Approaches, Issues and Debates

Question 1

Define psychology

Answer 1

The study of mind and behaviour, originating from biology, philosophy and physiology

Question 2

Define approaches and identify them

Answer 2

• Key stances used to explain behaviours and characteristics in humans

• Behaviourist approach
• Social Learning Theory
• Cognitive Approach
• Biological Approach
• Psychodynamic Approach
• Humanistic Approach

Question 3

Explain the origins of psychology

Answer 3

• Psychology is thought to originate from the work of Wilhelm Wundt, who’s referred to as the father of (modern) psychology

• Wundt pioneered introspection and founded the Institute of Experimental Psychology in Leipzig in 1879 which was the first psychology lab

Question 4

Outline introspection

Answer 4

• A technique pioneered by Wundt to gain insight into mental processes carried out in his university room

• People were trained to report on their inner experiences (feelings, thoughts and sensations) when presented with a stimulus such as a problem to solve or something to memorise

• They’d report back what they experienced/analysed using a structuralism approach. This refers to breaking thoughts down into the simplest definable components to find out how they fit together to form more complex experiences to uncover the structure of the mind

• Reports couldn’t be replicated so we’re unreliable as everyone’s experience was subjective. However, this technique allowed internal mental processes to be studied and enabled psychology to emerge as a science

Question 5

Identify and define the major features of science

Answer 5

• Replicability: Can you repeat the setup exactly
• Objectivity: Measurable methods used
• Empiricism: Measurable, objective methods
used. Cannot be deemed unscientific
• Falsification: Can you test the hypothesis

Question 6

Outline the Behaviourist approach

Answer 6

• Behaviourism emerged at the start of the 20th century, pioneered by John B Watson. It’s credited with developing psychology as a scientific discipline and rejected introspection as concepts were vague and immeasurable

• Key studies include Pavlov (1927), Skinner (1955) and Watson and Rayner (1928)

Question 7

Identify the assumptions of the behaviourist approach

Answer 7

• All animals are born with a blank slate (tabula rasa) and all behaviours learnt from environmental interaction (experience)

• Not interested in mental processes, only things that can be observed and measured I.e rejection of Wundts work

• Highlighted the importance of control and objectivity (lab studies used)

• All animals learn in the same way (animal studies used)

• Two important forms of learning; operant and classical conditioning

Question 8

Identify the stances of the behaviourist approach

Answer 8

• Environmentally Determinist
-Behaviour’s determined by stimulus-response
conditioning (CC+OC)

• Nurture perspective
-Humans are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa)
and all behaviour is learnt

• Environmentally Reductionist
-Behaviour’s reduced to stimulus-response
associations

• Nomothetic
-Creates universal laws as behaviours the result
of stimulus-response associations

• Scientific
-Uses lab studies and embraces animal studies

Question 9

Outline Watson and Rayner (1928)

Answer 9

• Experiment to show the importance of environment and learning on behaviour
• A white rat was shown at the same time as a loud noise behind his head
• Little Albert started to cry at just the rat: the fear response was conditioned

Question 10

What can Watson and Rayner (1928) be used to support (3)

Answer 10

• The Behaviourist approach
• Pavlov (1927)
• The Behaviourist explanation to explaining phobias including Mowrer’s (1960) two process model

Question 11

Outline classical conditioning

Answer 11

• Proposed by Pavlov (1927)
• Learning through association (which Pavlov called signalisation) where we learn to associate a neutral stimulus with an (unconditioned) stimulus that already produces a response

• Through regular pairing, the neutral stimulus becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus and becomes a conditioned stimulus producing a new learned (conditioned) response

Question 12

Outline Pavlov (1927)

Answer 12

• Aimed to find out if reflex behaviour can be produced in new situations through learning and raised 35 dogs of a variety of breeds in a lab in a sealed room to prevent extraneous variables

• The dogs were strapped to harnesses and had a tube linked to its mouth that drained saliva into a measuring bottle

• Dogs salivated at meat powder and didn’t at a neutral stimulus sound (control). To condition the dog, Pavlov paired these usually 20 times until he presented the dog with the sound and no meat

• The dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the sound and by 45 seconds produced 11 drops of Saliva

