Paper 2 - Section 2 Approaches Flashcards
Who published the first book on psychology?
What did this achieve?
Wilhelm Wundt
Created recognition of psychology as a social science
When was the first psychology lab opened?
Where?
1879
Germany
What did Wundt focus on?
Trying to understand psychological processes of perception and sensation
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour
Psychology is a science
When we are born out mind is a blank slate (we know nothing)
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and in other animals
Behaviour is a result of stimulus and response
All behaviour is learnt from the environment
What is a stimulus?
Anything internal or external that brings about a response
Response
Any reaction in the presence of a stimulus
What is reinforcement?
The process by which a response is strengthened
(Only in terms of OC)
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
The stimulus that cause a reflex response before the conditioning
What is a conditioned response?
The stimulus which, after conditioned, causes a conditioned response.
Why do we have different approaches in psychology?
So we can view things in different ways
What is structuralism?
It is a theory of conscienceless that seeks to analyse the element of mental experiences such as sensations, mental images and feelings and how these combine to form more complex experiments
Which case study is about classical conditioning?
Little Albert
Who did the Little Albert experiment?
Watson and Rayner
When did the little Albert experiment happen?
1920
What was the method of the Little Albert experiment?
The participant was an 11 month old called little Albert
Little Albert showed no fear to white fluffy objects such as a rat or rabbits. A white rat was placed in front of him. When he reached out for it a metal bar war struck loudly behind his head.
This was repeated twice at first, then five more times a week later
What were the results of the little Albert?
When little Albert was shown a rat, he would start to cry. This also extended to other white fluffy objects, such as a white santa clause beard
What were the conclusions of the little Albert case study?
A fear response to white fluffy objects had been conditioned in little Albert, showing that abnormal behaviour can be learned
What were the positive evaluations of the Little Albert case study?
It supports Pavlov’s idea of classical conditioning
What were the negative evaluations of the little Albert case study?
Very unethical (they didn’t re condition him back)
Not everyone creates phobias after a negative situation so learning theory can’t be the full story
It was done in a laboratory so it lacks ecological validity as the situation was artificial
What are the two types of conditioning?
Classical conditioning
Operant confitioning
Which case study is about operant conditioning?
Rats showing operant conditioning
-the rats experiment-
Who did the rats experiment?
Skinner
When was the rats experiment?
1938
What was the method of the rats experiment?
Skinner created a “skinner box” in which he placed one rat at a time
Each Skinner box contained a variety of different stimuli (negative reinforcement). For example a speaker, lights, a floor which gave electrical shocks and a food dispenser which dispensed food when a lever was pressed.
A hungry rat was placed in the Skinner box
The time taken doe the rat to learn that pressing the lever was recorded
What were the results of the rats experiment?
Initially the rats would run around the cage until they accidentally pressed a lever
The more times the rat was put in the box the quicker they got at learning where the lever was
What was the conclusion of the rats experiment?
Rats can learn behaviour through operant conditioning because a behaviour such as pressing a lever can be positively reinforced by receiving food
What were the positive evaluations of the rats experiment?
It has been highly influential in promoting the idea of behavioural psychology
What is the negative evaluation from Skinners experiment?
It uses animals so results may not be generalisable to humans
What involves a reward for positive behaviour?
Positive reinforcement
Why does positive and negative reinforcement work?
It involves a positive or negative consequence
Define punishment
The consequence is receiving something unpleasant which decreases the probability of the behaviour being repeated
For operant conditioning to work what needs to happen?
The reward needs to be given instantaneously so that a connection is made between the behaviour and the reward
What are the strengths of the behaviouralism approach?
Behaviourism is very scientific - theories are testable and they can be supported by evidence. This helps to establish the cause and effects of things
It is mainly quantitive data which make it easier to analyse
It can be applied to the real world (tends to have high ecological validity)
It has useful applications to education and child raising
It provides a strong natural counter argument to the “nature-nurture” debate
Benefit of the behavioural approach: Real life aplications
This can be used in certain types of economic systems prisons and psychological hospitals
Where certain behaviour can be rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
Classical conditioning can be used to help people get through phobias
What does OC stand for?
Operant conditioning
What does CC stand for?
Classical conditioning
How can cc be used?
Treatment of phobias
State the negative evaluation of the behaviouralist approach: deterministic and reductionism
Animals are seen as passive and machine like. They respond to their environment with little of no conscious insight into their behaviour
SLT (as well as the cognitive approach) emphasis the importance of mental events at learning
Process mediates between stimulus and response, suggests that people may play a much more active role in their learning
Applies less to humans than animals
What does SLT stand for?
Social Learning Theory
State the negative evaluation of the behaviouralist approach: Environmental determinism
Skinner said “free will is an illusion”
He thought that our past experiences determines the outcome when something happens
What is environmental determinism
All behaviours are determined by past experiences that has been conditioned
What are the 6 approaches?
SLT
Biological approach
Behavioural approach
Humanistic approach
Psychodynamic approach
Cognitive approach
What is SLT?
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors
What are the 4 mediational processes of SLT?
