Paper 2 - Areas, Perspectives and Debates Flashcards
What are the assumptions of the social area
- Other people (real, implied or imagained presence) and the environment influence our behaviour and thought processes. All human behaviour occurs in a social context.
- Our relationship with others unfluence our behaviour and thought processes.
what are the key ideas and applications of the social area
- self perception - the way we judge outselves affects our behaviour but we are bad at it - we rate ourselves too positively or too negatively.
- Social perception - everybody sees the world differently. Whatever happens, we may blame ourself, others or the situation.
- Social interaction - when we do something along side others. they affect our behaviour,e.g. in a competition.
- social influence - we are influenced by the beliefs and expectations of those around us.
- conformity and obedience - how people change their thoughts or ideas to fit a group.
- Building houses in areas that will reduce crime rates.
what are the assumptions of the cognitive area ?
behaviour is caused by internal mental processes like memory and attention.
what are the key ideas and applications of the cognitive area
- the computer metaphor - humans input information, change it (code it) and store it as memory and use it in recall.
- artificial intelligence - creating machines which can solve problems in the same way the human mind does.
- cognitive behavioural therapy - aims to chnage behaviour by changing thinking patterns, e.g. positive thinking to help depression.
- improving memory - the cognitive iterview technique asks eyewitnesses to recall the event from beginning to end then end to beginning and from different perspectives to access memories in different places of the brain.
what are the assumptions of the developmental area
behaviour is caused by progression through innate stages of development.
what are the key ideas and applications of the developmental area ?
- timing - there may be key times when certain behaviours have to develop, and disruption causes long term issues.
- plasticity - how much a behaviour can chnage and adapt or how rigid it will be once developed.
- social learning theory - learning through observation and imitation.
- operant conditioning - learning through reinforcements and punishments (posiitive reinforcement and punishments).
- rating films - rating films based on aggressiveness so that children can be protected from this influence.
- aggression exposure - children should not be exposed to media aggression, sesame street is prosocial TV which was developed to help this.
what are the key assumptions of the individual differences area
individuals have unique genetic makeup, intelligence, personality and behaviour which is shaped by experience.
what are the key ideas and applications of the individual differences area ?
- evolution - we all have evolved to be genetically different in order to survive - natural selection.
- eugenics - assuming that behaviour is caused by genetics means that it can be improved by selective breeding to improve the human spceices.
- differences and commonalities - studying thr everyone is unique and things we have in common.
- psychometric testing - valid and reliable measurements of differences, e.g. IQ tests, psychopathy tests.
- Intervention - helps people ,e.g. the transporter book series teaches facial expression recognition.
- psychoanalysis - helps cure phobias by making repressed, unconscious anxieties conscious thoughts.
what are the assumptions of the biological area
behaviour is caused by physiological processes like genetics, hormones and neurochemicals which are uncontrollable.
what are the key ideas and applications of the biological area
- localisation of function
- lateralisation of the brain
- treatments can be developed for mental illness, for example depression is caused by low seretonin levels.
- brain surgery - deeper undertanding of what areas of the brain cause what behaviour allows surgeons to perform brain surgery which is more beneficial to health with less side effects
what are the assumptions of the behaviourist perspective
all humans are born as a blanc slate and we develop our personality, intelligence, characteristics and behaviour through experience.
what are the key ideas and applications of the behaviourist perspective
- classical conditioning - reflex behaviour can be conditioned by associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditional stimulus.
- operant conditioning - learning through reinforcements and punishments.
- social learning theory - learning through observation and imitation
- black box psychology - behavioursists look at stimulu which goes into the box (person) and responses which come out but not what goes on inside the box (the persons mind).
- applications - teaching children behaviours like medication and aggression.
what are the assumptions of the psychodynamic perspective
- all human behaviour is caused by conflicts and drives within the unconscious minds.
- Anatomy is destiny - personality traits are ultimately determined by your sex
what are the key ideas and applications of the psychodynamic perspective
- unconscious mind - unconscious conflicts shape our behaviour
- dream analysis - content of the unconscious mind is accessed by dream analysis.
- psychosomatic - physical symptoms are cause by problems of the mind, e.g. paralysis is caused by an emotional response to unresolved traumatic events, this can be treated by hypnosis.
- early childhoos experience - early unresolved childhoos traumatic experiences cause disturbance in adult life.
- Psychoanalysis - a talking therapy that makes repressed unconscious anxieties conscious thoughts to over come phobia and trauma.
- eros - life instinct
- thanatos - death instinct
what is the definition of the nature/nurture debate
- behaviour is caused by innate biological factors.
- behaviour is caused by experience and environmental factors.
