way
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39
Q

what is the Pavlov’s dogs study? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • classical conditioning
  • dogs presented with food = salivation
  • food = unconditioned stimulus
  • salivation = unconditioned response
  • dogs presented with food while ringing a bell
  • bell = neutral stimulus
  • dogs began to salivate when bell was rung even if no food was present
  • neutral & unconditioned stimuli presented at the same time
  • bell became a conditioned stimulus
  • salivation became a conditioned response
  • CRITICISMS: using animals is unethical, results for animals aren’t generalisable for humans because we have a more developed pre frontal cortex (decision making)
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40
Q

what was the Skinner’s rats study? (behaviourist approach)

A
  • created ‘Skinner’s box’
  • rat would move around in box & when it pressed a lever it was rewarded with a food pellet (positive reinforcement)
  • through PR rats learned that when they pressed the lever they would get food
  • behaviour was repeated
  • also us es to test NR & punishment through electric shocks
  • CRITICISMS: using animals is unethical, results for animals aren’t generalisable for humans because we have a more developed pre frontal cortex (decision making)
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41
Q

what are some strengths of the behaviourist approach?

A
  • it has scientific credibility as it is based on well controlled research & allowed cause & effect relationships to be established
  • real life application - token economy systems are used in schools/prisons/hospitals, has made contributions to our understanding of mental illness
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42
Q

what are some weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?

A
  • research counterparts - behaviourists oversimplified learning process & ignored the influence of human thought on learning, learning is more complex than what can be observed
  • animal studies - using animals is unethical as there is no protection for them, findings in animal studies can’t be generalised to human behaviour due to biological differences (e.g. more developed pre frontal cortex)
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43
Q

give some context for the emergence of the humanistic approach

A
  • came about in the 1950s & 1960s
  • due to an increased dissatisfaction with dominant approaches at the time
  • Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers
  • psychodynamic & behaviourist approaches portrayed human nature in a negative light
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44
Q

what is free will? (humanistic approach)

A
  • the idea that we are in control of our actions & have the ability to determine our own development & decisions
  • emphasised by the humanistic approach
  • focuses on the subjective experience of the person as an individual
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45
Q

what is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (humanistic approach)

A
  • everyone has an innate desire to reach their full potential (self-actualisation)
  • motivates behaviour
  • primary goal = self-actualisation
  • 5 levelled hierarchy where physiological needs need to be satisfied before higher physiological needs (e.g. self-esteem, safety) can be fulfilled
  • must complete one stage before progressing
  • growth & deficiency needs
  • there are several barriers in the way of achieving self-actualisation
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46
Q

what is the growth need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (humanistic approach)

A
  • self-actualisation (top of pyramid)
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47
Q

what are the deficiency needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (humanistic approach)

A
  • physiological needs
  • safety
  • love & belonging
  • self-esteem
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48
Q

what is the order of stages in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from bottom to top? (humanistic approach)

A
  • physiological needs
  • safety
  • love & belonging
  • self-esteem
  • self-actualisation
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49
Q

what is self actualisation? (humanistic approach)

A
  • the innate desire to grow psychologically & fulfil one’s full potential
  • when the self concept & ideal self are broadly similar/the same
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50
Q

what is self-concept? (humanistic approach)

A
  • the way a person sees themselves
51
Q

what is the ideal self? (humanistic approach)

A
  • the person that they want to be
52
Q

what is congruence? (humanistic approach)

A
  • when a person’s ideal self & self-concept is broadly similar to
53
Q

what did Rogers believe about congruence & self-development? (humanistic approach)

A
  • in order for personal growth to occur the self & ideal self must be congruent
  • if the gap is too big then personal growth can’t occur
  • this causes resulting self-esteem issues
54
Q

what is client centred therapy & who created it? (humanistic approach)

A
  • Carl Rogers
  • form of therapy where the client is the expert & the therapist encourages the client to the discovery of their own solutions
  • therapists attempt to provide clients with the unconditional positive regard they failed to receive as children
  • helps people to cope with the pressures of everyday life
55
Q

what did Rogers believe about childhood experiences & adulthood? (humanistic approach)