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
Explain the mediational process’s
Attention - The extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention - The individual remembers what they have observed
Motor Reproduction - The individual replicates the behaviour shown by the model
Motivation - The individual seeks to demonstrates the behaviour that they have observed
Where is symbolic modelling considered to have a greater effect
In cultures where media is widely available
What is a live model?
Real people
What is a symbolic model
A model that isn’t a real person eg book or film characters
Evaluate SLT - Real world applications
Someone suggested that the possibility of someone committing a crime increases after seeing someone else commit a crime (Vicarious Reinforcement)
Evaluate SLT - SLT shows the importance of cognitive factors in learning
Neither classical nor operant conditioning can offer a good account of learning on their own
Humans and animals may store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgments about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions
There is a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes
In the Bandura experiment who was the more aggressive?
Why?
Boys
Due to testosterone
Describe an experiment about aggression in transsexual participants
35 female to male
15 male to female
These people completed questionnaires to asess proneness to aggression before and after receiving hormone treatments to change genders
Female to male reported an increase in aggressiveness.
Females are given testosterone therefore we can conclude that testosterone causes aggression.
What may increase aggression?
Testosterone, sometimes serotonin (Low levels) and the MAOA gene
What is vicarious reinforcement?
A way which we learn stated by SLT where we learn through watching others which often leads to imitation through the meditational processes, however, this only happens if the behaviour is seen to be rewarding (a lot of the time it is unconsciously rewarding)
Evaluate SLT - Cultural differences
1935 - it was found that the Arapesn is an example of non aggressive culture in which aggression is not admired. This is reinforced and/or modelled by adults
The Biwat population show the oposite as violence is normal and their status is determined by how aggressive they are. Therefore the children see violence as rewarding and therefore they copy the behaviour
The Tchambuil - women were i personal and dominant and men were less responsible but more emotional dependent on the women
This shows that children understood their role in society and by gender as the children copy what the parents do
Evaluate SLT - SLT is less deterministic
SLT is less deterministic than the behavioural approach
Bandura emphasised reciprocal determinism
We are influenced by our external environment and we exert influence upon it through the behaviours we choose to perform
Evaluate SLT - Reductionist approach
SLT is a very basic cause and effect mechanisms
We know that behaviour is a result of learning
SLT ignores biological explanation
What are the positive evaluations of SLT?
Real world applications
Shows the importance of cognitive factors
Cultural differences
SLT is less deterministic
What are the negative evaluations of SLT?
Demand charartristics
Reductionalist approach
What is the biological approach?
This combines physiology and biology to provide a psychological explanation of human behaviour.
This branch of psychology tries to explain how we think, feel and behave in twerms of physical factors in the body
What is physiolgy
The study of the body and its parts and how the function
What are the assumptions of the biological approach?
Everything psychological is at first biological
Much of human behaviour has a physiological cause which may be geneticly or enviromentaly altered
Psychologists should study thye brain, nervous systems and other biological systems eg hormones and other chemicals in the body
The mind lives in the brain (which isn’t what the cognitive approach thinks)
The approach investigates how biological structures and processes within the body impact behaviour
What is monozygotic?
One zygote - these twins are formed when fertilised egg cells split into 2 and forms 2 separate embryos
What is dizygotic?
2 zygote - these twins are formed when 2 separate eggs both come fertilised by different sperm cell
What is concordance rate?
The agreements between 2 things (similarity)
(Twins have a high concordance rate)(no one has a 100% concordance rate(this may be becaused the enviroment effects us))
How high is the concordance rate between DZ twins?
Around 25%
What does DZ stabnd for?
Dizygotic
What does MZ stand for?
Monozygotic
What did Galton say?
When?
All natural abilities are inherited
1869
Evaluate Gatton’s view of our natural abilities?
In 1869 he said that all natural abilities were inherited
However, this is a reductionist viewpoint and Galton latter admitted that the environment could play a role. However, with some abilities this may be true for example alcoholism
What is selective breading?
When you choose a male and female to breed because hey have desired characteristic which you hope will be passed to the offspring
What are the basic units of hereditary?
Genes
Why do genes appear in quartets?
They come in pairs
How does gene variability happen?
When a child gets genes from their parents
What is the genotype?
The genes that someone has.
This is the genetic programming that provides some of the phenotype
What is the phenotype?
The observable characteristics that someone has based of their genes
Genotype ± environment = phenotype
What are the 2 types of genes?
Recessive or dominant
When is the difference between recessive and dominant genes?
The recessive gene only shows in the phenotype if there are 2 of them but dominant genes will override a recessive gene and will therefore show if there is only 1 dominant gene there
Draw a genetic cross
What do you know is true if both your parents have brown eyes and you have blue eyes?
How do you know this?
Both of your parents have Bb alleles (they both contain the recessive gene)
You know this because blue eyes is a recessive gene and therefore you must get 2 blue eye genes to get blue eyes therefore both patents must carry it)
Define heterozygous?
When the genotype consists of 2 allies
Define homozygous
When the genotype consists of the same 2 allies
What does Gottesman do?
He did a meta analysis of aprox 40 twin studies
What were Gottesman’s results?
If you had an identical twin with schizophrenia. This gave you a 48% chance of developing the condition. This reduced to 17% in non identical twins
What was the conclusion of Gottesman’s study
Schizophrenia has a strong genetic basis
What are the positive evaluations of Gottesman’s analysis
It was carried out on field studies so it has a high ecological validity
What are the negative evaluations of Gottesman’s analysis?
