Approaches In Psychology

Question 1

Definition of psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in given context

Question 2

Emergence of psychology as a science
→ 20th century + introspection
→ John B Watson
→ behaviourist approach

Answer 2

• Beginning of the 20th century → scientific status of introspection was being doubted
• John B Watson → believed data produced was subjective so didn’t establish general principles. Also he thought that in order for it to be truly scientific it needed to be properly measured
• behaviourist approach → this caused birth of behaviourist approach and with it the emergence or psychology as a science

Question 3

Evaluation of psychology
✅
- modern research
- approaches + lab studies
- scientific discipline
❌
- approaches + subjective methods
-humanistic approach
- objective and reliable

Answer 3

✅
- modern research can claim to be scientific
- many approaches for example the cognitive approach all use lab studies in order to investigate in an unbiased way
- psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline
❌
- not all approaches use objective methods
- for example humanistic approach focuses on subjective individual experiences
- therefore psychology cannot always be objective and reliable

Question 4

Vilhelm Wundt
- psychologist
- structuralism
- introspection
-scientific approach

Answer 4

• First psychologist and separated psychology from philosophy and biology
• his approach became known as structuralism
• he came up with introspection as a method to investigate people’s thoughts
• came up with the scientific approach and method

Question 5

What is structuralism?
- Vilhelm Wundt
- building blocks
- participants observations
- reaction time
- mental processes

Answer 5

• Wundts approach
• used experimental methods to find the basic structures (building blocks) of thought
• broke participants observations of objects / images / events into constituent parts
• studied reaction time and systematically changed the stimuli, measuring how long it took them to respond
• he inferred that the longer it took to respond the more mental processes must be involved

Question 6

Introspection
-Reflect
-Cognitive processes
❌
✅

Answer 6

• Wundt used to investigate the mind
• participants were asked to reflect on their own cognitive processes and describe them
  ❌
• subjective
  ✅
• would lead to multiple psychological perspectives

Question 7

Wundt’s new scientific approach (scientific method)
- caused
- predict
- how did he study

Answer 7

Based on two major assumptions
→ all behaviour is caused (determined)
→ if its determined it is possible to predict how humans would behave in different conditions (predictability)
The method he used to study this became known as the scientific method

Question 8

What is the scientific method
- Wundts scientific approach

Answer 8

• The method Wundt used to investigate his scientific approach

Ask a question
State hypothesis
Conduct experiment
Analyse results
Make a conclusion

Question 9

Evaluation of the scientific method - A03
✅
- objective
- treatments
❌
-natural environment
-not all can be observed

Answer 9

✅
- knowledge acquired is accurate due to use of objective and controlled studies
- allows causes of behaviour to be established and treatments developed

❌
- too focussed on being objective so tells as little about how people behave in natural environments
- certain areas of human behaviour that cannot be observed therefore measured using the scientific method

Question 10

Behaviorist approach summary - AO1
- blank state
- lab experiments
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning

Answer 10

• we are born as a blank state so we are shaped by our environment
• argues we should focus on observable behaviour that can be measured using lab experiments
• classical conditioning is learning through association
• operant conditioning is where behaviour is shaped and maintained by it consequences

Question 11

Classical conditioning
- behaviourist approach
- Ivan Pavlov

Answer 11

• Learning through association
• first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov
• dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time they were given food
• gradually they would associate the sound of the bell (the stimulus) with food and would salivate everytime they heard the bell
• showed now a neutral stimulus can elicit a new learned response (a conditioned response) through association

Conditioned response is desired outcome
Unconditioned stimulus is what they have the desired response to in the first place
Neutral stimulus is what you want them to have the desired response to

Question 12

Operant conditioning
- behaviourist approach
- reinforcement and punishment
- skinners box

Answer 12

• Behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
• positive reinforcement: receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
• negative reinforcement: occurs when you avoid something unpleasant
• punishment: an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
• skinner developed a special cage called a Skinner box to investigate operant conditioning
• rat moves around cage and when he accidentally presses the never a food pellet (a reinforcer) falls into the cage
• the rat learns that to obtain food he needs to press the lever
• is the food stops the rat will abandon the lever (extinction)

Question 13

Evaluation of the behaviourist approach - AO3
✅
- measurement of observable behaviour
- influential
- real world behaviours
❌
- free will
- ethics