• The brain sees the new sound as a signal and links it to a reflex based on experiences, Eg. This explains how animals learnt to hunt and escape being hunted

Question 13

What issue can be applied to Pavlov’s research

Answer 13

Animal studies

Question 14

What can the negative EVA of animal studies be applied to

Answer 14

• Behaviourist approach
• Pavlov (1927) /Skinner (1955)
• Animal studies of attachment- Lorenz/Harlow

Question 15

Outline operant conditioning

Answer 15

The idea of learning through consequences, proposed by Skinner (1938) who was influenced by Thorndike (1905)

Question 16

Outline Skinner (1938)

Answer 16

• Aimed to administer a reward after an animal performed a desired behaviour to determine how long it would take the animal to start performing said behaviour

• ‘Skinner’s box’ contained a response lever that prompted the release of a food pellet as well as loudspeakers and lights to act as visual and auditory signals and cues.
• The floor was metal and could be electrified to administer electric shocks. Actions to avoid shocks would be negatively reinforced

• Skinner found when a rat realised it received a food pellet by pulling a leaver, the rat kept doing it due to positive reinforcement. Pressing the lever became a learned behaviour due to continuous reinforcement

• Voluntary behaviour is affected by consequences of previous behaviour

Question 17

Supporting EVA for Skinner (1955) and the Behaviourist approach

Answer 17

• Practical Applications of Token Economy Programmes (TEPs) use positive reinforcement to modify behaviour in a closed setting (eg. Hospitals/prisons)
• Hobbs and Holt (1976) showed TEPs work to reduce antisocial behaviour in a juvenile detention centre
• TS has positive wider application to society showing the value of psychological research

Question 18

Explain positive reinforcement and provide an example

Answer 18

• Behaviours more likely to occur due to positive consequences

• Cleaning your room as a child with the incentive of extra TV time

Question 19

Explain negative reinforcement and provide an example

Answer 19

• Behaviours more likely to occur because of avoidance of negative consequences

• Army personnel follow strict rules to avoid disciplinary action

Question 20

Explain punishment and provide an example

Answer 20

• Behaviours less likely to occur because of negative consequences

• Speeding down a motor way may lead to a monetary fine

Question 21

Identify 7 extra types of reinforcement

Answer 21

1. Primary reinforcement
2. Secondary reinforcement
3. Continuous reinforcement
4. Fixed interval reinforcement
5. Variable interval reinforcement
6. Fixed ratio reinforcement
7. Variable ration reinforcement

Question 22

Briefly outline Thorndike (1905)

Answer 22

Thorndike put forward a ‘law of effect’ stating any behaviour followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated and any followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to stop

Question 23

What’s a negative of the Behaviourist approach

Answer 23

The use of animal studies

Question 24

Outline Social Learning Theory (SLT)

Answer 24

• Pioneered by Albert Bandura who agreed with behaviourists in that behaviour’s learned through direct experience (CC & OC) but proposes that people also learn through observation and imitation of models

• Key research comes from Bandura (1961)

Question 25

Identify the assumptions of Social Learning Theory (SLT)

Answer 25

• The first principle of behaviour is that all is learned from the environment

• Behaviours learned by consequence and association (OC/CC) and from observing role models through vicarious reinforcement and mediation processes

• No regard for genetics having an influence of behaviour

• SLT’s not strictly behaviourist as it considers cognitive processes as well as behaviour

Question 26

Identify the stances of SLT

Answer 26

• Soft Determinist
-Behaviours controlled by mediational processes
however individuals can freely choose what
information they attend to

• Nurture perspective
-Behaviours learnt via operant and classical
conditioning

• Reductionist
-Shares elements of behaviourist and cognitive
approaches

• Nomothetic
-Attempts to establish general laws of behaviour
(Eg. Vicarious reinforcement)

• Mostly Scientific
-Establishes scientific methods (Eg. Bandura’s
bobo doll), however, it considers mediational
processes which can’t be directly observed

Question 27

Outline Bandura’s (1961) social cognitive theory

Answer 27

• Bandura is not considered behaviourist as his theory considers cognitive processes, which challenges Skinner’s idea that reward and punishment will automatically influence behaviour

