Approaches (paper 2)

Question 1

What are the approaches to explain behaviour?

Answer 1

-biological
-learning
-cognitive
-psychodynamic
-humanist

Question 2

What are the four main goals of psychology?

Answer 2

1-Description: ‘what’ occurred
2-Explanation: ‘why’ it occurred
3-Prediction: identify conditions that may been the cause
4-Change: apply knowledge to prevent unwanted behaviour and bring desired change

(Applies to behaviour/thoughts etc)

Question 3

What is introspection?

Answer 3

The first systematic experiment attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images, and sensations

•in exam specify thoughts, feelings and sensations

Question 4

What did William Wundt do?

Answer 4

-moved psychology away from philosophy to scientific
-used introspection; people looking into their own mental/emotional states to gain knowledge on themself
-1879 opened the ‘institute for experimental psychology’ first psychology lab in Germany
-Known as ‘the father of psychology’
-paved the way for cognitive psychologists

•refer to specific dates and places
•specify cognitive psychologists

Question 5

What are the criticisms of introspection?

Answer 5

-Watson criticised introspection as it was too subjective as it varied amongst individuals
-cannot be observed
-He suggested scientific psychology should only study what could be observed and measured. (This birthed the behaviourist approach which focused in the scientific process (lab experiments with control, reliability and validity)

Question 6

Who is Sigmund Freud?

Answer 6

The founder of the psychodynamic approach (theories with emphasis on individual change/development). He argues behaviour is cause by psychological factors.

Question 7

What are Freud’s basic assumptions?

Answer 7

1-the unconscious mind is thought to drive behaviour
2-instincts are thought to motivate behaviour
3-early childhood experiences make us who we are

Question 8

What was Freud’s structure of personality?

Answer 8

1-Id (instinctive)
2-Ego (reality)
3-Superego (morality)

Question 9

What is the Id?

Answer 9

-present at birth and forms over first 18 months
-Primitive part of personality; operates on pleasure principle (gets what it wants)
-entirely selfish and demands instant gratification of its needs

•state pleasure principle

Question 10

What is the ego?

Answer 10

-develops between 18 months and 3 years
-operates on reality principle and mediates between the id and superego (reduces conflict for both demands)
-this occurs through defence mechanisms which protect ego to make sure neither force is dominant

•state reality principle

Question 11

What is the superego?

Answer 11

-develops between 3-6 years and forms at the end of the phallic stage
-internalised sense of right and wrong, operates on morality principle
-it represents the morality of same sex parent and punishes ego for wrongdoing

•state morality principle

Question 12

What are the ego’s defence mechanisms?

Answer 12

-distort reality to reduce anxiety (because anxiety weakens the ego so it cannot mediate)
-methods of defence mechanisms:
1-repression (blocking out unpleasant memories)
2-denial (refusal to accept reality)
3-displacement (redirecting emotions from trie source to substitute)

Question 13

What does Freud say is the structure of mind?

Answer 13

1-Conscious mind: small amount of mental activity we know about (eg thoughts/perceptions etc)
2-Precocious mind: memories we are aware of if we tried (eg fear/desire etc)
3-Unconscious mind: memories we aren’t aware of (eg shameful or traumatic experiences)

Question 14

What is the role of our unconscious mind according to Freud?

Answer 14

The unconscious mind contains threatening/disturbing memories that have been repressed.
The unconscious mind is thought to show in our behaviour:
-Freudian slip
-creativity
-dreams
-neurotic symptoms (anxiety/jealousy)

Question 15

What did Freud say about the psychosexual stages?

Answer 15

-instincts drive our conscious mind (so dictates the stages we experience)
-underlying drive is pleasure from release of energy due to build up of sexual energy
-how this manifests depends on the stage the child is at
-each stage is marked by a conflict the child must solve to move onto next stage
-strict parenting vs overindulgence in each stage can cause fixation so the the behaviour can carry i to adult life

Question 16

What are the psychosexual stages and their focus if pleasure?

Answer 16

1-Oral: 0-1years, focus is the mouth, mothers breast is object of desire
2-Anal: 1-3years, focus is the anus, child gains pleasure from withholding/expelling feces
3-Phallic: 3-5years, focus is the genital area, child experiences the oedipus or electra complex
4-Latency: earlier conflicts are repressed
5-Genital: sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty

Question 17

What are the issues in adult hood from fixation on the psychosexual stages?