Becausde identical twins share 100% of their genes it would be expected that they get the same genetic diseases. Since only about half both had schizophrenia this means that another factor must always be involved.
Identical twins tend to be treated very similarly. Therefore there could be a strong environmental role (they are treated even moe similarly that non identical twins)
When was Gottesman’s analysis?
1991
Who were the experimenters in the twin and adoption studies?
Gottesman - 1991 meta analysis
Heston 1966 - adoption study
What approach are the twin and adoption studies in?
The biological approach
Who did the exp[eriment on scitzophrenia in identical twins?
Gottesman
Who did the adoption study?
Heston
When was the adoption study?
1966
What study did Heston do?
The adoption study of schizophrenia
What was Heston’s method?
47 adopted children (who’s biological mothers had schizophrenia) were studied. There was a control group of 50 children (who’s biological mothers didn’t have a diagnosis of schizophrenia)
The children were followed up as adults where they were interviewed and given personality and intelligence tests
What were the results of Heston’s study?
Of the experiment group only 5/47 were diagnosed with schizophrenia compared to 0/50 in the control group
But, another 4 of the group were classified as borderline by the researchers
What was the conclusion of Heston’s study?
The study supports the view that schizophrenia has a genetic basis
What are the positive evaluations of Heston’s research?
Interviews are a scientific way to get information
What were the negative evaluations of Heston’s research?
Interview data can be unrealistic due to lying and social desirability bias
The control’s group mothers may of shown symptoms of schizophrenia but not have an oficial diagnosis
What is evolution?
The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
Who is associated with evolution?
Darwin
What were Darwin’s main 2 concepts in evolutionary theory?
Natural selection
Sexual selection
What is the principle of diversity?
The idea that there is variation within species
Because it increases the chance the chances of survival through natural selection
What is the principle of interaction?
This shows how the variety of all species adapt and fit in with the environment.
Because the animals that can do this will be more naturally selected
What is the principle of differential amplification?
Those who adapt to their new environment will reproduce and those who don’t will die out
What are the 3 principles of natural selection?
The principle of:
Diversity
Interaction
Differential amplification
What is sexual selection?
The process through which we choose who to have sex/reproduce with based off of relationship studies to increase the chance of having a healthier offspring
How is sexual selection different between the sexes?
Men have unlimited sperm whilst women only have a limited amount of egg cells.
Therefore females are more particular about who the farther of their child is. This is reinforced by the commitment for the women (9 months of pregnancy)
Aka sociobiological theory
What is a positive of the biological approach’s research methods?
It is based on the hard sciences and therefore their research methods tend to be highly scientific in nature.
The most common methods tend to be laboratory experiment and observations and brain scanning
What are the different brain scans?
PET scan
CAT scan
MRI
FMRI
SQUID magnetometry
What does an MRI do?
It detect small tumours and provides detailed information about structures
What does a fMRI do?
It gives structural and functional information
What are the strength of the biological approach?
It is a scientific approach so it has highly scientific approaches like fMRI and twin studies that lead to reliable data
The scientific approach leads credence to the study of psychology which established psychology as a respectable science
This could lead to new treatments and intervention to those suffering
If we can understand how an abnormal brain works it could shed light on normal brain functions
Measurements can be objective (as it can be done by unbiased computers)
Machines are accurate and precise
What are the limitations of the biological approach?
It is a deterministic viewpoint - This is stating that we have no free will
This approach is reductionist (by stating that all human behaviour can be explained through biological processes) and therefore we are not unique as individuals.
It also dehumanises humans as machines (input-process-output)
Also It ignores the role of the environment etc. it should be used with a combination of other approaches
Research may be focused on abnormal and rare conditions - lacks generalisability
Complex machinery is used by humans who could make mistakes which could taint the data
Correlations are frequently used. We can’t always determine the cause and effect exactly
Small and/or restricted samples make findings difficult to generalise
Laboratory experiments lack ecological validity
What does the cognitive approach look at?
How our mental processes (for example thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour
How is the cognitive approach a reductionist approach?
Cognitive psychologists study process indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s minds based on behaviour
What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?
Our mental systems have a limited capacity - the amount of information that will be processed will be influenced by how demanding the task is and how much other information is processed
A control mechanism overseas all mental processes - this will require more processing power for new tasks, leaving less available for everything else
There is a two way flow of information - we take in information from the world, process it and react to it. We use our knowledge and experiences to understand the world
What is a cognitive scientists view?
We act like a computer
Input process output
What is a schema?
A “package” of ideas and information developed through experience. It helps you organise and interpret information and experiences. Whilst affecting our behaviour
What happens when the information which causes a schema is consistent?
It is easier to incorporate it into our lives (when info is consistent it is assimilated in our schema)
What happens when the information which causes a schema is inconsistent?
Accommodation occurs and the schema is forced to change in order to resolve the problem
What are the 3 different types of schema?
Role schema
Event schema
Self schema
What is a role schema?
This type of schema is when there are ideas about the behaviour which is expected from someone in a certain role, setting or situation
What is an event schema?