• Reinforcement can serve an informative role and we learn behaviour vicariously through observing the consequences of someone else (the role model) and receiving indirect reinforcement

• Whether learning takes place depends on four factors:
1. Modelling
2. Imitation
3. Identification
4. Vicarious Reinforcement

Question 28

Outline the factors that affect learning in Bandura’s (1961) social cognitive theory

Answer 28

1. Modelling
   • Models provide examples of behaviour that can be observed and later reproduced. They can be live (eg. parent/teacher) or symbolic (eg. someone portrayed in media)
2. Imitation
   • Whether imitation of behaviour occurs is dependant on mediational processes
3. Identification
   • The extent to which an individual relates to a model, depending on factors such as gender, ethnicity and higher status
   • Shutts et al (2010) suggests children are more likely to identify and potentially learn from models who’re similar to them, particularly same sex models
4. Vicarious Reinforcement
   • Individuals don’t need to directly experience consequences to learn behaviour, they can observe a model and adjust their behaviour

Question 29

Supporting EVA for Bandura (1961) and his social cognitive theory

Answer 29

Bandura and Walters (1963) stated children who observed a model rewarded for aggressive behaviour were more likely to imitate them than children who observed the model being punished

Question 30

Outline Bandura (1961)

Answer 30

• Aimed to investigate if social behaviours (i.e. aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation

• They pre-tested 36 boys and 36 girls for aggression levels on a scale of 1-5 and used a matched pairs design so children were grouped similarly.
• Two adults (M+F) acted as models. Half the group observed an aggressive model and the other half a non-aggressive model, they were further subdivided based on whether the model was the same gender as the participants
• The children were exposed to a model playing with a ‘Bobo doll’, left in the room alone for 20minutes and rated based on the extent they imitated the behaviour

• Children who observed the aggressive model were more aggressive and were more likely to imitate same-sex models, especially the boys.

• Concluded children are able to learn social behaviour from observation as they were more likely to imitate behaviour they’d seen so vicarious reinforcement had an effect

Question 31

Outline mediational processes

Answer 31

• Bandura (1961) proposed mediational processes which are cognitive processes prior to imitation that are used because we don’t automatically observe a models behaviour (stimulus) and imitate it (response). They include:

1. Attention:
   Behaviour must grab our attention as we see lots of behaviour daily, most of which isn’t noteworthy
2. Retention:
   A memory must be formed as much of social learning isn’t immediate
3. Reproduction:
   Not all behaviours possible to imitate, we must not be limited by physical ability or skillset
4. Motivation:
   Following punishment and reward are considered by the observer, if reward outweighs the cost, behaviour may be imitated

Question 32

Outline the cognitive approach

Answer 32

• The first cognitive school was opened in 1959 by Ulric Neisser, signalling the start of the cognitive psychology movement that believes we must refer to thought processes in order to explain behaviour

• Key research comes from Bartlett (1932)

Question 33

Assumptions of the cognitive approach (3)

Answer 33

• Thought processes can be studied scientifically, argues introspection is unscientific

• The mind works like a computer where we get input from our senses which we process and produce an output such as language/ behaviour

• Stimulus and response is appropriate

Question 34

Stances of the cognitive approach

Answer 34

1. Soft Determinist
   - Behaviour is controlled by mediational
   processes but individuals can choose what
   information they attend to
2. Interactionist perspective (N-N)
   - Behaviours the product of information
   processing and modified by experience
3. Environmentally Reductionist
   - Behaviours investigated in terms of isolated
   variables (such as short term memory and long
   term memory)
4. Nomothetic
   - Attempts to establish general laws of cognition
   but utilises an idiographic approach with case
   studies (eg. KF/HM)
5. Mostly Scientific
   - Utilises scientific methods of investigation
   however researchers are unable to directly
   observe cognitive processes

Question 35

Outline schema

Answer 35

• Schema are a cognitive framework or concept about a person or situation formed through experience that helps an individual organise and interpret information and understand and predict the world around them

• Schema are unique and dependant on the individual and their personal experiences. They allow us to quickly process information and prevent us from being overwhelmed by too many environmental stimuli