A
  • many of the issues we face as adults are rooted in childhood (e.g. worthlessness & low self-esteem)
  • these come from a lack of unconditional positive regard (unconditional love) from their parents
  • conditions of worth negatively impact children
56
Q

what is unconditional positive regard? (humanistic approach)

A
  • the basic acceptance & support of a person regardless of what the person does/how they behave
  • especially in the context of client centred therapy
57
Q

what are conditions of worth? (humanistic approach)

A
  • when a parent places limits/boundaries on their love for their children
  • e.g. if a parent says ‘I will only love you if you study medicine’ or ‘if you split up with that boy’
58
Q

what are some strengths of the humanistic approach?

A
  • non-reductionist —> rejects attempts to break up behaviour & experience into smaller components, holistic approach & takes into account whole human experience, more validity by considering human behaviour in real life context
  • positive approach —> optimistic, humanistic psychologists praised for bringing the person back into psychology & promoting positive images of human condition, see all people as able free to work towards the achievement of their potential
  • Rogerian therapy - client centred therapy was created by Rogers & is still used widely today
  • shouldn’t be scientific, all humans are different so we shouldn’t create general rules for everyone
59
Q

what are some weaknesses of the humanistic approach?

A
  • reductionism counterpoint —> reductionist approaches may be more scientific, there are few concepts that can be broken down into single variables & measured, short on empirical evidence to support claims
  • cultural bias —> many ideas that are central to the humanistic approach (e.g. freedom & self-esteem) are associated with western countries that have more individualistic tendencies (e.g. the US), approach does not apply universally & is the product of the cultural context it was developed in
  • Rogerian therapy counterpoint —> client centred therapy can’t be used as an effective treatment for more severe mental illnesses e.g. schizophrenia, humanistic ideas too abstract & may lack application
60
Q

give some context behind the cognitive approach

A
  • developed in the 1950s in response to the behaviourist approaches’ failure to acknowledge mental processes
  • argues that internal mental processes can & should be studied scientifically
  • concerns itself with areas that had been previously neglected (e.g. attention, perception, memory & thinking)
  • these processes are studied indirectly via inferences
61
Q

what is a theoretical model? (cognitive approach)

A
  • diagrams representing the steps involved in internal mental processes
62
Q

what is a computer model? (cognitive approach)

A
  • computer simulations of mental processes
63
Q

according to cognitive psychologists, how is the brain similar to a computer? (cognitive approach)

A
  • information processing approach (theoretical model)
  • suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages - (input, storage & retrieval)
  • is based in the way a computer functions
  • computer model would involve actually programming a computer to see if the instructions produce a similar output to humans
  • if we it suggests similar processes happen in the human mind
  • useful for the development of artificial intelligence
64
Q

what is a schema? (cognitive approach)

A
  • a mental framework of beliefs & expectations that influence cognitive processing
  • developed from experience
  • help us to organise & interpret information
65
Q

how do schemas impact behaviour? (cognitive approach)

A
  • helps us to respond to objects/situations appropriately
  • becomes more detailed & sophisticated as we get older
  • enables us to process lots of information quickly
  • can cause interpretations to become distorted/ incorrect (EWT)
66
Q

what is cognitive neuroscience? (cognitive approach)

A
  • the study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
67
Q

what did Paul Broca contribute to the emergence of cognitive neuroscience? (cognitive approach)

A
  • 1860s
  • had identified how brain damage to the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production
  • frontal lobe became known as ‘Broca’s area’
68
Q

how have new technology (e.g. fMRI & PET scans) aided in observing & describing the neurological basis of mental processes? (cognitive approach)

A
  • Tulving et al. (1994) - the location of episodic & semantic memory
  • Braver et al. (1997) - the possible location of the central executive
69
Q

how has cognitive neuroscience helped with psychiatric disorders? (cognitive approach)

A
  • has provided links between different psychiatric disorders
  • e.g. the parahippocampal gyrus (processing unpleasant info) & OCD
70
Q

what research methods to cognitive psychologists use & why? (cognitive approach)

A
  • lab studies
  • they are more accurate/scientific which gives more credibility & makes it more respected
  • produce reliable & objective data
71
Q

what are some strengths of the cognitive approach?