Also known as scripts. They contain information about what happens in a situation
What is a self schema?
These contain information about ourselves based on physical characteristics and personality, as well as believes and values. They then effect how we act.
What are the problems with schemas?
They can stop people from learning new information which could lead prejudice and stereotypes because we may have negative schemas about phenomena. This could include people or research. This may lead to faulty conclusions and unhelpful behaviour and perception errors
Who did the War of the Ghosts story?
Bartlett
When was the war of the ghosts experiment?
1932
Describe the method of the war of the ghosts experiment?
English participants were asked to read a Native American folk tale, called ‘The War of the Ghosts’.
It was an unfamiliar story, full of strange and unusual names, ideas and objects. It also had a different structure to an average English story.
The participants were asked to recall the story after different lengths of time.
What were the results of the war of the ghosts experiment?
All of the participants changed the story to fit their own schemas. The details in the story became more ‘English’, the story started to contain elements of English culture and details and emotions were added. As the length of time between hearing and recalling the story increased, the amount of information remembered decreased.
What was the conclusion of Bartlett’s experiment?
People use their own schema’s to help interpret and remember the world around them.
What were the positive evaluations of Bartlett’s experiment?
Paved the way for future research (practical applications looking into schemas for reducing racism etc)
It is replicable
What were the negative evaluations of Bartlett’s experiment?
This study was conducted in a laboratory, so it lacks ecological validity
What are the 3 methods involved in brain investigation?
Lesion studies
Electrophysiology
Neuroimaging
What is a lesion study?
A method of exploring the brain that sees if brain damage changes behaviour (not done on humans but normally done on animals). This includes removal of parts of the brain eg corpus callosum to help with epilepsy
What is electrophysiology?
A method of exploring the brain which uses magnetic and electric fields to measure brain activity and brain waves
For example EEG
What is neuroimaging?
A method of exploring the brain which pinpoints which areas of the brain are active when a task is performed
What are the positive evaluations for the cognitive approach?
It is scientific and objective
Treatments for mental health
It is less deterministic than other approaches
Explain the positive evaluation of the cognitive approach: it is scientific and objective
It uses highly controlled and rigorous methods of study in order to enable researchers to infer what processes are at work
Lab experiments are reliable and objective data is produced
Biological and cognitive psychology can work together
Explain the positive evaluation of the cognitive approach: treatments for mental health?
It can help us learn about and treat mental health
CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Theory
Patients can learn how to notice negative/faulty thought cognitions and test how accurate they are
Patients can set goals to think positively/adapt thoughts (they try to change their views on things)
Explain the positive evaluation of the cognitive approach: it is less deterministic than other approaches
The cognitive approach is a soft deterministic approach. This recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know, but that we are free to think before responding to a stimulus.
This is a reasonable interactionist position
The approach beliefs that everything is determined by past events and causes can be used tom predict future behaviours - this also helps makes psychology a science
What is determinism?
The belief that all physical events occur in a cause and effect relationship and that everything is determined
What are the negative evaluations of the cognitive approach?
Dehumanise
It is very artificial
Explain the negative evaluation of the cognitive approach: Dehumanise
It ignores the influence of human emotions and motivation on the cognitive system and how this may effect our ability to process information
It assumed that humans have unreliable and unlimited memory - computers have a limit but is reliable, this shows that we aren’t like computers furthermore, we have emotions where computers don’t.
It assumes that humans have limited free will. Since it was limited it is suggesting soft determinism which states that we have limited free will
Explain the negative evaluation of the cognitive approach: it is very afrtificial
We can only infer mental processes from behaviours that we have observed
Research is too rare to be generalised for every day life
It may lack external validity
What is the psychodynamic approach?
A perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscience, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience
What are the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
unconscious forces in our mind determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviours
(The term of dynamic refers to the on-going movement of these forces)
Our adult behaviour is strongly influenced by our childhood experiences
Abnormal behaviour is the results of mental conflict
The min d can be divided into 3 levels of consciousness which can be illustrated by the iceberg analogy. Whilst the unconscious mind, which is hidden below the surface of the water, has the most influence on our personalities
What are the 3 levels of conscious in the psychodynamic approach?
Ego
Super Ego
ID
Explain the Ego?
It develops around the age of 2
It works on the reality principle and is the mediator between the ID and super ego
It makes the person aware of other people’s feelings and that the person can’t always have their own way
Its role is to reduce conflict between the ID and Super ego, it does this by employing a number of defence mechanisms
(The I) because it is the most conscious
Explain the ID?
ID is a primitive part of our personality
It operates on the pleasure principle ( it gets what it wants)
It is a mass of unconscious drives and instincts
At birth only the ID is present
(The It) because this is seen as a separate part to you
Explain the Superego?
It is formed around the age of 5
It is our internalised sense of right and wrong
It represents the moral standards of the child’s same sex parent
It punishes the ego for wrongdoing (through guilt)
Draw a diagram of the psychodynamic approach’s model of the conscious?
How can the unconscious be imbalanced in the psychodynamic approach?
The Ego is too weak
The ID is too strong
The Superego is too strong
What happens if the ego is too weak?
The ID and Superego is allowed to dominate
What happens if the ID is too strong?