• Bugelski and Alampay (1962) showed two groups a sequence of pictures of either faces or animals before showing them an ambiguous figure called ‘Rat-man’.
• Those shown pictures of animals were more likely to perceive a rat and those shown faces were more likely to perceive a man

Question 36

Outline Bartlett’s (1932) war of ghosts study

Answer 36

• Schema are often affected by culture and Bartlett (1932) found individuals’ memories became distorted when exposed to information taht didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint

• Bartlett investigated the serial reproduction of a Navajo-Indian story by 20 Western student participants, finding they actively amended information to fit their personal schemas and beliefs (eg. ‘Seal hunting’ became ‘fishing’)

• Details of the story were changed to fit a western cultural viewpoint showing schemas are affected by culture

Question 37

Outline the information processing model

Answer 37

• The information processing model is the main example of theoretical and computer models and is a linear model stating the mind can be compared to a computer during information processing:

• Input: comes from environmental via the sense and is encoded by the individual
• Processing: once encoded the information can be processed (eg. schemas)
• Output: behavioural response emitted following the process

Question 38

Compare and contrast the mind and a computer

Answer 38

Similarities
• Process information
• Recieve input and produce an output (stimulus
and response)
• Have memory

Differences
• Computers have limited storage, the mind’s
capacity is unlimited
• Emotions can affect the response of the mind

Question 39

Define cognitive neuroscience

Answer 39

The main focus is to look for a biological basis to thought processes, specifically at how neurones explain those processes

Question 40

Identify and explain uses of cognitive neuroscience

Answer 40

• Mapping brain areas to cognitive functioning (eg. Broca’s area responsible for speech production)

• Brain activity that underpins thought can be investigated by scanning techniques such as PET and fMRI that can systematically observe neurological basis of mental processes (e.g. left side of prefrontal cortex is for semantic ltm and the right side is for episodic ltm

• Neurological basis of mental disorders (eg. Link between parahippicampal gyrus and OCD and increased levels of dopamine and schizophrenia)

Question 41

Weakness of the cognitive approach

Answer 41

• The cognitive approach has machine reductionism

• Despite similarities between human mind and computers, the computer analogy ignores the influence of human emotion and schemas and how this affects our ability to process information.

• Research suggests human memory can be altered by schemas and beliefs (Bartlett, 1932)

• TIAPB cognitive approach doesn’t explain human behaviour all factors that may have an impact

• TS the cognitive approach views people as mechanistic and ignores human emotion, questioning it’s ability to accurately assess behaviour (decreasing V)

Question 42

Identify the assumptions of the Biological Approach

Answer 42

• Behaviour is rooted in the physiology and biology of the body and is predetermined by biological factors including genes, neurotransmitters, biological structures and the process of evolution

• Examines the processes that occur and looks at how that may affect an individual

• Genes dictate behaviour which evolves in the same way as physical characteristics through evolutionary adaptation

Question 43

Identify the stances of the Biological Approach

Answer 43

• Biologically determinist
-Behaviour is controlled by internal biological
factors e.g. genes, hormones etc.

• Nature perspective
-Behaviour is the result of innate biological
factors e.g. genes, hormones etc.

• Biologically reductionist
-Behaviour is broken down into biological
structures/processes, ignoring the whole

• Nomothetic
-Universal laws of behaviour are made as
humans share similar physiology. Lab
experiments can be used to generate
quantitative data to make generalisations

• Scientific
-Promotes scientific methods of investigation e.g.
brain scans

Question 44

Outline the influence of genes on behaviour

Answer 44

• A genotype is the innate genetic makeup of an individual containing their unique (except twins) genetic code inherited from biological parents.

• 23 chromosome pairs is a typical chromosome type, but atypical chromosome types can cause maladaptive behaviour or differences in physical and cognitive functioning.

• A phenotype is the characteristics shown by a person in their physical appearance that have occurred during interaction of their genes and environment

• Physical characteristics such as height are determined by genotype but only in terms of the maximum height an individual can reach. Environmental factors such as nutrition affect how likely the person is to reach that height

Question 45

Explain how we test the influence of genes on behvaiour

Answer 45

• Twin studies can use Monozygotic twins (Mz), who are 100% genetically similar and Dizygotic twins (Dz), who are 50% genetically similar so Mz twins are more likely to have the same disorders/behaviours.