A
  • real world application —> dominant approach is psychology today, contributions to development of AI, applied for treatments of depression (via challenging negative thoughts) , improved reliability of eye witness testimony, this supports the value of the cognitive approach
  • scientific methods —> objective, highly controlled & rigorous studies so researches can ignore cognitive processes, lab studies produce scientific & objective data, cognitive neuroscience has enabled the emergence of biology & cognitive psych to enhance scientific study, this means that the study of the mind has a credible scientific basis
72
Q

what are some weaknesses of the cognitive approach?

A
  • machine reductionism —> ignores influence of human emotion & motivation of the cognitive system & how this may affect ability to process information, computer analogy is heavily criticised, this suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach
  • scientific methods counterpoint —> can suffer from being too abstract & theoretical, cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes rather than direct observation of behaviour, often includes artificial stimuli like memory experiments that may not represent everyday experience, this means that research on cognitive processes may lack external validity
73
Q

give some context behind cognitive neuroscience (cognitive approach)

A
  • combination of cognitive & biological approaches
  • emerged with the advancement of technology
  • coined by Miller & Gazzaniga in the 1970s
74
Q

what does cognitive neuroscience do? (cognitive approach)

A
  • explore neurobiological processes & structures that are responsible for cognitive processes & disorders
  • investigates cognitive processes using more advanced techniques such as brain scanning (fMRI/PET scans)
  • also uses case studies of people with neurotypical brains to locate a physical basis of cognitive processes (e.g. Clive Wearing)
75
Q

evaluate cognitive neuroscience (cognitive approach)

A
  • the research makes the approach more scientific that’s the cognitive approach
  • research that as identified brain areas for certain psychological functions (e..g Maguire taxi study) - role of hippocampus, evidence for plasticity & role of nurture on the brain
  • demonstrates nurture in the nature vs nurture debate
  • research that has identified brain areas for certain psychological disorders (e.g. reduced processing in the temporal & cingulate gyri is associated with hallucinations in people with schizophrenia)
  • real life application - early identification of disorders such as Alzheimer’s, help to provide early intervention
76
Q

who was SLT pioneered by? (social learning theory)

A
  • Albert Bandaranaike
  • he agreed with behaviourists that most of out behaviour is learned through direct experience
77
Q

what are the main assumptions of SLT? (social learning theory)

A
  • in addition to classical & operant conditioning, SLT proposes that people learn through observation & imitation
  • vicarious reinforcement
  • modelling/role models
  • mediational processes
78
Q

what is vicarious reinforcement? (social learning theory)

A
  • reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone being reinforced for a behaviour
  • is a key factor in imitation
  • vicarious reinforcement only occurs if the observed behaviour is seen to be rewarded
  • observing the consequence of the behaviour is more important that observing the behaviour itself
  • this makes us want to imitate the behaviour in anticipation of the same/a similar reward
79
Q

what is identification? (social learning theory)

A
  • when an observer associated themselves with a role model & wants to be like said role model
  • role models have similar characteristics (e.g. age, sex, interests), high status, attractive, charismatic, in the case of children are usually parents/older siblings of the same sex
  • role models do not need to be present in rooms/known personally by the person (e.g. celebrities they won’t know personally)
80
Q

what are mediational processes? (social learning theory)

A
  • cognitive factors (e.g. thinking0 that influence learning & come between stimulus & response
  • unlike behaviourism, SLT includes how mental factors are involved in acquiring & producing new behaviours
  • if these factors are implemented then learning & imitation can take place
81
Q

name & define the factors involved in mediational processes (social learning theory)

A
  • 1) attention —> to what extent the behaviour is noticed
  • 2) retention —> how well the behaviour is remembered
  • 3) motor reproduction —> how well the observer is able to reproduce the behaviour
  • 4) motivation —> the will to carry out the behaviour observed (usually determined by whether it was punished or not)
82
Q

what is reciprocal determinism & how does it contrast the behaviourist approach? (social learning theory)