Answer 17

1-Oral fixation: smoking, biting nails, sarcasm, critical
2-Anal fixations:
Anal retentive: perfectionist/obsessive
Anal expulsive: thoughtless/messy
3-Phallic personality: narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual
4-no latency fixation
5-Genital fixation: difficulty forming heterosexual relationships

Question 18

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 18

-in the phallic stage little boys develop incestuous feelings for their mother and murderous hatred for their father (their rival for mother’s love)
-fearing their father will castrate them they repress their love for their mother and identify with their father, taking on gender role and moral values

Question 19

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 19

-girls of the same age experience penis envy; they desire their father as the penis is the primary love object and they hate their mother
-although Freud was less clear on the process in girls, they are thought to give up the desire for the father over time and replace it with desire for a baby, therefore identify with their mother in the process

Question 20

Explain why a limitation of Wundt’s research is that it was not observable?

Answer 20

-introspection focused on non-observable behaviour
-participants had to report on memory/ perception
-memory/perception aren’t observable
-this reduces reliability of Wundt’s research

Question 21

Why has Freud’s psychodynamic approach been criticised? (Not pseudoscience reason)

Answer 21

-theory is based on the intensive study of single individuals (such as Little Hans who were often in therapy)
-questions the accuracy of the theory and approach as the findings may not be true for everyone
-limits usefulness it is when explaining human behaviour
-approach is deterministic, suggests all human behaviour is caused by the unconscious that we cant control
-this removes notion if free will, means we cant be held accountable for behaviour as society wants

Question 22

How has the psychodynamic approach influenced psychology?

Answer 22

-used to explain wide range of phenomena (eg abnormal behaviour and personality development)
-has practical application, Freud developed psychoanalysis (involves a techniques to access the unconscious)
-psychoanalysis is used to treat many patients with mental health problems (approach has led to development of effective therapy; some suggest the unconscious effects thoughts, feelings and behaviour)

Question 23

Why can’t the psychodynamic approach be falsified (disproved)?

Answer 23

-his theories of the unconscious are near to impossible to test
-so its classed as pseudoscience

Question 24

What is the behaviourist approach and its assumptions?

Answer 24

-its a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning

Assumptions
-all behaviour is learnt from experience (humans are tabular rasa, blank slate), learnt through operant and classical conditioning
-only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed/measured
-uses lab experiments to try gain more control and objectivity
-basic processes can govern learning are the same for all species (so humans can be replaced by animals for testing purposes)

Question 25

What is classical conditioning?
How dis Pavlov investigate it?

Answer 25

-first demonstrated by Pavlov, who proved that a neutral stimulus that does not produce a response, could be conditioned to draw the same reaction as a natural stimulus.
-dog food causes dog to salivate (unconditioned response)
-bell (neutral stimulus) rang whilst dog food (unconditioned stimulus) is given to eventually create a conditioned stimulus
-now when bell is rang dog salivates (conditioned response) even without presence of dog food

Question 26

What is operant conditioning?
How fid Skinner investigate it?

Answer 26

3 types of behaviour consequences:
-positive reinforcement: receive award for desired behaviour (praise)
-negative reinforcement: avoid unpleasant stimulus (hand in work so avoid detention)
-punishment: unpleasant result of undesired behaviour (getting yelled at)

-proved by Skinner used skinner’s box
PR; rewarding rat with food pellet when they press lever, after many repetitions rat continuously pressed it
NR; electrocuting floor of box but if rat pressed lever it would stop shocks, after many repetitions rat kept pressing lever

Question 27

What is social learning theory (SLT)?

Answer 27

-explains behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement
-suggests there must be a role model to watch behaviour and imitate
-imitation depends on reinforcement model gains (reward/punishment); if model is rewarded observer is more likely to recreate behaviour as they want the reward and vice versa
-this process is known as vicarious reinforcement; individual experiences indirect learning through some one else experiencing reinforcement

Question 28

What is the internal mediation process (relates to SLT)?

Answer 28

In order for observer to learn from model, observer must
-pay attention to behaviour
-must retain (remember) behaviour
-be able to reproduce behaviour (motor reproduction: ability to recreate behaviour eg piano)
-be motivated to perform behaviour (by vicarious reinforcement)

The learning and performance skills f the behaviour do not need to occur at the same time

Question 29

What was Bandura’s aim with his study of SLT?

Answer 29

-To demonstrate that aggression can be learned through modelling

Question 30

What was Bandura’s method?