You are going to be selfish, out of control and you could become psychopathic
What happens if the Superego is too strong?
You are going to be strict, anxious, obsessive, depressed, and you could have have anxiety (as a mental health disorder) and OCD
What are the 5 psychosexual stages of development
The Oral Stage
The Anal Stage
The Phallic Stage
The Latency Stage
The Genital Stage
Explain the Oral Stage?
During this stage the mouthy is the main source of pleasure
The child enjoys tasting and sucking
The mothers breast is the object of desire
Successful completion of this stage is demonstrated by weaning (eating independently)
From Birth to 18 months
What are the consequences of uncompleted Oral Stage?
Oral fixation, sarcastic, critical, sensitive to rejection, overeats and drinks, bites nails and may smoke
Explain the Anal Stage?
Deification (going to the toilet) is the main source of pleasure
Successful completion of this stage is marked by successful potty training
18 months to 3 years
What are the consequences of not completing the Anal Stage?
Anally retentive, very tidy, stubborn, likes order and being in control, perfectionist, obsessive, anally expulsive, thoughtless messy
Explain the Phallic Stage?
The genital area is the source of pleasure
Oedipus complex - boy wants his mother as his primary love object and wants his farther out of the way
Electra complex - girls experience penis envy; they desire their farther , as their penis is the primary love object and hates their mother
Around the age 3 to 5 years old
What are the consequences of not completing the Phallic Stage?
Phallic personality, narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual
What are the 2 complexes in the Phallic Stage?
Oedipus complex (boys)
Electra complex (girls)
Explain the Oedipus complex?
In the Phallic stage it is when a boy wants his mother as his primary love object and wants his farther out of the way
Explain the Electra complex?
In the Phallic Stage the Electra complex is when girls experience penis envy; they desire their farther, as the penis is the primary love objective and hate their mother
Explain the Latency Stage?
Earlier conflicts are repressed
Sexual urger are sublimated (pushed to the side) into sports and other hobbies
Their is a focus on developing same sex friendships
Their are no particular requirements for successful completion
It can be seen as the lull before the storm of puberty
Age 5 to approximately puberty
Explain the Genital Stage?
The person focuses on the genitals but not to the same extent as in the Phallic stage
The task in this stage is to develop healthy adult relationships. This should happen if the earlier stages have been negotiated successfully
What re the consequences of not completing the Genital Stage?
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
What are the 3 defences mechanisms that the ego can employ?
Denial
Repression
Displacement
Explain the defence mechanism of Denial?
When you completely reject the thought or feeling and when you completely refuse to acknowledge some aspects of reality. Unwanted reality is blocked from conscious awareness
Explain the defence mechanism of Repression?
Forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind. The ego stops unwanted and painful thoughts from becoming conscious
Explain the defence mechanism of Displacement?
When you transfer feelings from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target - negative impulses are redirected
What is the Freud case study called?
The case of little Hans
When was the case of little Hans done?
1909
Who did the case of little Hans study?
Freud
Describe the method of the Freud?
Freud carried out a of a child called Hans who had a phobia of horses. Hans was observed by his father, who made notes of Han’s dreams and the things he said and passed them onto Freud for analysis.
Describe the results of Fraud’s experiment?
Han’s was afraid of horses because he thought they might bite him or fall on him. During the study he developed an interest in his ‘widdler’ (penis). His mum had told him not to play with it or she’d cut it off. Hans told his dad about a dream where he was married to his mum and his dad was now his grandfather.
Describe the conclusion of Fraud’s experiment?
Freud’s interpretation was that Hans had reached the phallic stage of development and showed evidence of the ‘Oedipus complex’- he wanted to have an exclusive relationship with his mother and was jealous of his father. Hans had sexual feelings for his mother, shown partly by his dream of marrying her. The horse symbolised Han’s father because, to him, they both had big penises.
His fear of horses is an example of displacement- a defence mechanism that protected him from his real fear of his father. Hans suffered from castration anxiety. He was afraid that he would be castrated by his father if he found out about his feelings for his mother. This was symbolised by Han’s fear that a horse would bite him.
Explain the positive evaluations of Freud’s experiment?
Gives psychologists a understanding of unconscious behaviour and thoughts.
Lead to psychoanalysis and other successful treatments such as CBT and dream analysis
What were the negative evaluations of Fraud’s experiments?
However, the results were based entirely on observations and interpretation. This means a cause and effect relationship cannot be established. There could be other explanations- for example, Han’s anxiety may have come from his mother threatening to cut his penis off. Also, before the study, Hans had been frightened by a horse falling down in the street, which could explain his fear of them. Freud analysed information from Han’s father, so the results could be biased.
Since it was a case study it can’t be generalised
How old was the child in Freud’s experiment?
5 years old
What is a freudian slip?
An error in speech, memory or physical action that occur due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish or internal train of thought
Eg calling a teacher mom/dad
What are the positive evaluations of psychodynamics?
It explains power
Practical applications
What are the negative evaluations of psychodynamics?