A
  • the idea that we are not just influenced by our external environment but we also exert influence on it through behaviours that we choose to perform
  • this element of choice suggests that there is some free will in the way we behave
  • this contrasts with the behaviourist approach which denies the possibility of free will
83
Q

what is the Bobo doll experiment? (social learning theory)

A
  • Bandura et al. (1963)
  • aim + test the effects of praise & punishment on how aggressively nursery aged children acted towards a bobo doll
  • 66 children divided into 3 groups of 22 & each group watched a different video where the adults received different consequences for acting aggressively towards the doll
  • children were then individually placed into a room with toys & a bobo doll & their behaviours were observed
  • condition 1 (adult praised for aggressive behaviour) = children acted the most aggressive
  • condition 2 (adult told off for aggressive behaviour) = children acted the lest aggressive
  • condition 3 (adult neither praised or punished) = aggression levels in children were in between
  • conclusions = children were more aggressive when they observed the adult being praised for acting aggressively towards the doll
  • CRITICISMS: we don’t know how much violence the children were exposed to prior to the experiment, ignores potential biological explanations for aggressive behaviours (e.g. increased testosterone levels in boys), demand characteristics - children may have acted aggressively towards the doll because they thought it was what was expected from them
84
Q

give some strengths of social learning theory

A
  • recognition of cognitive factors in learning —> neither CC or OC explain learning by themselves, humans & animals rely on the behaviour of others to make judgements about their own actions & when is appropriate to perform them, recognition of cognitive factors means that SLT provides a more comprehensive account of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes
  • real-world application —> can explain cultural differences in behaviour, SLT principles (e.g. modelling & imitation) can account for hoe children learn from people around them, this explains how cultural norms are shared between particular societies, has proved useful in understand a range of behaviours (e.g. how children come to understand their gender role), this increases the value of the approach as it can account from real-world behaviour
85
Q

give some weaknesses of social learning theory

A
  • cognitive factors counterpoint —> SLT has been criticised for not making enough reference to biological factors, Bandura maintained that learning itself was determined by the environment, recent research suggests that observational learning could be the result of mirror neurons that allow us to empathise & imitate , this suggests that biological factors are under emphasised in SLT
  • contrived lab studies —> contrived = artificial/made up, evidence for Bobo doll study is based of young children’s behaviour in lab studies, demand characteristics (children may have acted aggressively towards the doll because they thought it was expected of them), this suggests that the research may tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life
86
Q

what are the main assumptions of the biological approach?

A
  • assumes that all human behaviour has a biological origin
  • approach insists that to comprehend human behaviour fully it is necessary to understand internal biological structures/processes (e.g. genes, the nervous system, neurochemistry & evolution)
  • our body is heavily impacted by neurochemicals from the brain so chemical imbalances can impact behaviour
  • everything psychological is at first physiological
  • our brain physiology can change behaviour
  • behaviour (like genetics) can be inherited
87
Q

what are concordance rates? (biological approach)

A
  • if one person develops a behaviour/disorder what is the percentage chance that a relative will inherit the same behaviour/disorder
88
Q

what are monozygotic twins & what are their concordance rates? (biological approach)

A
  • identical twins that come from one egg
  • have 100% genetic similarity
  • concordance rates = 60% - 80%
89
Q

what are dizygotic twins and what are their concordance rates? (biological approach)

A
  • fraternal twins that come from two different eggs
  • have 50% genetic similarity
  • concordance rates = 40% - 50%
90
Q

what is a weakness in the evaluation of genetics? (biological approach)

A
  • if something is entirely genetic concordance rates for monozygotic twins should be 100% - but they aren’t
  • this means that there must be an environmental element to behaviour
91
Q

what is a genotype? (biological approach)

A
  • the genetic makeup of traits
  • is fixed from birth
92
Q

what is a phenotype? (biological approach)

A
  • the expression of traits
  • are observable characteristics in a person
  • are influenced by both the genetic inheritance & the interaction of this with the environment
93
Q

what are genes & how do we develop them? (biological approach)