Answer 13

✅
- focuses on measurement of observable behaviour in controlled labs so objective
- emphasises importance of objectivity so became influential in the development of psychology as a science
- principles of conditioning have been applied to a broad range of real world behaviours
❌.
- skinner said free will is an illusion → doesn’t recognise free will
- ethics are questionable → use of animals

Question 14

Summary of social learning theory

Answer 14

• Learn through our experiences as well as indirectly by observing others
• bandara and the bobo doll experiment
• mediational processes: attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation
• vicarious reinforcement → reinforcement not directly experienced but observed in someone else
• identification and rolemodels

Question 15

Mediational processes
- social learning theory
-ARMM

Answer 15

• Attention: the extent to which we notice behaviour
• retention: now well behaviour is remembered
• motor reproduction: the ability to perform the behaviour that the model has demonstrated
• motivation: the will to perform the behaviour

Question 16

Vicarious reinforcement and identification
- social learning theory
- observing behaviour and consequences
- modelling

Answer 16

Vicarious reinforcement: individual observes the behaviour taking place and then the learner may imitate this behaviour. The learner observes the behaviour and the consequence. Reinforcement is not directly experienced but observed in someone else.

Identification: people are more likely to imitate behaviour of someone they can identify with (role models) this is called modelling

Question 17

Banduras research - AO1
- social learning theory
- bobo doll
- children learning agression

Answer 17

Aim - To investigate the effect of observed aggression on children’s behaviour
Method- 72 children between 3 and 6 observed adults behaviour towards the bobo doll - some adults behaved aggressively whereas some were non aggressive - the children observed this behaviour for 10 minutes and were then taken to a room containing a bobo doll, aggressive toys eg. Hammers and dart guns as well as non - aggressive toys such as farm animals. The children’s behaviour was observed for 20 minutes
Result - Children who had observed aggressive behaviour were more likely to be aggressive. Children were more likely to imitate the behaviour of the same-sex role model.
conclusion - Aggression can be learned via the mechanisms of SLT

Bandura did a later study where he used vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment after the adults had acted aggressively to see what effect that had on the children’s imitations of the behaviour

Question 18

Evaluation of Banduras research - AO3
✅
- controlled
- debate
❌
- ethics
- only short term

Answer 18

✅
- controlled study so can be replicated therefore reliable
- fuelled debate therefore ahead good application to real word scenarios

❌
- ethical issues as some of the children were exposed to an aggressive adult which may have alarmed and distressed them
- The experiment only shows short-term effects of observed aggression, making it difficult to see if there are long-term effects too

Question 19

Evaluation of social learning theory - AO3
✅
- cognitive factors
- application
❌
- biological factors
- natural environment

Answer 19

✅
- recognises the importance of cognitive factors
- applied to a wide range of real world behaviours

❌
- doesn’t take into account biological factors
- evidence based on lab studies so we do not know how the children would have behaved in their natural environments

Question 20

Cognitive approach summary - AO1
- inferences
- models
- schema
- cognitive neuroscience

Answer 20

• internal mental processes cannot be studies scientifically so psychologists make inferences
• use theoretical models: information processing approach (multi store model) and the computer model
• schema: packets of information which help us to interpret new information
• cognitive neuroscience: study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes

Question 21

Theoretical models
- cognitive approach
- information processing approach
- computer model

Answer 21

• Information processing approach: information flows through a sequence of stages including input, storage and retrieval as in the multi store model
• computer model: programming a computer to see if such instructions produce a similar output to humans. Proved useful in the development of AI

Question 22

Schema
- cognitive approach

Answer 22

• like packets of information which help us to interpret new events. We have schema for people, situations and objects.
• we are born with basic schema but they become more complex as we gain more experience.
• Are believed to effect how we store, process and retrieve memories which is what makes them less accurate
  EXAMPLE - a robber → tall dressed in black wearing a disguise carrying a sac

Question 23

Evaluation of the cognitive approach - AO3
✅
- lab experiments
❌

Answer 23

✅
-methods used to investigate were highly controlled and rigorous producing reliable and objective data so has a credible basis
❌
- ignores human emotion for example in eye witness testimonies. The analogy of a computer had been criticised
- too abstract and theoretical as psychologists can only infer metal processes from what they observe so therefore lacks external validity

Question 24

Biological approach summary - AO1
- definition
- genes influence
- genetic basis of behaviour
- genotype and phenotype
- Evolution

