Approaches of Psychology - P2

Question 1

What were the Origins of psychology? - AO1
- give definitions

1897 –> Eve of 21st Century

Answer 1

1879 = Wilhelm Wundt’s introspection

1900s = Sigmund Freud - Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic approach (influence of unconscious mind on behaviour)

1913 = John B. Watson (‘Psychology as the behaviourist views it’) + with B.F Skinner created behaviourist approach (studying behaviour that can be observed)

1950s = Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers - Humanist approach

1950s = Cognitive approach (focused on studying how our mental processes affect behaviour, e.g. attention, thoughts, perceptions)

1960s = Albert Bandura - Social Learning Theory (the way of explaining behaviour that includes direct + indirect reinforcement. learning theory + cognitive factors)

1980s = Biological approach

Eve of 21st Century = Cognitive neuroscience (the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes)

Question 2

What method did Wilhelm Wundt use? - AO1

• Why was it/who stopped the use of it?

Answer 2

Introspection: the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images, sensations

John B. Watson discarded of this way, as he said it was ‘unscientific’

Question 3

Evaluate Wundt’s methods - AO3

Answer 3

STRENGTH
- his methods were systematic and well-controlled
- all introspections were recorded in controlled environment of lab - ensuring no extraneous variables

LIMITATION
- other aspects of his research would be considered unscientific today
- relied on participants to self-report their mental processes: subjective

Question 4

What was the behaviourist approach ? - AO1

Answer 4

• Was developed in attempt to make psychology more scientific by using highly controlled experiments, criticised earlier attempts to study internal mental processes, sees the mind as a “black box”
• it was a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

Question 5

Classical Conditioning - learning by association

What experiments where there ?

Answer 5

Learning happens when neutral stimulus (e.g. tuning fork) is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. dog food) so that eventually the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus, producing the response caused by the unconditioned stimulus

Pavlov’s Dogs (1897) - demonstrated this in dogs who would associate the sound of a bell or metronome (NS then CS) with food (UCS), and drool (R) to the CS

stimulus generalisation : conditioned response happens with similar stimuli. E.g. Watson + Rayner’s ‘Little Albert’ was classically conditioned to fear a white rat and became afraid of a dog, fur coat and Santa mask

Question 6

Operant Conditioning - learning by consequences

What experiments were there ?

Answer 6

Learning from connection between behaviours and consequences; through trial and error

B.F. Skinner (1938) - demonstrated this in rats who learnt from trial and error that pulling on a lever would release a food pellet. the lever pulling behaviour became more frequent and deliberate over time. the rats also learnt to press the lever to stop the floor of the cage being electrocuted for 30 seconds

–> Types of reinforcement:

positive reinforcement - providing a reward to strengthen the behaviour

negative reinforcement - avoiding the punishment to strengthen the behaviour

punishment - giving a punishment to weaken the behaviour

Question 7

What were the STRENGTHS of Behaviourist Approach? - AO3

Answer 7

‘Little Albert’ (Watson + Rayner) in 1920 experiment, showed fear could be a learnt response. Led to development of behavioural explanation and counter conditioning for phobias - real life application

Behaviourists use objective scientific experimental methods - systematically manipulating variables, focus on observable behaviour demonstrates cause and effect

Emergence of psychology as a science

Question 8

What were the LIMITATIONS of Behaviourist Approach? - AO3

Answer 8

mechanistic view of behaviour-ignores biology, thinking, genes,etc.

Environmentally deterministic. Behaviours result from learning from the environment, not free will. Hard determinist, no role for free will in behavioural theories

Research mainly with animals, therefore generalisation to human behaviour could be limited

Question 9

What is the Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)? - AO1

Answer 9

• A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors
• SLT agrees with behaviourist ideas that behaviour results from learnt experiences, disagrees with behaviourist approach of ignoring internal mental processes, suggesting they must be present for learning. focuses on learning taking place in a social context

Question 10

Key terms in SLT - AO1
- Imitation
- Modelling
- Identification
- Vicarious reinforcement
- Mediational processes

Answer 10

Imitation: copying the behaviour of others

Modelling: (from observers POV) imitating the behaviour of role model; (from role model’s POV) the precise demonstration of specific behaviour that may be limited by an observer

Identification: when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like their role model

Vicarious reinforcement: reinforcement that is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour; a key factor in imitation

Mediational Processes: cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response

Question 11

What happened in Bandura’s experiment? - AO1
- procedure + results

Answer 11

–> Bandura (1961) : 72 children ages 3-5, 36 boys and 36 girls, split into 3 groups of 24. children matched on levels of aggression. Groups watched videos of adults interacting aggressively or non-aggressively/neutrally with Bobo doll.