The use of case studies
Untestable concepts
Psychic determination
Gender bias
Explain the positive evaluations of psychodynamics: it explains power
Freud had a huge influence ion Psychology in: personality disorders, abnormalities, moral development, gender, attachment (Attachment - experiences as children and our parents and latter development
Explain the positive evaluations of psychodynamics: practical applications
However…
Psychodynamics - a range of techniques used to access the unconscious
Dream analysis and hypothesis
Useful therapy tool for neuroses (a disease)
However, we are still unable to treat more serious mental health disorders such as schizophrenia
Explain the negative evaluations of psychodynamics: the use of case studdies
We canl;t make universial claims from individual case studies
The case studies can be highly subjective
It lacks scientific rigour
Explain the negative evaluations of psychodynamics: untestable concepts
Popper argued that the psychodynamics approach does not meet the scientific criteria of falsification as it is not open to empirical testing and the possibility of disproval
The unconscious is difficult to test
Pseudoscience
Explain the negative evaluations of psychodynamics: psychic determinism
There is no such thing as an accident
Slip of the tongue is driven by the unconscience forces and has deeper symbolic meaning
Free will is an illusion/conflict from childhood
Explain the negative evaluations of psychodynamics: gender bias
Gender bias - alpha bias
It was thought that femininity was failed masculinity and that we can never believe that the 2 sexes are equal in position or worth
Horney broke away from Freudian theory and started to criticise the approach
Dismissing women and their sexuality in this way is problematic because psychoanalysis is still influencial today and many female patients are treated by it, with such a clear bias it is inappropriate for this approach to be applied to both sexes
What are the assumptions of the humanism approach?
Every individual is unique - so generalisation can’t happen. This is called idiographic
WE HAVE FREE WILL - so humans are self determing and we aren’t and we aren’t effected by external and internal influences. We aren’t “active agents”
People should be viewed holistically - they think that when we look at someone we need to look at them as a whole eg we can’t just look at someones childhood
The scientific process is not appropriate to measure behaviour - humanistic psychology doesn’t describe itself as scientific.
What is the belief that everyone is different called?
Idiographic
What does Idiographic mean?
The belief that everyone is different. Ido meaning individual. Creating individual cases
What does humanistic psychology say about science?
That the scientific method is too objective to look at human emotions
Develop humanistic psychologies’s view on free will
Humans have free will
However, they dom recognise some restrictions on free will such as social roles, laws and morals. But they still believe that ultimately we are responsible for out behaviour social or anti-social
In terms of the legal system this places the responsibility of a crime with the individual
When and where did humanistic psychology start?
1950’s USA
Define self actualisation
The achievement of someone following their drive to reach their full potential
Who’s theory of motivation do we look at?
And in which approach?
Maslow
Humanism approach
What does Malsow’s theory assume?
We are motivated to use our free will to reach our fullest potential
Some needs are shared and some are individual needs
Humans needs are categorised and prioritised
What did Maslow believe?
We spend our lives trying to the top of Mallow’s heirachy of needs
How many stages were there in Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
5
In Malsow’s hierarchy of needs what was needed to get to the next stage?
You needed to compete the stage below it
What is the first stage of Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Physiological needs
What is the second stage of Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Safety needs
What is the third stage of Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Belongingness and love needs
What is the forth stage of Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Esteem needs
What is the fith stage of Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Self actualisation
What are the stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Self actualisation
Esteem needs
Belongingness and love needs
Safety needs
Physiological needs
Explain the stage of physiological needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Eg food, water, warmth, rest
We need basic necessities (including sex) to function
Explain the stage of safety needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Security, safety
We need to feel safe psychologically and economically
Explain the stage of belongingness and love needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Intimate relationships, friends
This is when we consider these things important
Explain the stage of esteem needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Prestige and feeling accomplishment
In this stage we are focused on achieving and gaining respect from others
Explain the stage of self actualisation in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Achieving one’s full potential, including creative activities
We have realised our full potential and we have become the best we are capable of becoming
Which stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are in the category of basic needs
Physiological needs
Safety needs
Which stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are in the category of psychological needs?
Belongingness and love needs
Esteem needs
Which stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are in the category of self fulfilment needs?
Self actualisation
What are self actualised people like?
These people have a strong sense of self awareness
They fully accept the views of themselves and others for who they are
They have the ability to deal with uncertainty and the unknown
They have a strong sense of creativity
How does your attitude effect your ability to reach self actualisation?
An outward, more positive attitude means that self actualisation is more attainable
If someone experiences a negative thing and then views it in a negative ways it will effect their self concepts and therefore prevents personal growth
Who did an experiment on Malsow’s hierarchy of needs?
Aronoff
When was Aronoff’s experiment done?
1967
Describe the method of aronoff’s experiment?
Aronoff compared people in two jobs in the British West Indies- fishermen and cane cutters.
Cane cutters got paid according to how much cane was cut by the whole group, even when they were off sick. So they had high job security, although wages were low.
In contrast, fishermen worked alone, doing more challenging work. So they were less secure in their jobs, although they earned more overall. Both groups of people were assessed to see which level they were at on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Describe the results of aronoff’s experiment?
More cane cutters were at the lower levels of hierarchy, still trying to achieve safety and security than fisherman, many of whom had satisfied the lower levels of the hierarchy.
Describe the conclusion of aronoff’s experiment?
