Unit 2; Theories Flashcards
What does the nature theory say about basic personality traits
they are inherited
What does the nature theory say about intelligence
it is inherited
What does the nature theory say about characteristics
they are inherited
Does the nature theory look at genes as factors
Absolutely
What does the nurture theory say
That the environment that people grow up in influence who they are
What does the nurture theory state
Personalities are learned through interaction Can be created through a “self-fulfuilling prophecy” Values/beliefs and temperament a result of one’s environment “Enculturation” also plays a role
What is enculturation
the gradual acquisition of the culture/characteristics/norms by another person or group
What is the nature vs nurture theory
The two opposing sides– Nature– everything is inherited Nurture– Everything about the person is influenced by the environment they grow up in
What does the combination of both nature vs nurture theories state
That there is genetic predisposition So– some people have a natural “gift” but can’t ever explore it because of the environment they grew up in Most scientists believe this
What is functionalism also known as
Structural Functionalism
What is the definition of functionalism
the sociological theory that attempt to explain how society is organized to preform its required functions effectively
Is functionalism a sociological or psychological theory
sociological
Which they do anthropologists us
functionalism
What are institutes
Law, political system, family… basically something that people work together to achieve something
What does the functionalist theory assume about stable structures
societies are stable when structures function in ways that benefit society
In the functionalist theory, it focuses on what
how structures function in society
Does change happen slowly or quickly according to functionalist
slowly
What is status (functionalist theory)
a specific position within a social group. E.g. you are a student
define role (functionalist theory)
the set of behaviours that an individual is expected to demonstrate within a status.
give an example of a role
E.g students are expected to go to school, ask questions, complete assignments
According to functionalists, societies run smoother when….
people act according to their role
What do people learn through the process of socialization
Individuals learn appropriate behaviour for the many roles they will play in society
Define norm (in functionalist theory)
the most prevalent behaviours (hoe people normally behave)
What is the term used when something is not the norm
abnormal
give an example of the norm and abnormal
when man and woman works, it is the norm. When a man is a stay-at-home dad, that is abnormal
What is the problem with the functionalist theory
tendency for functionalists to go beyond explaining how a society is organized to prescribing how individuals within a society should behave
What is the definition of the systems theory
Sociological theory that attempts to explain how groups of individuals interact as a system A set of different parts that work together and influence on another in a relatively stable way over time
Is the systems theory a sociological or psychological theory
sociological
Which theory explains the behaviour of individuals inseparable from a group
systems theory
What is the limitation to the systems theory
can be difficult to determine how others within the family are influencing an individual’s behaviour
How does the systems theory apply to they examination of family process
A basic concept is the family systems have a complex organization—basically, although it is not simple, it is not chaotic
What is the basically principle of the systems theory
Feedback
what is feedback
a process by which the system informs its members how to interact to maintain the stability of the system
Why is it difficult to trace the origins of influence, or to describe the organization of the family
Because feedback implies give and take, the individuals within the system influence one another in a reciprocal way, making it difficult to trace the origins of influence or to describe the organization of the family
Why do families have a stable size (systems theory)
because members can only be added to them by birth, or adoption, cohabitation or marriage and leave only by death
Do some theorists believe that people have influence even after they leave? (systems theory)
yes– live in the case of divorce
The larger family system has…
subsystems
Give an example of subsystems
The wait staff, kitchen staff, management
What are the 3 types of subsystems
the family unit subsystem the interpersonal subsystem the personal subsystem
Explain who the family unit subsystem applies to
the members sharing a household
who does the interpersonal subsystem apply to
between individuals, such as a husband-wife or mother-son
who does the personal subsystem apply to
comprised of interaction between the individual as self and as a member of the family
Family systems develop strategies for?