Results - Aggression was imitated in group who watched adult’s model aggression. Other groups weren’t aggressive. Effect was stronger if the adult was the same gender as child. Suggests imitation and identification

Question 12

What were the STRENGTHS of SLT - AO3

Answer 12

Banduras research used controlled variables and demonstrated behaviour was imitated

SLT’s inclusion of internal mental processes is improvement on behaviourism in explaining human behaviour

Recognises mediational processes

Can explain cultural differences in behaviour; children can learn from those around them

have been applied to a range of real world behaviours

Question 13

What were the LIMITATIONS of SLT? - AO3

Answer 13

a cause and effect relationship due to imitation in real life examples of aggression is difficult to study

SLT processes can explain the development of basic learnt behaviours (aggression), but not more abstract concepts like justice

Makes little reference to biological factors, e.g. testosterone levels in boys than girls

SLT sees behaviour as environmentally determined (nurture) but some behaviours may be innate (nature) and better explained by biological explanations or a combination of both factors

Question 14

What was the Cognitive Approach? - AO1

Answer 14

the study of how our mental processes affect behaviour

Internal mental processes: ‘private’ operations of the mind, e.g. perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response

The Cognitive Approach suggests the brain can be viewed as similar to a computer CPU and the mind as like the software that runs the CPD. Computers also have inputs like the brain has senses and the outputs like behaviour. this term is called the Computer model

Question 15

What is the role of the Schema - AO1(cognitive approach)

Answer 15

Role of Schema = Cognitive framework of how people/objects work. Formed from prior experience, these organise the large amount of new information we experience every moment and make assumptions on how to behave and think, however incorrect schema lead to stereotypes, prejudice and bias

Inferences: going beyond observed behaviour to make assumptions about the underlying structure of mental processes that resulted in that behaviour. Used as internal mental processes can’t be directly observed

Question 16

What were the STRENGTHS of the Cognitive Approach? - AO3

Answer 16

uses scientific methods - highly controlled, rigorous methods

It has practical application and made an important contribution to AI field

Cognitive principles have been applied to treatment of depression

Has improved validity of eyewitness testimony

Question 17

What were the LIMITATIONS of the Cognitive Approach? - AO3

Answer 17

focusing on interference of mental processes can occasionally suffer from being too abstract or theoretical

Research studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli (tests memory using word lists, etc.) that may not represent everyday

Based on machine reductionism; ignores influence of human emotion and motivation on cognitive system + ability to process information

Question 18

The emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience - AO1

Answer 18

Cognitive Neuroscience= the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes

the development of new brain scanning techniques such as FMRI have allowed thought processes to be linked to patterns of activity in the brain, and describe neurological basis of mental processes

Question 19

What was the biological approach? - AO1

Answer 19

A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function

• combines psychology and biology to provide psychological explanations for human behaviour
• to fully understand behaviour, we should look at biological structures and processes in the body

Question 20

What were the STRENGTHS of the Biological Approach? - AO3

Answer 20

• adopts scientific methods and largely objective; e.g. brain scanning + measuring biochemical levels - based on reliable data
• one of the most strongest supporters of nature perspective in nature vs nurture debate - its for genetic influence on behaviour
• uses real-world application; increased understanding of biochemical processes in brain which led to development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental health issues

