Approaches Key Terms

Question 1

Bandura

Answer 1

Bandura invented Social Learning Theory and conducted experiments into observational learning via the Bobo doll.

Question 2

Behaviourist approach (Pavlov and Skinner)

Answer 2

Behaviour can be explained through learning. Therefore, behaviourists study changes in behaviour that are caused by a person’s direct experience of the environment, using principles of operant and classical conditioning. This means that behaviourists are determined to be scientific and will disregard mental processes, as they cannot be observed/studied objectively.

Question 3

Biological approach

Answer 3

Behaviour can be explained through biological processes (e.g. genes, hormones and neurotransmitters). Therefore, biological psychologists believe that the brain and the mind are identical and that biochemical imbalances can affect behaviour, using scientific methods (e.g. EEGs) to further examine this.

Question 4

Biological structures

Answer 4

In relation to the biological approach, biological structures are organs (e.g. the brain) and systems (e.g. the nervous system) that influence human behaviour.

Question 5

Classical conditioning (Pavlov)

Answer 5

A type of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex response is associated with a new stimulus. This association is built when new stimulus is presented at the same time as another stimulus that already produces the desired response. After the two have been presented together for a number of times, the new stimulus produces the desired response, even in the absence of the original stimulus.

Question 6

Cognitive approach

Answer 6

Behaviour can be explained through our internal mental processes. Thus cognitive psychologists assume that the mind actively processes information from our senses as they believe that humans are data processing systems and that the workings of a computer and the human mind are alike.

Question 7

Congruence (Rogers)

Answer 7

This refers to a state in which a person’s ideal self and actual self are consistent/similar. However, Rogers felt that is was rare for a complete sense of congruence to exist and that all people experience a certain amount of incongruence.

Question 8

Defence mechanisms (Freud)

Answer 8

This refers to the unconscious strategies used by the ego to manage anxiety. For example, repression (burying an unpleasant thought or desire in the unconscious) and displacement (directing emotions away from their source or target and towards other things).

Question 9

Ego (Freud)

Answer 9

According to Freud’s tripartite theory of personality, the ego is the part of our personality that acts rationally, balancing the id and the superego. It develops at 2-4 years old and acts according to the ‘reality principle’.

Question 10

Evolution (Darwin)

Answer 10

This refers to the gradual changes in an inherited characteristic of a species over many generations. Darwin explained this in terms of ‘survival of the fittest’, meaning that any characteristic or behaviour that increases the chance of survival and/or reproduction would be passed on to future generations.

Question 11

Humanistic psychology

Answer 11

Behaviour is a result of how humans are self-determining and have free will. Thus humanistic psychologists have focused on providing therapeutic treatments that will help individuals discover their own solutions within a warm, supportive and non-judgemental environment, further promoting their use of free will and ability to self-determine.