Only those men who had satisfied lower levels of the pyramid would choose to become fishermen, allowing them to develop high self-esteem. This suggests that people cannot reach the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy until they have satisfied the lower levels.
What are the positive evaluations of Aronoff’s experiment?
The study supports Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and it has ecological validity as it studied people in their natural environment.
What are the negative evaluations of Aronoff’s experiment?
However, it only studied people from our culture, so the results cannot be generalised to the wider population
Who invented Flow Theory?
When?
Mihaly C in 1990
In flow theory, what is “flow” considered to be
A state when someone is completely caught up in a task, sport or activity so that they are completely focused on their performance and not thinking about other everyday matters
Which approach is flow theory part of?
Humanism approach
What did a humanistic psychologist say about flow theory?
This state seems to increase personal growth because the person is driven to improve their performances
What was Carl Rogers theory called?
Carl Roger’s theory of person centred therapy
What approach is Carl Rogers work in?
The humanistic approach
What did Carl Rogers suggest?
That we have 3 selves which need to integrate to achieve self actualisation
What were Rogers 3 selves?
The self concept
The ideal self
The real self
Explain the self concept
This is the self that describes you for who you feel you are
It is similar to self esteem and is effected by it. So if someone has low self esteem, their self concept will be poor and they will have a distorted view of how capable they are
Explain the ideal self
What is it?
What would someone workinbg towards their ideral self likely say?
How does it differ from the self concept?
This is the self that you wish you were, this is your aim OR it is possible that you are already there
Someone who is still working towards their ideal self is likely to say things like “i wish i was able to do”
This differs from the self concept because you know that you aren’t your ideal self yet
Explain the real self?
This is the 3rd self
This is who you think you are without any inflation or flatacy
What did Rogers focus on?
His work focused of the “selves” of the individual
What were Carl Rogers believes about self actualisation?
He felt that to reach the state of self actualisation it is important for the person to be fully functioning (congruent). This would mean that they have the opportunity to strive for self actualisation and are also doing so
What happens when the 3 selves don’t match up?
Anxiety
Defence mechanisms
Depression
Lack of self worth
Incongruence
How do you achieve congruence?
An important part of achieving this is unconditional positive regard. This means that in some part of their life someone needs to be loved for who they are by someone else.
This needs to accepted unconditionally - this is essential to reach your full potential
To achieve congruence all of the selves should line up (be the same)
Define conditions of worth?
Requirements that the individuals feels they need to meet to be loved. They can be real or made up by the participant. aka conditional positive regard
What happens if a child experiences conditional love?
That child will likely have psychological problems
what is client centred therapy?
This is a form of psychotherapy
What did Gibbard and Hanley do?
They studied the impact of centred therapy on a group of patients suffering from anxiety and depression
700 people over 5 year
A questionnaire was used to measure the extent of their condition before and after their therapy
70% showed a significant improvement in their metal health
What are the positive evaluations of the humanism approach?
Non reductionist
real wold applications
Positive aproach
What are the negative evaluations of the humanistc approach?
Limited real world applications
Untestable concepts
Cultural bias
Explain the positive evaluation of the humanistic approach: non reductionist
It advocates for holism - we must copnsider the whole person
It has validity as it considers meanikngful human behaviour within a real life context
Explain the positive evaluation of the humanistic approach: real world aplications
Person cedntred therapy did revolutionise counselling techniques and hierarchy of needs does explain motivation in the workplace
Explain the positive evaluation of the humanistic approach: positive approach
Humanism is an optiistic alternative to Freud - basically people are good, free to work towards their potential and they are in control of their lives
Explain the negative evaluation of the humanistic approach: limited real world applications
Humanism has had little impact on psychology, it lacks scientific evidence, and it has abstract concepts
Explain the negative evaluation of the humanistic approach: untestable concepts
We can’t easily test self actualisation and congruence
Rogers’ “Q sort technique” was given to clients before and after therapy to measure to measure the effectiveness of psychotherapy
It is anti scientific and lacks empirical evidence
Explain the negative evaluation of the humanistic approach: cultural bias
Individual freedom, autonomy and personal growth are associated with individualist cultures
Collectivist cultures emphasis the need for groups, community and interdependence
What is the simplest way of learning happen?
By observing others
How does the cognitive approach see the mind and brain?
They think that the process of the mind is separate from the physical brain
How does positive reinforcement work?
Makes behaviour more likely to get a reward
How does punishment work?
Makes behaviour less likely due to a negative consequence
How does negative reinforcement work?
Makes behaviour more likely to avoid a negative consequence
Who did the doll experiment?
Bandura
Describe the Bandura method?
36 girls and 36 boys with a mean age of 52 months took part in the study. The study had a match participant design (children were matched on ratings of aggressive behaviour shown at their nursery school) and had three conditions.
In the first condition, children observed aggressive adult models playing with a Bobo doll (an inflatable figure with a weight in the bottom)- e.g. hitting it with a mallet.
In the second condition, children observed non-aggressive models playing with other toys and ignoring the Bobo doll.
In the third condition was a control condition in which children had no exposure to the models. The children’s behaviour was observed for 20 minutes in a room containing aggressive toys (for example, a Bobo doll and a mallet) and non-aggressive toys (for example, a tea set and crayons).