Answer 30

-72 children aged 3 to 6 years were put into one of three groups for 10 minutes, In all groups there were equal numbers of boys and girls,
-Half saw male models and half saw female models
-Later the children were left alone in a room with a range of aggressive and non-aggressive toys including the Bobo doll, for 20 minutes

-Aggressive model: played in a room while an adult hit and shouted at a “Bobo doll”
-Non-aggressive model: played in a room while an adult played quietly with a construction set
-Control: did not see a model

Question 31

What were the findings of Babura’s research?

Answer 31

-Children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts than those in either other group. -Boys imitated same sex models more than girls
-Girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models, and more verbal aggression if they saw female models.

Question 32

What was Babura’s conclusions?

Answer 32

-Aggression can be learned through modelling

Question 33

What are the similarities between behaviourism and SLT?

Answer 33

-Both fall under the learning approaches “umbrella”.
-Both acknowledge that learning comes via experience.
-Both believe that learning can happen directly.

Question 34

What are the differences between SLT and behaviourism?

Answer 34

SLT
-learner plays an active role in their learning (eg chooses role model etc)
-difference between acquisition and performance of behaviour
-recognises that behaviours can become fixed (Bandura says they are ‘internalised’ if they are imitated and reinforced enough)
-only involves measurement of observable human behaviour (majority is done in controlled laboratory experiments)
-reinforcement is an indirect process (vicarious reinforcement) and even reinforcement they receive themselves is less direct than in Behaviourism because it is mediated by cognitive factors

BEHAVIOURISM
-assumes learner responds passively to their environment
-argues that it is only learnt if it is performed (they are the same thing)
-If Behaviourism were correct, our behaviour would constantly change in response to new reinforcement
-does not use only humans (focuses attention on other animals)
-reinforcement is more direct

Question 35

What are the ages if each psychosexual stage?

Answer 35

Oral: 0-1 years
Anal: 1-3 years
Phallic: 3-5 years
Latency: 6-12 years
Genital: puberty

Question 36

What is the cognitive approach?

Answer 36

How our mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, and attention) effect our behaviour

Question 37

What are the assumptions?

Answer 37

1) the mind actively processes information from our senses (eg touch, taste)
2) internal mental process (operations of the mind like perception or attention that meditate between stimulus and response) can and should be studied scientifically
3) meditational processes occur between stimulus and response
4) humans are informational processes like computers (information is transformed, stored and retrieved from memory)

Question 38

What is an inference?

Answer 38

The process by which cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour

Question 39

What is the role if the schema?

Answer 39

-its the cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information
-creates mental representations of our experiences
-they become more detailed and sophisticated with age (babies are born with motor schemas for innate behaviours like suckling/grasping)
-they allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting large amounts of information (this prevents being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli). But this can lead to perceptual errors and stereotypes as we make assumptions based on incomplete information.

Question 40

What are the two models used in the cognitive approach?

Answer 40

-the theoretical model
-the computer model

Question 41

What is the theoretical model?

Answer 41

Information flows through a sequence of stages (that include input, storage and retrieval)

Question 42

What is the computer model?

Answer 42

-programmes that can be ran through a computer to imitate the human mind
-by running these programmes psychologists can test if their ideas of informational processing is correct
-computation models have helped in the development of AI

Semantic coding = meanings
Acoustic coding = sounds

Question 43

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 43

-formed at MIT in 1956
-fusion of biology and cognitive approach
-scientific study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes
-neuroscientists can study the live brain (with PET scans and fMRI)
-these help them understand the neurological basis of mental processes

Question 44

Evaluate the cognitive approach

Answer 44

Strengths
-highly controlled, focus on lab experiments so lacks extraneous variables so highly vaild
-less deterministic, so is seen as more reasonable as it supports free will/free thinking before response

Limitations
-less applicable to everyday life as studies have artificial stimuli which do t reflect real life tasks so it may lack external validity
-to reductionist as it compares the mind to a computer but ignore influence of emotion and motivation on our cognitive system. The mind is more complex than a computer

Question 45

What are the assumptions of the biological approach?

Answer 45

-everything that is psychological was at first biological
-believes all our thoughts and behaviour have a physical factor
-has a focus on the genes, neurotransmitters, and our nervous system
-believes the mind lives in the brain

Question 46

What are genes?

What is a genotype?
What is a phenotype?

What do genotypes and phenotypes show about human behaviour?

Answer 46

-Carry instructions for a particular
characteristic

-Genetic code in the DNA.

