Psychological Theories Flashcards
State features of the behaviourist approach.
- Rejects introspection
- Very scientific
- Emphases the role of the environment on shaping behaviour.
Evaluate the behaviourist approach.
- Application: Desensitisation
- Practical: Promised methods of social control
- Lead to SLT
- Reductionist
- Determinist
Explain the psychodynamic view of the mind.
Conscious: Thoughts + Perceptions
Preconscious: Available material, such as knowledge and memories
Unconscious: Biological instincts and drives + wishes and desires formed during childhood. Most of our behaviour is caused by the unconscious mind.
Explain the psychodynamic theory of personality.
Id: located in the unconscious mind. Contains sexual + aggressive instincts that desire immediate gratification.
Ego: located in the (pre)conscious. Acts as a mediator between the id and the superego.
Superego: Our conscience, which develops at age 5. Uses guilt to place constraints on behaviour.
State the psychosexual stages and the ages which they develop.
- oral (0-18 months)
- anal (18-36 months)
- phallic (3-6 years)
- genital (puberty onwards)
Explain the Oedipus Complex and the Electra Complex.
An unconscious rivalry happens in the male child during the phallic stage between themselves and the same-Sex parent for the affection of the opposite sex parent. They experience castration anxiety, which is resolved by identifying with the father.
Girls experience penis envy, which is sublimated into a wish to have a baby.
State and define 3 defence mechanisms.
- Repression: pushing unwanted thoughts into the unconscious.
- Displacement: Diverting anger onto an object that is not the source.
- Reaction formation: Taking an attitude that is opposite to your real feelings.
Evaluate the psychodynamic approach.
Application: Psychoanalysis and counselling psychology.
Unscientific (small samples, subjective research, unfalsifiable concepts)
Cultural impact: people understand psychology by the psychodynamic approach.
State concepts of the humanist approach.
Maslows hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, love, self esteem, self actualisation).
Rogers: Self-esteem can be achieved when someone’s perceived self is congruent to their ideal self.
Rogers: We are born with an ‘actualising tendency’ which motivates us to achieve psychological health.
Evaluate the humanistic approach.
Unscientific
Influence on counselling (client-centred therapy).
Jarvis: Maslow has a western cultural bias.
Describe features of the cognitive approach.
Sees behaviour as the result of the ‘output’ of mental processing.
Emphasise importance of active mental processing.
See the human mind like a computer.
Use models to show how mental processes ‘flow’ through the mind.
Evaluate the cognitive approach.
Application- cognitive therapy e.g. becks ABCDE method.
Reductionist- doesn’t take into account emotions.
Very scientific methods used.
Artificial research
Expand on the concepts of brain function, heredity and biochemistry in terms of the physiological approach.
Bio psychologists study brain functions using techniques such as fMRI scanners to find which brain areas are responsible for mental processes.
Heredity involves the study of the influence of genes on behaviour. For example, inheriting a gene for aggression.
Biochemistry is the study of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin which regulates mood.
Evaluate the physiological approach.
Reductionist
Determinist
Application: SSRI etc developed to treat mental disorders.
Makes excuses for anti-social behaviour in males.
Outline features of the social constructionist approach.
- Knowledge is culturally specific
- We construct our perceptions through interaction
- Our perception of the world may not correspond with natural categories
- Uses language and discourse analysis to investigate people’s constructions.