A
  • make up chromosomes & consist of DNA that codes the physical & physiological features of offspring
  • are passed in though generations (inherited)
94
Q

what is the diathesis stress hypothesis? (biological approach)

A
  • the theory that there is a genetic vulnerability/pre-disposition to mental & physical disorders but that it has to be triggered by a stressful life event or trauma
95
Q

what research has there been into the influence of genes on twins? (biological approach)

A
  • behavioural or psychological characteristics can be inherited
  • compares concordance rates of MZ & DZ twins (e.g. MZ twins have increased concordance rates of developing schizophrenia)
  • McGuffin et al. (1996) found that if one identical twin has depression there is a 46% chance the other twin will also have depression (this suggests that there is a genetic component to illnesses like schizophrenia & depression)
96
Q

what are twin studies used for? (biological approach)

A
  • to investigate whether certain characteristics have a genetic basis
  • the environments are kept constant
97
Q

what is evolution & who discovered it? (biological approach)

A
  • Charles Darwin, 1858
  • all living things slowly adapt to their lifestyle to make them better at surviving in their habitat
  • discovered through studying finches
98
Q

how does the biological approach use modern technology in terms of evolution?

A
  • to prove the idea of evolution & how it can help to better understand the human mind
  • e.g. there has been research into the theory that evolution has caused humans to develop certain traits that make them more attractive to others (Buss (1994) - sex differences in preferences in preferred partners)
99
Q

what does natural selection ensure in evolution? (biological approach)

A
  • that characteristics providing an evolutionary advantage are passed on from one generation to the next, whilst others that do not die out
100
Q

what do critics of Darwin’s work say about natural selection? (biological approach)

A
  • it is not possible to falsify the natural selection as we cannot show evolution is happening, we can only deuce that it has taken place
  • others claim that the basic principles are supported by fossil records (e.g. showing dinosaurs changing into birds)
101
Q

what are chemical imbalances in the brain associated with? (biological approach)

A
  • atypical behaviour
  • e.g. decreased levels of serotonin are associated with depression & OCD whereas increased levels of dopamine are associated with schizophrenia
102
Q

give some strengths of the biological approach

A
  • real world application —> has promoted that treatment of clinical depression using antidepressant drugs that increase levels of serotonin at synapses in the brain, these drugs have been associated with the reduction of depressive symptoms, this means that people with depression may be better able to manage their condition & live their lives in the community rather than being in a hospital
  • scientific methods —> uses precise & highly objective methods (e.g. scanning techniques like fMRIs & EEGs), with advancements in technology it is possible to measure physiological & neural processes in ways that are not open to bias, this means that much of the biological approach is based on objective & reliable data (increases scientific credibility)
103
Q

give some weaknesses of the biological approach

A
  • RW application counterpoint —> antidepressant drugs may not work for everyone, Andrea Cipriani et al. (2018) compared 21 antidepressant drugs & found wide variation since the effectiveness (were more effective than placebos but ivermectin all were ‘mainly modest’), this challenges that value of the approach because it suggests that brain chemistry may not account for all cases of (for example) depression
  • biological determinism —> determinist in that it sees human behaviour as governed by internal genetic causes that we have no control over, however the way in which a person’s genotype is expressed is heavily influenced by the environment (identical twins don’t look/think the same even though they share the same genes), also is problematic when considering crime as violent criminals may try to explain their actions on genetics, this suggests that the biological view is often too simplistic & ignores the mediating effect of the environment
104
Q

give some similarities between the biological & behaviourist approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both advocate the use of animals in their research which (could be argued) makes it scientific
  • both are reductionist (behaviourism focuses on stimulus-response & biological focuses on genes/neurons
105
Q

give some similarities between the cognitive & behaviourist approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both advocate the use of scientific methods to support their theories
  • this makes both of the approaches more valid
106
Q

give some similarities between the psychodynamic & behaviourist approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both approaches are deterministic
  • psychodynamic is deterministic because it views our unconscious drives & childhood as causing abnormal behaviour
  • behaviourist is deterministic because it views our behaviour as a result of conditioning from the environment
107
Q