achieving the goals and functions of individuals/family and for interacting with the external society
Define strategies (systems theory)
patterns of interactions that are repeated; aka meaningful habits
Who is responsible for patterns of behaviour (systems theory)
all members
give an example of the systems theory
people who continually argue about chores are responsible for the habit. and when a wife and mother returns to work after having a child, new strategies for doing housework will evolve as her husband and child take on some chores
What is the symbolic interactionism theory sometimes called
mirror theory
Define the symbolic interactionism theory
psychological theory that attempt to explain how individuals choose how they will act based on their perceptions of themselves and of others
is the symbolic interactionism theory a psychological or sociological one
psychological
What is the basic definition the symbolic interactionism theory
“I’m not what I think I am, I’m not what you think I am, I’m what I think you think I am”
What is a great example of symbolic interactionism
peer pressure
Only after the mental process of what, do people act
the mental process of “giving meaning”
Give an example of “giving meaning”
if someone puts their hand on your shoulder, you will interpret and determine what that means before you act
What are the 3 basic concepts of the symbolic interactionism theory
Individual develops a self that has 2 parts People must also “take the attitude of the other” People can only interact effectively if they can communicate using a common language (shared symbols)
What does it mean by Individual develops a self that has 2 parts
the “me” which consists of objective qualities (tall, female, student) and the “I” which is subjective awareness of self (good student, shy, lonely— the “I” is based on other peoples interpretation`
What des it mean by People must also “take the attitude of the other”
to anticipate what the other person will do and decide how they should respond.
George Mead believed what about human interaction?
that this role-taking is the basis for human interaction
What does it mean by; People can only interact effectively if they can communicate using a common language (shared symbols)
language is how people interpret and give meanings to their experiences of self and others in order to interact in relationships
What so the limitation to the symbolic interactionism theory
the possibility that because the researcher perceives and interprets the actions of the individuals during the observation, the observations could be influenced by the researcher’s self-image and beliefs and could, therefore, be inaccurate
Give an example of the symbolic interactionism theory
because men and women might interpret situations differently and use different language to express their ideas, misunderstandings can result
define social exchange theory
phycological theory that explains the social factors that influence how individuals interact within reciprocal relationships
is the social exchange theory psychological or sociological
psychological
Define reciprocal relationships
A mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges, especially the exchange of rights or privileges of trade between nations
What is the basic definition of social exchange theory
Weighing the pros and cons of a relationship
What are role expectations (social exchange theory)
Actions that people are expected to act within
Are people constrained in role expectations
yes
even though people are constrained in role expectations; how do they act
they act within each role to maximize the benefits they will receive and to minimize the costs to themselves
The social exchange theory borrows from what other theory
symbolic interactionism
Are the costs and benefits in social exchange theory different for everyone?
yes– individuals interpret their experiences of self and others to determine the benefits and costs , therefore the benefits and costs of a relationship are not facts, but are perceptions formed by each individuals
What can the social exchange theory be used to explain
the choice of marriage partners
give an example of the social exchange theory
princess Diana offered to the royal family; youth, fertility, and beauty that would ensure healthy and attractive heir. Charles offered; wealth, luxurious lifestyle and royalty. The marriage was successful in that it produced heirs, however her was unwilling to end relationship with mistress, and Diana couldn’t stand the restrictions places on her by the royal family. So the cost of the relationship was greater than the rewards.
When is the relationships proffered in social exchange theory
when the benefits outweigh the cost
wha ar the limitations to the social exchange theory
some people could be offered by the cost and benefit analysis
Give example of normative events
going to school, sleeping, eating
Give examples of non-normative events
miscarriage, killing someone
What is behaviourism
Central to this theory is the belief that all behaviour is the product of our conditioning, and that metal processes (thoughts, feelings and intentions) are unnecessary in the purpose of psychological research
What do theorists of behaviourist think about studying humans
human behaviour should be studied objectively (the same way rat and monkey are studied)
What do scientists of behaviourism think studies will lead to
think that studies would lead to predictable and controlled behaviour
What scientist is most famously associated with behaviourism
Skinner
What did skinner believe
believed that all present behaviour could be explained by past history, current situation and genetics
What criticism is there about behaviourism
the focus on the theory’s neglect of human feelings and consciousness
In the context of behaviourism, what is reward vs punishment
Humans want to be rewarded and not punished, so they will make choices to be rewarded
give an example of behaviourist thinking
Why do you not wear certain clothes? Because others may not like it, and you don’t want to be made fun of
Skinner is one of the leading figures in what?