• The concordance rate (likelihood of both individuals developing the disorder or showing similar behaviours) is higher in Mz twins so genes do play a part, but concordance rates aren’t 100% so external factors and genes interact to cause a disorder.

Question 46

Outline the influence of biological strctures on behaviour

Answer 46

• The Human nervous system is a body wide system of nerve cells that collects information from the environment, processes it and incites a response from body organs and muscles through the transmission of electrochemical messages that’s broken into the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.
• Neurones are nerve cells that transmit information between the nervous system and can be sensory, relay or motor neurones

• The Endocrine system is a collection of glands around the body that regulate bodily functions, growth and psychological factors by releasing chemical messengers called hormones into the bloodstream
• Levels of hormones in the body can affect behaviour, e.g. increased testosterone leads to increased aggression and the most important gland is the pituitary (master) gland that stimulates other glands to secrete hormones and is controlled by the hypothalamus

Question 47

Outline the influence of neurochemistry on behaviour

Answer 47

Hormones are chemicals that travel through the blood. In the brain, transmission of chemicals happens via cerebral fluid. Such substances affect our behaviour, for example high levels of dopamine have been linked with schizophrenia

Question 48

Outline evolution

Answer 48

• Evolution of human behaviour is thought to develop in the same way as physical characteristics around the idea of adaptiveness

• A mutation is random change in an individuals genetic make-up that causes a characteristic or behaviour. If this decreases the chance of survival and reproduction, the gene isn’t passed on but if it increases the chances of reproduction and survival then the gene is passed on and has been adaptive for the individual. This process takes many generations

• An example is aggression. Aggression is widespread in animal behaviour and is adaptive as it can increase survival rates, protecting territory and looking more attractive to mates, increasing chances of reproduction. There’s research into a genetic basis for aggression in the form of the MAOA (warrior) gene which is found in one third of men (Lea et al, 2005)

Question 49

Identify the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 49

• The driving force behind our behaviour is in the unconscious mind

• We’re driven by instinct to go through a series of stages in development of our behaviour and personality

• Early childhood experiences are believed to be pivotal to making us the person we are. Most of our psychological development is argued to be prior to the age of 6

Question 50

Identify the stances of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 50

• Psychic determinism
-Behaviour is determined by unconscious drives
and early childhood experiences

• Mostly nature perspective
-Behaviour is the product of innate drives (e.g.
ID), but it is shaped by early childhood
experiences

• Reductionism and Holism
-Behaviour is reduced to innate drives (e.g. ID)
however it takes into account all aspects of
human behaviour

• Nomothetic and Idiographic
-Attempts to establish general laws in relation to
innate drives, while considering unique
experience during childhood

• Not scientific
-Examines many concepts/theories that can’t be
empirically tested (e.g. ID). Therefore an
idiographic approach is taken that relies on
subjective interpretation

Question 51

Outline the role of the unconscious in the psychodynamic approach

Answer 51

• The conscious mind is the part of the mind we can access

• The pre-conscious mind is made up of thoughts that may surface at any time into the conscious

• The unconscious mind is the part we cannot control or access. Traumatic memories remain here and don’t surface easily.

Question 52

Outline the structure of personality in the psychodynamic approach

Answer 52

• Explains personality as three ‘principles’ that are shaped through experience and much of our behaviour is caused by conflict between the three

• Freud suggested we all have these three characters in our mind at the same time and if they’re unbalanced they can cause anxiety and lead to mental abnormality

• The ID is referred to as the pleasure principle and develops from birth to 18 months. It’s a dominant force that seeks pleasure no matter the cost and is selfish and self-indulgent (“I want it and I want it now”

• The superego is referred to as the morality principle and develops at 3-6 years as children become socialised into the moral standards of their culture. It represents the conscious and is uptight, follows rules rigidly, worries constantly and wants to be in control.