give some similarities between the humanistic & behaviourist approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both advocate the use of therapy that allows the individual to take control of what is happening to them (unlike medication which is more passive)
108
Q

give some similarities between the cognitive & biological approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both are nomothetic as they both establish general laws & theories to explain behaviour
109
Q

give some similarities between the psychodynamic & biological approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • mostly nature
  • both approaches believe that we are born with elements that predispose us the behave in a certain way
  • e.g. humanistic = survival needs, biological = genes
  • they also believe that these elements are influenced by our experiences & environment
  • e.g. humanistic = our perceptions & interactions can influence our behaviour, biological = trauma can trigger genetic predispositions
  • both approaches are deterministic
110
Q

give some similarities between the humanistic & biological approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both approaches believe that we are born with elements that predispose us to behave in a certain way
  • e.g. humanistic = survival needs, biological focuses= genes
  • they also believe that these elements are influenced by our experiences & the environment
  • e.g. humanistic = our perceptions & interactions can influence our behaviour, biological = certain therapies can change the shape of brain structures
111
Q

give some similarities between the psychodynamic & cognitive approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • nature vs nature = nature
  • both approaches believe we are born with innate abilities or drives
  • they also believe that these can be shaped with experience
112
Q

give some similarities between the humanistic & cognitive approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • nature vs nurture = nature
  • both approaches believe that we are born with innate abilities or drives, but also that these can be shaped with experience
  • e.g. cognitive = we can create schemas but how they develop depends on experience, humanistic = individual’s perception of the world is due to nurture but they also have instinctive drives (like Maslow’s needs)
113
Q

give some similarities between the humanistic & psychodynamic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • both approaches take a holistic view in that they take account of many elements of the individual to explain behaviour
114
Q

give some differences between the behaviourist & biological approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the behaviourist approach is on the nurture side as it argues that behaviour is learnt from the environment
  • the biological approach is on the nature side (however it does recognise that brain structures can change with experience - e.g. genotype & phenotype)
115
Q

give some differences between the behaviourist & cognitive approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the behaviourist approach is deterministic as it believes that we are the sum total of our conditioning
  • the cognitive approach believes more in soft determinism as it believes therapy such as CBT can change cognitive processes
116
Q

give some differences between the biological & cognitive approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the biological approach is in the nature side of the argument because it believes that we are born with biological factors that cause our behaviour
  • the cognitive approach is more interactionist as it believes that we are born with innate capacities as information processors but that these are influenced by our learning & experiences
117
Q

give some differences between the behaviourist & psychodynamic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the behaviourist approach is nomothetic as it views behaviour governed by the same laws of conditioning
  • the psychodynamic approaches takes on an ideographic approach that individuals manifest abnormalities in their own unique way
118
Q

give some differences between the biological & psychodynamic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the psychodynamic approach is unfalsifiable (lack of evidence to support theories)
  • the biological approach had lots of scientific supporting evidence
119
Q

give some differences between the cognitive & psychodynamic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the psychodynamic approach is holistic as it takes into account many different aspects of human experience to explain behaviour
  • the cognitive approach is reductionist as it isolates processes such as memory from other cognitive processes
120
Q

give some differences between the behaviourist & humanistic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the behaviourist approach uses highly controlled lab experiments & believe it can only measured if you can observe it
  • the humanistic approach does not believe that scientific measuring of an individual is appropriate as everyone is unique
121
Q

give some differences between the biological & humanistic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the humanistic approach believes that all individuals have free will over their behaviour
  • the biological approach is strongly deterministic as they view behaviour as caused entirely by biological factors
122
Q

give some differences between the cognitive & humanistic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • the humanistic approach is holistic as it takes into account all aspects of the human experience
  • the cognitive approach is accused of machine reductionism & ignoring emotions
123
Q

give some differences between the psychodynamic & humanistic approaches (approaches - comparison)

A
  • although both approaches have a lack of evidence the psychodynamic approach tries to support its theories with research
  • the humanistic approach doesn’t think that this should be necessary

psychology 🧠 (10 decks)

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