-Physical appearance that results from
the inherited information (genotype +
environmental influence)

-Much of human behaviour depends
upon an interaction between
inherited factors (nature) and the
environment (nurture)

Question 47

What are the twin studies?

What are concordance rates?

Answer 47

-Comparison of MZ and DZ twins in
terms of a characteristic
-MZ share 100% of DNA
-DZ share 50% of DNA

-The extent to which both twins share the same characteristic
-If MZ twins have a higher concordance rates than DZ twins It suggests the characteristic being
investigated has a genetic basis.

Question 48

What is evolution?

What is natural selection?

What happens as result of natural

Answer 48

-The change in the characteristics of a
species over several generations.

-Genetically determined behaviour
that enhances an individual’s survival
and reproduction will continue in
further generations.

-They “die”

Question 49

Evaluate the biological approach

Answer 49

Strengths
-range of scientific methods, focus on lab experiments, high control of extraneous variables so high validity
-successfully been used to treat psychological disorders, real life application to improve life

Limitations
-reductionist, breaks done behaviour to genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters but ignores cognitive and environmental factors
-discovers association between two factors and assumes one factor cause the other which may not be true
-deterministic, implies lack of free will which means we cant be held accountable for our actions

Question 50

What are the two types of determinism?

Answer 50

hard determinism:
-implies that free will is not possible as our behaviour is always controlled by internal/external events out of our control

Soft determinism:
-the idea that all behaviour has causes but we make conscious choices about our behaviour within certain limits

Question 51

What are the assumptions of the humanistic approach?

Answer 51

-emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each persons capacity for self determination
-we are active agents which have the ability to determine out own developments (free will)
-rejects scientific models that establish general principles of behaviour
-psychology should study the subjective experience
-often referred to as a person centered approach

Question 52

What is self actualisation and who researched it?

Answer 52

-the desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one’s full potential

-it emerged from the work of Maslow and Rogers in 1950s US

Question 53

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 53

-five levelled hierarchy sequence

1) physiological needs (food, water, sleep, oxygen)
2)Safety needs (security, protection, stability, freedom of fear)
3)Belonging needs (need for friends, intimate relationships, love)
4)Self-esteem needs (self-respect, status, recognition)
5)Self-actualisation needs (realising full potential)

-before the individual can work towards self-actualisation, first 4 levels must be met (known as the deficiency needs
-not everyone is able to reach self-actualisation
-Humanistic psychologists regard personal growth as an essential part of what it is to be human

Question 54

What was Roger’s theory of Self, Congruence, and Conditions of
Worth?

Answer 54

-for personal growth to be achieved an individual’s concept of the self must be congruent with their ideal self
-if a gap exists between the two ‘selves’ the person will experience a state of incongruence and self-actualisation will not be possible due to negative feelings
-many of the issues we experience as adults have their roots in childhood often explained by condition or worth

Question 55

What is client centered therapy?

Answer 55

-invented by Roger, it was developed to help people cope with problems of everyday life
-sees the individual as the expert on their own condition
-client is encouraged towards the
discovery of their own solutions with a therapeutic atmosphere
-aim is to increase the person’s feelings of self-worth, reduce the level of incongruence between the self-concept and the ideal self

Question 56

Evaluation of the humanist approach

Answer 56

Limitation
-small sample size, ideas that central to humanism (eg individual freedom/autonomy /personal growth), is more associated with individualist cultures. Collecitivist cu

Question 57

What is nature?

Answer 57

-aspects of behaviour that are inherited
-term ‘nature’ does not simply refer to abilities present at birth but to any ability determined by genes, including those that appear through maturation.

Question 58

What is nurture?

Answer 58

-aspects of behaviour that are acquired through experience
-i.e. learned from interactions with the physical and social environment.

Question 59

What is reductionism?

Answer 59

-belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.

Question 60

What is holism?

Answer 60

-theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is reductionist).

Question 61

What is determinism?

Answer 61

-The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something.

Question 62

What is free will?

Answer 62

-The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces.

Question 63

What is the idiographic approach?

Answer 63

-Derived from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning ‘private or personal’.
-The approach focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour.

Question 64

What is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 64

-Derived from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning law’.
-The approach attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws

Question 65

What is scientific methods?

Answer 65

-An objective means of testing hypotheses in order to develop empirically based explanations/theories.

Question 66

What is extrapolation?