• The ego is referred to as the reality principle and develops at 18 months to 3 years. It’s considerate and realistic and the other two parts of the personality are always in conflict and therefore need to be managed by the rational ego

Question 53

Outline defence mechanisms

Answer 53

• Methods we use unconsciously to reduce anxiety. Anxiety weakens the influence of the ego that needs to be strong to mediate the ID and superego and defence mechanisms are therefore argued to be helpful

• Anna Freud described ten defence mechanisms in her book, including:

1. Repression is when unpleasant memories are pushed into the unconscious mind where they’re not accessible and cannot cause anxiety. However they do still affect behaviour from the unconscious mind but cause no recall of the vent or situation
2. Denial is refusal to accept the reality of an unpleasant situation, reducing anxiety. Some may believe the situation isn’t negative and shouldn’t cause anxiety, this is not positive thinking but merely a resistance to accept reality
3. Displacement is the focus of string emotion expressed onto a neutral person or object, reducing anxiety by allowing expression of that emotion. Someone may exhibit strong emotion but focus it onto an uninvolved person or object

Question 54

Outline Freud’s psychosexual stages

Answer 54

• Freud believed personality developed through a sequence of five psychosexual stages centred around the idea that the most important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy (libido) at different parts of the body at each stage.
• Freud said individual’s tense experiences were a result of built up sexual energy and that pleasure comes from its discharge. The stages include:
1. Oral stage
2. Anal stage
3. Phallic stage (Oedipus and Electra complexes)
4. Latent stage
5. Genital stage

Question 55

Describe the oral stage of development

Answer 55

• The child enters the oral stage at birth for pleasure and gratification at the mouth. A child will get pleasure from biting and sucking (oral activities)

• Children can be orally passive, where pleasure mostly comes from sucking and swallowing e.g. during breastfeeding and tend to be dependant, passive and gullible. They can also be orally aggressive where pleasure comes from biting and chewing e.g. teething and tend to be aggressive and express this verbally and physically, dependant on the mother-child relationship

• If a child is weened too late, early or feeding patterns are irregular they can become fixated. Oral fixation has an unconscious effect on personality and makes people sarcastic, critical, smoke, bite fingernails and chew pens

Question 56

Describe the anal stage of development

Answer 56

• At 18 months old the libido shifts to the anus and pleasure comes from defecating, this is when children are potty trained. The anally expulsive phase is when the child’s overly keen to use the potty

• Anal fixation leads to generous people that demonstrate emotion through fits of temper. Anally retentive people are organised, neat, obsessive, perfectionist and reluctant to spend money

Question 57

Describe the phallic stage of development

Answer 57

• At three years old, pleasure shifts to the genetalia and is differentiated based on gender into two complexes. Fixation causes a phallic personality where individuals are jealous, anxious, narcissistic and reckless

• Oedipus Complex: boys experience intense sexual feelings towards their mother and see their father as a rival who threatens them leading to castration anxiety.
• To combat this, boys imitate their father too befriend him and reduce anxiety. Through identification, the boy then sees his father as an ally reducing castration anxiety and resolving the Oedipus complex.
• Freud said if the mother was a single parent the child would grow up homosexual; there’s no evidence to support this.

• Electra Complex: girls realise they don’t have a penis and believe their mother’s removed it, so around the age of three they develop penis envy of males.
• When this desire isn’t fulfilled, it’s expressed as a desire for a baby and the girl desires her father similarly to boys with their mothers and go through the identification process in the same way

Question 58

Describe the latent stage of development

Answer 58

Around the age of six, libidos displaced through the body. This is a calm time in development either no complexes to resolve or pleasure foci in the body. The child is essentially just a child.

Question 59

Describe the genital stage of development

Answer 59

• The libido returns to being focused on the genital sand stays there for life. Everyone reaches this stage and from here the child becomes an adult

• Fixation in the first three stages have an enduring effect on the adult personality

Question 60

Outline Freud (1909)

Answer 60

• The case study of ‘Little Hans’ who’s father was a supporter and referred him to Freud when his son developed a phobia of white horses and being bitten by them which was generalised to carts and buses. He also developed an interest in his ‘widdler’ and started to masturbate.