Question 21

What were the LIMITATIONS of the Biological Approach? - AO3

Answer 21

• argued that some of explanations are too simplistic + don’t do the complexity of human behaviour justice
• doesn’t take into account that twin studies + families are exposed to same environment (could be seen as supporting nurture instead of nature)
• sometimes claims to have discovered causes when they’re only associations
• psychoactive drugs aren’t always effective in all patients, they’re revolutionised treatment for many
• it is determinist (sees human behaviour as governed by internal biological causes - no control) which is false we do have control over our behaviour

Question 22

What is PKU? - AO1
- How is it tested for

Answer 22

a rare genetic disorder - diagnosed after blood is drawn from pricking baby’s heel- which doesn’t allow people with condition to eat dairy.
this is the genotype (having PKU). the phenotype (lifestyle) is not eating dairy/ removing dairy from environment, which prevents genotype from being expressed (so no brain damage)

Question 23

How have twin studies been used in the Biological approach? - AO1

Answer 23

• used to investigate whether certain psychological characteristics have a genetic basis
• to see the effect of nature vs nurture
• they use monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins to figure out why behaviour can be similar and different
• they create concordant rates from results to figure out percentages if conditions, etc. based off genetics

Question 24

What is the influence of neurochemistry on behaviour? - AO1

Answer 24

neurochemistry = the biochemistry of central nervous system.
- hormones are the chemicals which travel through blood
- in brain, transmission of chemicals is via the cerebral fluid. these chemicals are called neurotransmitters.

Question 25

What 3 things did Sigmund Freud suggest the mind was made-up of? - AO1
- how does the unconscious mind has important influence on behaviour

Answer 25

• Conscious - What we are aware of.
• Preconscious - Thoughts we may become aware of through dreams and ‘slips of the tongue’, a.k.a ‘Freudian slips’
• Unconscious - A vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that influence our behaviour.

Question 26

What are 3 parts did Feud believe personality was made up of? - AO1

Answer 26

• Id - Primitive part of the personality operates on pleasure principle demands instant gratification.
• Ego - Works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the Id and superego.
• Superego - Internalised sense of wrong and right based on morality principle. Punishes the ego through guilt. Appears age 5.

Question 27

explain what the 5 psychosexual stages between adult personalities are. - AO1

Answer 27

Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve to move on to the next.
Any conflict that is unresolved leads to fixation, where the child becomes stuck and carries behaviours associated with the stage through to adult life.

Question 28

What are the 5 different psychosexual stages? - AO1
- how are the sequence of the five stages fixed

Answer 28

• Oral (0-1 yrs) - Pleasure focus = mouth, mother’s breast is the object of desire
• Anal (1-3 yrs) - Pleasure focus = anus, the child gains pleasure from withholding and eliminating faeces
• Phallic (3-6 yrs) - Pleasure focus = genital area
• Latency - Earlier conflicts are repressed
• Genital (puberty) - Pleasure focus = sexual desires become conscious

Question 29

What is the Oedipus complex? - AO1
- how is the Oedipus complex is a psychosexual conflict at the phallic stage

Answer 29

• in the phallic stage, little boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred for their father
• later boys repress their feelings for their mother and identify with their father, taking on his gender role and moral values
• girls of the same age experience penis envy

Question 30

What are the 3 defence mechanisms used by Ego to reduce anxiety? - AO1

Answer 30

Unconscious strategies used by the Ego, for example:
- Repression - forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
- Denial - refusing to acknowledge reality
- Displacement - transferring feelings from their true source onto a substitute target

Question 31

What is one strength of the psychodynamic approach? - AO3

Answer 31

One strength of the psychodynamic approach is, it introduced psychotherapy.
- Freud’s Psychoanalysis was the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically.
- Psychoanalysis claims to help clients deal with everyday problems by providing access to their unconscious, employing techniques such as dream analysis.
- Therefore psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern day talking therapies,e.g. counselling.

Question 32

What is a counterpoint of a strength of the psychodynamic approach? - AO3

Answer 32

• Although psychoanalysis is claimed successful for clients with mild neuroses, it is inappropriate, even harmful, for more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
• Therefore, Freudian therapy and theory may not apply to mental disorders where a client has lost touch with reality.