Answer 24

• combines psychology and biology to provide a physiological explanation for human behaviour. Tried to explain how we think and feel in terms of physical factors in the body
• genes affect behaviour and influence psychological differences in people
• investigate how biology effects behaviour
• genetic basis of behaviour is the study of the genetic makeup of organisms and how this influences behaviour. Twin studies were used to investigate this
• the expression of a genotype (the phenotype) that is influenced by the environment
• genes have evolved, biological psychologists argue that genes are responsible for physical and psychological characteristics

Question 25

Genetic basis of behaviour
- biological approach
- twin studies
- concordance rate

Answer 25

• genetic basis of behaviour is the study of the genetic makeup of organisms and how this influences behaviour.
• Twin studies were used to investigate this as they can be used to determine the likelihood that certain traits have a genetic basis by comparing the concordance rates between twins ( the extent to which both twins share the same traits)
• identical twins = 100% same genes
• non identical twins = 50% same genes
• if identical twins have a higher concordance rate this would suggest a genetic basis

Question 26

Genotype and phenotype
- biological approach
- definitions
- express of genes

Answer 26

• genotype is a persons genetic makeup
• phenotype is the way genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics
• the expression of a genotype is inevitably influenced by environmental factors
• despite having the same genes the way identical twins genes are expressed are different

Question 27

Darwin’s theory: evolution of behaviour
- biological approach
- evolution
- inheritance
- evolutionary psychology

Answer 27

• humans and their genes have evolved over millions of years
• genes are passed down this is inheritance
• Darwin influenced evolutionary psychology as it argues that genes are responsible for physical and psychological characteristics

Question 28

Evaluation of biological approach- AO3
✅
- wide range of situations, research into biochemical processes, antidepressants
- controlled studies
❌
- determinist

Answer 28

✅
- can be applied to a wide range of situations for example the research into biochemical processes in the brain have helped the development of psychoactive drugs that can help depression
- controlled lab studies such as fMRI scans , EEG’s and family/twin studies
❌
- it is determinist for example it sees human behaviour as governed by internal biological causes over which we had no control

Question 29

The psychodynamic approach summary - AO1

Answer 29

• major causes of behaviour have their origin in the unconscious
• psychicdeterminism: all behaviour has a cause
• feelings and behaviour are rooted in our Childhood experiences
• parts of the unconscious mind are in a constant struggle
• Frued came up with a tripartite theory of the personality: id, ego, superego
• Freud hypothesized the mind was structured into zones and material can leak’ from the unconscious during dreams. used free association to investigate this
• Freud came up with defence mechanisms and the psychosexual stages

Question 30

Psycho dynamic approach - structure of the psyche - tripartite theory

Answer 30

• id (instincts / devil): present from birth, instinctive part of us, operates on pleasure principle
• ego (reality / mediator ): works on reality principle, moderates between id + superego reducing conflict by employing defense mechanisms
• superego (morality/ angel); formed at end of phallic stage, internalised sense of right and wrong, based on morality principle, punishes ego for wrong doing through guilt

Question 31

Psychodynamic approach- role of the unconscious

Answer 31

• Freud thought the mind was stuctured into zones
• unconscious mind stores material that is paintul, distressing etc. Or would damage the psyche if recalled

Question 32

Psychodynamic approach - dream analysis

Answer 32

there are ways of accessing the unconscious:
- repressed ideas are more likely to appear in dreams →
Freud referred to these ideas as the latent content (underlying wish). whereas the manifest content is what the dreamer remembers
- a therapist interprets the dreams to provide insight about what lhe dream means and represents

Question 33

Psychodynamic approach- free association

Answer 33

• used to interpret dreams
• individual encouraged to relax and say whatever comes to mind
• when they stumbled, Freud believed this showed a link to unconscious material
• Freudian slip: saying something in error that reveals subconscious feeling

Question 34

Psychodynamic approach- defence mechanisms → come from the ego

Answer 34

• repression: push material our of conscious to unconscious
• denial: unpleasant / worrying information is ignored
• displacement: feelings redirected onto a less threatening target than they originated