• Freud conducted a longitudinal case study of Hans’ fear from age 3 to 5

• Freud believed Hans was experiencing the Oedipus complex and was subconsciously scared of his father which was manifested in a fear of horses, particularly those with dark around their mouths (representing his fathers beard) and blinkers (representing glasses). His obsession with his ‘widdler’ was a sign of being in the Phallic stage of development and experiencing the Oedipus complex

• Freud concluded that phobias are caused by unconscious anxiety being displaced into harmless external objects
• Hans is an example of unconscious determinism which suggests people aren’t aware of the causes of their behaviour
• Freud claimed that psychoanalysis was an effective treatment for Little Hans because it identifies the unconscious cause of abnormality which is then brought into the conscious to be discussed and resolved

Question 61

Outline the Humanistic approach

Answer 61

Referred to as the ‘third force’ that emerged in late 1950s America as a reaction to the two main views at the time: the Freudian perspective and the Behaviourist perspective

• Carl Rogers (1961) and Abraham Maslow (1970) disagreed with these perspectives and brought about the Humanistic approach

• Existential philosophy addresses many questions that became cornerstones of humanism such as the meaning of our existence, the role of free will and the uniqueness of individuals.
• Existentialists such as Rollo May focused on existential anxiety; the feeling of dread associated with the realisation there’s no meaning to life

Question 62

Identify the assumptions of the humanistic approach

Answer 62

• Every person has active agency and so can change their actions and environment and decide on their own development. This means they’re responsible for their own actions and personal growth

• All people have free will and behaviour isn’t determined by unconscious forces or stimulus-response sequences

• People must be viewed holistically with a focus on the whole person instead of reducing behaviour and thought to smaller elements

• Takes an idiographic approach, assuming everyone is unique and psychology should focus on people’s subjective feelings and thoughts

Question 63

Identify the stances of the humanistic approach

Answer 63

• Free will
-Humans control their own environment and are
capable of change

• Mostly nurture
-Humans have an innate drive to self actualise
however the environment shapes this journey

• Holism
-Focuses on understanding all aspects of human
experience and interaction

• Idiograohic
-Focuses on subjective human experience and
makes no attempt to create general laws

• Not scientific
-Rejects scientific methods and is therefore
unable to provide empirical evidence

Question 64

Outline Carl Rogers’ role in the Humanistic approach

Answer 64

• Roger’s work focused on the selves of individuals. The self concept is the self you feel you are, it’s similar to self-esteem and affected by it. The ideal self is the self you wish to be and the real self is the person you actually are and is difficult to know.

• The role of humanistic psychology is to reduce the differences between these three selves and bring about congruence which is crucial to becoming self actualised. A big gap means the individual is more likely to develop psychological problems

Question 65

Outline Abraham Maslow’s role in the Humanistic approach

Answer 65

• Proposed the Hierarchy of needs that suggests in order to achieve self actualisation you must go through a series of stages including:

1. Physiological needs (e.g. food and water)
2. Safety (e.g. health)
3. Belonging (e.g. friendship, love and intimacy)
4. Esteem needs (e.g. independence and
   confidence)
5. Self actualisation (e.g. morality and acceptance)

• They’re met in the order presented and if the first need isn’t met, the others can’t be fulfilled.

Question 66

Outline Therapy in the Humanistic approach

Answer 66

• Rogers and Maslow were both therapists and the Freudian model was popular at the time, viewing the therapist as the expert who told the client the problem.

• Rogers stated people are essentially good and will grow psychologically if given unconditional positive regard (unconditional love). He proposed client-centred therapy where the client is responsible for the therapeutic direction. This enables self-exploration (through paraphrasing and reflection of feelings) and becoming fully functioning

• Roger’s described the fully functioning person as an ideal for a healthy personality and saw anxiety as resulting from our inability to incorporate information thats inconsistent with our self image. He stated in order to function properly a person must understand y the constraints of free will (e.g. other people desires or societal laws) and learn to live with them

Question 67

Outline self-actualisation

Answer 67

• Every person has an innate tendency to achieve their full potential. This can be achieved in different ways by different people (e.g. religious devotion or writing poetry)

• Rogers and Maslow both emphasised personal growth, Rogers called this ‘becoming fully functioning’ and Maslow referred to this idea as ‘self actualisation’