Question 33

What is another strength of the psychodynamic approach? - AO3

Answer 33

Another strength is the psychodynamic approach has explanatory power.
- Freud’s theory is controversial and often bizarre, but it has had a huge influence on contemporary thought.
- It has been used to explain a wide range of behaviours (moral, mental disorders) and drew attention to the influence of childhood on adult personality.
- This suggests that overall, the psychodynamic approach has had a positive influence on psychology and modern-day thinking.

Question 34

What is one limitation of the psychodynamic approach? - AO3

Answer 34

One limitation of the psychodynamic approach includes untestable concepts.
- Popper (philosopher of science) argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification in the sense that it cannot be disproved.
- Many of Freud’s concepts such as the Id or the Oedipus complex occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult, if not impossible, to test.
- This means that Freud’s ideas lack scientific rigour, the theory is pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science.

Question 35

Why is the concept of free will central in the humanistic approach? - AO1

Answer 35

• Humanistic psychologists see humans as affected by external and internal influences but self-determining (have free will)
• Psychology should concern itself with subjective experience rather than general laws as we are all unique - a person-centred approach

Question 36

What is the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs? - AO1
- what is self-actualisation

Answer 36

• In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the four lower levels ( deficiency needs such as food, water and safety) must be met before the individual (baby, child, or adult) can work towards self-actualisation - a growth need
• Self-actualisation refers to the innate tendency that each of us has to want to achieve our full potential and become the best we can possibly be

Question 37

What does the ‘self’ refer to? - AO1

Answer 37

• The self refers to the ideas and values that characterise ‘I’ and ‘me’ and includes perception of ‘what I am’ and ‘what I can do’

Question 38

What is the aim of person-centred therapy (counselling)? - AO1
- Who was Roger

Answer 38

• Rogers argued that personal growth requires an individual’s concept of self to be congruent with their ideal self
• If too big of a gap, the person will experience a state of incongruence and self-actualisation isn’t possible

Question 39

What effect do parent who impose conditions of worth have on a child? - AO1

Answer 39

• Issues such as worthlessness and low self-esteem have their roots in childhood and are due to a lack of unconditional love from our parents
• A parent who sets boundaries on their love for their child (conditions of worth) by claiming ‘I will only love you if…’ is storing up psychological problems for that child in the future

Question 40

What are 3 things a client-centred therapist must provide? - AO1
- how effective was Rogers work

Answer 40

In Rogers’ client-centred therapy (counselling) an effective therapist should provide the client with 3 things:
- Genuineness
- Empathy
- Unconditional positive regard
The aim is to increase feelings of self-worth and reduce incongruence between the self-concept and ideal self
Rogers work transformed psychotherapy. ‘Non-directive’ counselling techniques are practised, not only in clinical settings, but throughout education, health, social work and industry

Question 41

What is one strength of the humanistic approach? - AO3

Answer 41

One strength is that humanistic psychology is anti-reductionist.
- Humanistic psychologists reject any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components.
- They advocate holism - the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person (their relationships, past, present and future, etc.)
- This approach may have more validity than its alternatives by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real world context.

Question 42

What is a counterpoint of a strength of the humanistic approach? - AO3

Answer 42

• However, humanistic psychology, unlike behaviourism, has relatively few concepts that can be reduced to single variables and measured.
• This means that humanistic psychology in general is short on empirical evidence to support its claims.

Question 43

What is another strength of the humanistic approach? - AO3

Answer 43

Another strength is the approach is a positive one
- Humanistic psychologists have been praised for promoting a positive image of the human condition - seeing people as in control of their lives and having the freedom to change.
- Freud saw human beings as prisoners of their past and claimed all of us existed somewhere between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’
- Therefore, humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative.

Question 44

What is one limitation of the humanistic approach? - AO3

Answer 44

Limitation is that the approach may be guilty of cultural bias.
- Many humanistic ideas (e.g. Self actualisation) would be more associated with individualist cultures such as the United States.
- Collectivist cultures such as India, which emphasise the needs of the group, may not identify so easily with the ideas and values of humanistic psychology.
- Therefore, it is possible that the approach does not apply universally and is a product of the cultural context within which it was developed.