Psychology Flashcards
what is psychology
the study of human behaviour thought processes and emotions. The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes
6 Schools of psychology
Behaviourism psychodynamic cognitive humanistic neurobiological social
What is Behavioural Psychology?
- Theory that behaviours are learnt from the environment
- Behaviour is a response to external stimuli
- Behaviour learnt through classical or operant conditioning
Definition of classical conditioning
a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone
Definition of Operant conditioning
a type of associative learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment
What are the features of behavioural psychology
- Stimulus response (cause and effect)
- Operant conditioning
- Schedules of reinforcement (repeated behaviour +/-)
- Classical conditioning
- Nomothetic (similarities between people- stereotype)
- Reductionism (explaining behaviour by breaking it down)
Applications of behaviourism
- depression
- phobias
- behavioural therapies
- behaviour modification
- addiction
- aggression
- psychotherapy
- education
examples of behaviourism
- pavlovs dog
- skinner box
- little albert
- bobo doll study
What is Psychodynamic Psychology
Human functioning based on the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly unconscious
Basic Assumptions of Psychodynamic Psychology
- Our behaviour and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives
- Feelings, motives and decisions are powerfully influenced by our past experiences in sub-conscious
- Our behaviours and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences
- All behaviour has a causative factor, even slips of the tongue, therefore behaviour is determined
- Personality is made of 3 parts
According to Freud (Psychodynamic Psychology), what are the 3 parts of personality?
- Id, Instinct
- Ego, Decision making
- SuperEgo, Values and morals
Unconscious Defense mechanisms in psychodynamic psychology
- Repression- Keeping down threatening thoughts
- Denial- Block external events from awareness
- Projection- Attributing own negative thoughts to another person
- Displacement- Satisfying an impulse with a substitute object- not acceptable
- Regression- Movement backwards psychologically
- Sublimation- Satisfying an impulse with substitute- acceptable
What is conscious?
Mental activity we are aware of
What is unconscious?
Things we are unaware of and cant be aware of
What is subconscious?
Things we could be aware of if we tried
What is the Id?
Part of the unconscious mind and comprises the two instincts Eros and Thantos
What are the applications of psychodynamic
- Attachment
- Agression
- Dream Analysis
- Gender role development
- Moral development
- Therapy
- Play therapy
- Psychotherapy
What is cognitive psychology?
- The mind as an information processor
- Understanding of information processing( perception, attention, language etc)
Difference between Behaviourist and Cognitive
B) Stimulus in the environment —–> Black box cant be studied ——> Response behaviour
C) Input in the environment ——> Mediational process mental event ——> output behaviour
Assumptions of Cognitive Pyschology
- Info made available from the environment is processed by a series of processing systems (attention, perception, ST memory)
- These processing systems transform, or alter the information in systematic ways
- The aim of research is to specify the processes and structures that underlie cognitive performance
- Information processing in humans resembles that in computers
What is CBT?
Based on the idea of how we think(cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behaviour) all interact together. Specifically our thoughts determine our feelings and our behaviour
What is humanistic psychology?
- Emphasis on the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual
- Developed as a reaction to behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches
- Rejects assumptions of behaviourist perspective-animal studies- not good
What are the assumptions of humanistic psychology
- people have free will- choices we make, consequences
- Rejects animal studies as not about humans
- Places little value on scientific psychology
- People are motivated to self actualise
- Emphasises person worth of human
- People are essentially good and try to make the world good
What are the key features of humanistic psychology?
- Authenticity
- Phenomenology
- Self-actualisation
- Self concept
- Hierarchy of needs
What are the applications of humanistic psychology?
- Person centred therapy
- Motivation
- Depression
- Self worth
What is social psychology?
- How peopls thpughts feelings etc are contructed within a social context by the actual or imagined interactions of others
- Human behaviour influenced by other people
- Social psychologists deal with factors that make us behave in a given way in the presence of others, and the conditions in which these behaviours happen
What is neurobiological psychology?
- Believes us to be as a consequence of our genetics and physiology, it is the only approach that examines thoughts, feelings and behaviours from a biological and physical POV
- Biological perspective is relevant to the study of psychology in 3 ways
In What three ways is biological perspective (in neurobiological psychology) relevant to the study of psychology?
1- Comparative Method- different species of animal can be studied and compared, helps to understand human behaviours
2- Physiology- how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, how changes in structure and/or function can affect behaviour e.g. how prescribed drugs to treat depression affect behaviour through their interaction with the nervous system
3- Investigation of inheritance- what an animal inherits from its parents, mechanisms of inheritance
what are the assumptions of neurobiological psychology?
- Psychology should be seen as a science, to be studied in a scientific manner
- Behaviour can be largely explained in terms of biology and biochemistry
- Most behaviour will have an adaptive/evolutionary purpose
What is the importance of psychology for midwifery?
- Mother midwife relationship
- Psychology of communication
- Hollistic care
- Emotions during pregnancy
- Attachment and bonding
- Perinatal mental health
- Self knowledge
- coping strategies