Answer 66

-To use existing information to discover what is likely to happen or be true in the future.

Question 67

What are each of the approaches views on development?

Answer 67

Psychodynamic approach
-Development is linked to specific stages

Behaviourism
-Doesn’t offer coherent stages, but sees processes that underpin learning as continuous

Social Learning Theory
-Doesn’t offer coherent stages, but sees processes that underpin learning as continuous

Cognitive approach
-Development is linked to stages e.g. the development of schema occurs with age/experiences

Biological approach
-Maturity plays an important role as genetically determined changes influence behaviour

Humanism
-Development of the self is seen as ongoing. However, it does acknowledge the influence of childhood relationships with parents in terms of unconditioned positive regard.

Question 68

Is each approaches nature or nurture? Why?

Answer 68

Psychodynamic approach
-Both. Behaviour is driven by biological instincts, but also reflects the role of parental relationships

Behaviourism
-Nurture, babies are tabula rasa (blank slates) all behaviour is learnt

Social Learning Theory
-Nurture, babies are tabula rasa (blank slates) all behaviour is learnt

Cognitive approach
-both Schemas are innate but refined through experiences

Biological approach
Nature, but some nurture, Behaviour is result of genetic blueprint that’s inherited through genotype, Some environmental influence (phenotypes)

Humanism
-nurture
Relationships with parents and other people affect person’s self concept

Question 69

Is each approach reductionist or holistic? Why?

Answer 69

Psychodynamic approach
-Reductionism Reduces much of our behaviour to the influence of sexual drives and biological instincts (granted, the 3 aspects of personality can be a holistic view)

Behaviourism
-Reductionist Breaks up complex behaviour into stimulus-response units for ease of testing in a lab

Social Learning Theory
-Mostly reductionist Reduce behaviour to a handful of key processes ie imitation/modelling etc.

Cognitive approach
-Machine reductionism Presents people as information processing systems* and ignoring the influence of emotion

Biological approach
-Reductionist Behaviours based on biological influence

Humanism
-Holistic human behaviour, sees each person as an individual

Question 70

Is each approach deterministic or free will? Why?

Answer 70

Psychodynamic approach
-Hard determinism, Unconscious forces drive our behaviour.

Behaviourism
-Hard determinism All behaviour environmentally determined by external influences

Social Learning Theory
-Reciprocal determinism, we’re influenced by environment but also choose some behaviour

Cognitive approach
-Soft determinism Suggests that we choose own thoughts and behaviour but choices are limited by our knowledge/experiences

Biological approach
-Hard determinism Advocates genetic determinism, assumes that much of our behaviour is determined by innate influences

Humanism
-Free will, we’re active agents who determine our own development

Question 71

Is each approach idiographic or nomothetic?

Answer 71

Psychodynamic approach
-idiographic approach

Behaviourism
-nomothetic approach

Social Learning Theory
-nomothetic approach

Cognitive approach
-nomothetic approach

Biological approach
-nomothetic approach

Humanism
-idiographic approach

Question 72

Which approaches use the scientific methods?

Answer 72

Psychodynamic approach
-None scientific, based on case studies, Cannot be researched in lab/falsified

Behaviourism
-use of scientific lab experiments

Social Learning Theory
- use of scientific lab experiments e.g. Bobo dolls

Cognitive approach
-scientific experiments

Biological approach
-scientific experiments e.g. brains scanning techniques, twin studies etc

Humanism
-rejects scientific models, Based around use of case studies as a person centric approach

Question 73

Which approaches use extrapolation?

Answer 73

Psychodynamic approach
-no

Behaviourism
-Yes, behaviourists see animal and human behaviour as the same e.g. Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s

Social Learning Theory
-no

Cognitive approach
-no

Biological approach
-no

Humanism
-no

Question 74

What is each approaches explanation and treatment for atypical behaviour?

Answer 74

Psychodynamic approach
-Freud looked at issues emerging from childhood trauma
Psychoanalysis has had some success in therapy

Behaviourism
-Sees abnormality arising from faulty learning - inappropriate
patterns have been reinforced Behaviour therapies used to assist

Social Learning Theory
-Relatively little application to treatment, but principles have been applied to explain how negative behaviour might be learnt

Cognitive approach
-Cognitive therapy effective and applicable. Aims to eradicate and identify faulty thinking

Biological approach
-revolutionised the treatment of mental disorders through the development of drug therapy

Humanism
-Rogerian therapy is effective as increased self esteem with increase of personal growth