What were the results of the Bandura experiment?
Children exposed to aggressive models imitated a lot of their aggressive behaviour.
Children in the non-aggressive and controlled condition showed barely any aggressive behaviour.
Aggressive behaviour was slightly higher in the control condition than in the non-aggressive condition.
What was the conclusion of the Bandura experiment?
Aggressive behaviour is Learned through imitation of others behaving aggressively.
What were the positive evaluations of the Bandura experiment?
This study provides evidence for social learning theory. There was strict control of the variable, meaning that the results are likely to be reliable and the study can be replicated.
What are the negative evaluations of the Bandura experiment
However, it has low ecological validity because the participants were not in a natural situation. It is also difficult to generalise the results because a limited sample was studied- the children were all from the same school.
The study encouraged aggression in children- this could be an ethical problem.
What were trhe 2 adoption studies?
Who did them?
Gottesman - a meta analysis of twin studies
Heston - an adoption study of schizophrenia
What does maladaptive mean?
Something that isn’t good for us which tends to be a biological trait
What was special about Phineas Gage?
He was someone who had a metal pole shot through his skull. It damaged his frontal lobe but he survived. His personality was greatly changed by this. This because one of the first case studies that showed that behaviour is located in the frontal lobe
What is SQUID magnetometry
It produces accurate images of brain activity by measuring the magnetic field generated when Neurones are activated. However, the magnetic fields generated may be effected by other magnetic fields
What is a neutral stimulus?
The stimulus which is presented before conditioning
Explain the steps of cc?
An unconditioned stimulus generates an unconditioned response
Then before conditioning, a neutral stimulus is given which doesn’t cause a conditioned response.
Next, the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is shown together. This creates an unconditioned response.
Then the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus because when the conditioned stimulus is shown it generates a conditioned response
What is reciprocal determinism?
That idea that we act as we see our self schema
What does reductionist approach mean?
When you reduce something to it’s basics
Define natural selection?
The way that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances the ability to survive and reproduce will continue in future generations
What is the difference between fMRI and MRI?
FMRI is more precise and is a bit faster
What is a confounding variable?
Anything that effects your dependent variable
What % of genes do siblings have in common?
50%
Explain the negative evaluation of the biological approach: it is hard to separate nature and nurture?
Identical and non-identical twins and family members have genetic similarities
As the biological approach assumes: any behaviour or the way they look is genetic
The confounding variable is always environmental conditions
DZ twins often show high concordance rates whilst 50% of genes are shared withy normal siblings
What is one way structuralism is performed?
Introspection
What does introspection involve?
Looking into your mind
What is introspection?
A physiological method which involves analysing your thoughts and feelings internally
What did Wundt use introspection for?
To study sensation and perception
How did Wundt use introspection?
Patients were asked to describe their experiences when presented with a set of stimuli and often their reaction times were recorded.
Ppts were instructed to listen to the beat of a metronome and clear their mind of other thoughts. They were then instructed to tell the therapist their first thoughts based on the perception of the metronome
What are the problems with introspection?
It doesn’t explain how the mind works. It relies on people describing their thoughts and feelings, which usually isn’t objective
It doesn’t provide data that can’t used reliably. Because people are reporting on their experiences, their accounts can’t be confirmed
What approaches did introspection affect?
Behavioural, cognitive and biological
State 2 things that Wundt believed in?
Reductionism
Structuralism
What is reductionism?
Belief that everything can be scaled down to it’s simplest parts
What are the principles that are needed for natural selection?
Explain a bit more?
The principle of:
Diversity
Interaction
Differential amplification
What is a interactionist position?
When you look at things from different standpoints
What was Freuds model called?
The tripartite model of the mind, consciousness and personality
What does primitive mean?
It is like a fight or flight reaction (instinctive reaction)
What does “consequence” of not completing one of the psychosexual stages mean?
You haven’t completed a stage because you are being held back by your actions
What is oral fixation?
When you are fixated on mouth stuff like sucking eg breast feeding
What does anally expulsive mean?
Messy with the anus
Who created the psychosexual stages of development?
Freud
When is the oral stage?
0-1
When is the anal stage?
1-3 years
When is the phallic stage?
3-5 years
What is the pleasure center in the oral stage?
Mouth
What is the pleasure center in the anal stage?
Anus
Biting nails
What is the pleasure center in the phallic stage?
Genital area
What are the possible causes of fixation in the oral stage?
Early weaning
Deprivation of food or love
What are the possible causes of fixation in the anal stage?
Tidiness
Lacks/ harsh toilet training
What are the possible causes of fixation in the phallic stage?
Obsessiveness
No farther figure
Very dominant mother
What are the possible results of fixation in the oral stage?
Sarcasim
Smoking
Self obsesion
What are the possible results of fixation in the anal stage?
Obsesiveness
Tidiness
Lacks toilet training
What are the possible results of fixation in the phallic stage?
Envy
Meanness
Sexual anxiety
Who developed CC?
Pavlov
What is the assumption of SLT, different to behaviouralism?
Learning occurs through imitation
Define cognitive neuroscience
The emergence of biology and cognitive psychology investigating behaviour and biological processing through scanning and determining function of the brain