Question 35

Psychodynamic approach- psychosexual stages

Answer 35

psychosexual stages
- oral: 0-18 months, sucking behaviour, causes of fixation → early weaning, deprivation of love / food, results of fixation → smoking, biting nails. sarcasm
- anal: 18 months - 3.5 years, holding or discarding faeces, causes of fixation → harsh or lax toilet training results of fixation → obsessiveness, tidiness, meaness
- phallic : 3.5 - 6 years, fixation on genitals, cause of fixation → no father figure, dominant mother, results of fixation → envy, self obsession, sexual anxiety
- latency: 6 years - puberty, repressed sexual urges
- genitar: puberty onwards, awakened sexual urges

Question 36

Psychodynamic approach- case study of little hans

Answer 36

Aim - to provide supporting evidence for the oedipus complex
method - Freud carried out a case stady of a child called Hans who had a phobia of horses. Hans was observed by his father who made notes of Hans dreams etc. and passed them onto Freud for analysis
results - Hans was afraid of horses because he thought they might bite or fall on him. During the study he developed an interest in his penis his mum told him not to play with it or she would cut it off. He had a dream that he was married to his mum
conclusion- Freud concluded Hans had reached the phallic stage and evidenced the Oedipus complex as he had sexual feelings for his mum and was jealous of his dad. The horse symbolised Hans’ father because to him they both had big penis’ his fear of horses is an example Of displacement that would protect him from his real fear, his father. Hans was afraid his father would castrate him it he found out about his feelings for his mother. This was symbolised by Hans’ fear that a horse would bite him.

Question 37

Psychodynamic approach- Oedipus and electra complex

Answer 37

• At the end of the phallic stage Freud claimed boys develop feelings for their mother and a hatred for their father (their rival in love) → oedipus complex
• He also suggested girls experience penis envy where they desire their falner and hale their mother. However Freud thought that they give up the desire for their father and exchange it for the desire for a baby → electra complex

Question 38

Psychodynamic approach evaluation- AO3

Answer 38

✅psychoanalysis
❌ psychoanalysis
❌psychic determinism
❌ untestable concepts
Look at mindmap in folder

Question 39

Humanistic approach summary - AO1

Answer 39

• claims humans are self determining and have free will
• is a person centred approach
• everyone has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential
• Maslows hierachy of needs
• Rogers argued for personal growth to be achieved an individuals concept of self must have congruence with their ideas self

Question 40

Humanistic approach- free will

Answer 40

• This approach is person centred and claims that humans are self determining
• says we are free agents’
• Psychologists shouid focus on subjective experiences

Question 41

Humanistic Approach - self actualisation

Answer 41

• every person has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential
• represent top level of Maslow hierarchy of needs
• not everyone will achieve this as there may be psychological barriers

Question 42

Humanistic approach - maslows hierarchy of needs

Answer 42

selfactualization: morality, creativity, spontaneity
esteem: respect, confidence, achievement
love / belonging: friendship, family, intimacy
safety: security of body, employment, family. health, property
physiological: breathing, food, water, sleep

Question 43

Humanistic approach - The self, congruence and conditions of worth

Answer 43

• Rogers argued for growth to be achieved an individuals concept of self must have congruence with their ideal self
• if the gap is too big the person will experience incongruence and not reach self actualisation
• to close gap created Client centred therapy
• claimed issues we experience as adults have roots in children not receiving unconditional positive regard from parents

unconditional positive regard - where the person gets affection and support no matter what their behaviour is like. We need unconditional positive regard to have a positive self concept
conditions of worth - where approval and affection is given in result of behaving in a certain way

Question 44

Humanistic approach - client centred therapy

Answer 44

• Roger’s developed this to reach self actualisation
• the therapy focuses on the clines - they are in charge of what is talked about and it’s their responsibility to eventually solve their problems
• the therapist’s job is to try and make the client aware of their thoughts, actions and behaviours
• they do this by carefully rephrasing the clients sentences and repeating them back

Question 45

Humanistic approach- supporting research of CCT

Answer 45

Gibbard and Hanley - studied impact of CCT on a group of patients suffering from mental health disorders such as depression. Studied 700 people over 5 years. A questionnaire was used to measure the extent of their condition before and after therapy. 70% of participants showed a significant improvement.

Question 46

Humanistic approach evaluation AO3

Answer 46

✅ approach has a holistic view which treats people as individuals and takes the whole person into account rather than reducing individual behaviours to cause and effect responses
✅ counselling techniques which have come from the approach has become effective
✅ not determinist - helps understand complex human nature
❌ lacks objectivity- based on feelings and subjective reports
❌not generalisable - idiographic