operant conditioning
What did sinner invent
the skinner box
how did skinner view all of the learnings
as proceeding along behaviourist lines through the schedule of rewards and punishment
skinner propounded what kind of philosophy
he propounded a social philosophy predicted upon rewarding socially “acceptable” behaviour and punishing socially “unacceptable” behaviour
What is the skinner box
a means of gathering a lot of data about the learning behaviour of rats and pigeons in as short amount of time as possible
Who is Iva Pavlov and what is he known for
most famous and famous psychologist for discovery of “conditioned reflex”
What animal did pavlov work with
dogs
What did pavlov discover about dogs
found that dogs would sometimes secrete saliva at the presentation of food, or when a bell was rung to alert them to the fact that food would soon be arriving
What did pavlov attribute the digs reactions to
psychic causes (mental causes)
Do both skinner and pavlov agree?
both theorists say that everything we do it to get a reward and avoid a punishment
Is pavlov a behaviourist
yes
What is humanism (humanistic psychology)
A reaction to the dominant schools of psychodynamics and behaviourism
The founders of humanism aimed to deal with what
concerns which they felt test other schools of psychology ignored unjustly
give an example of humanism
example— peoples conscious experience (their capacity for personal agency) and the fact that each person is a whole
what are the two main terms associated wit humanism
Existentialism and authenticity
What is existentialism
european philosophy– emphasizing free will and responsibility of the individual, mainly atheistic, acknowledges the constraints put on us in terms of morality, by society and culture and religion and accepting them, but wanted to break them
What is authenticity
accepting responsibility for the choices that you make.
What is inauthenticity
Acts of inauthenticity would include letting others, or “fate”, make your decisions or sticking blind to some sort of ideology , religion or conventional behaviour-pattern
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
this theory conjoins behaviourism and humanism
What are B-values
what all people have, people must overcome the unconscious instinctual impulses
What are the needs (order from highest to lowest)
self- actualization, esteem (ego needs), social needs, safety (security needs), physiological (body needs)
What is self-actualization
fulfilment
What is esteem (aka ego needs)
pride, sense of accomplishment, purpose, people at this level call it a vocation or calling in the old
What is social needs (aka love and belonging)
family, peers, acceptance
What is safety (aka security needs)
shelter and protection
What is physiological (aka body needs)
hunger, thirst, sex, warmth
How do you get from one hierarchy level to the next
You may only move to the next level, if you complete the one before it (starting at the very bottom)
What are the two theories that directly oppose each other
Nurture v Nature and Behaviourist v Humanism
What is the freudian slip
and error in slip, memory or physical action
What does a freudian slip mean according to theorists
interpreted as occurring due to the interference if some unconscious (“dynamically repressed”) wish, conflict or train of thought
In modern use, what is the freudian slip used for
explaining slips of tongue
where can freudian slips be found
`They can be found in high level psychological analysis or you everyday sitcom
What is the topographic model?
Iceberg model that describes the different levels of consciousness
Freud believes that most of what drives us is buried _______
buried in our unconscious (such as many beliefs, feelings, and impulses)
Things in the unconscious levels are _______
repressed
What is this picture/diagram of
Freud’s Topographic model
What are the different levels of the consiousness
Consious, preconsious, unconsious
what is included in the consious
thoughts and perceptions
what is included on the preconsous level
memories and stored knowledge (the name of your fist dog, etc)
What is included on the unconcious level
Fears, violent motives, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, unnacceptable sexual desires
What is Freuds structural model
basically explains our personality sections
What is included in freud’s structural model
Id, ego, superego
when does a person develop their id
they are born with it
what is the id
Based on our pleasure principle— whatever the id needs to feel good at the time
why id the id an important part of out personality as a newborn
bc important part of our personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met– hungry= cry, wants attention=cry
does the id have any care about reality
no
what is the second development of a persons personality
the ego
when does the ego develop
within the 3 years, as the child intercats with the world more
is the ego based on reality
yes
what does the ego understand
ego understands that other people have needs and desires, and that being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run
what is the ego’s job
ego’s job to meet needs of id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation
what is developed in the final stage of personality development
the super ego
when does a person develop the super ego
by the age of 5
what is the superego
is the moral part of us and develops due to moral and ethical retains placed on us by caregivers
why do people equate our superego with the concious
people equate the superego with the conscious as it dictates our belief of right and wrong
in a healthy person, which of the personality sections is the stringest (of the id, ego, superego)
according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, and to upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation
what happens if the id gets too strong
impulses and self gratification take over the person’s life
what happens if the superego gets too strong
the person would be driven by ridged morals, would be judgemental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world
what is freud’s stages of psychosexual development
stanges that explain the development peole go through and trys to explain sexual outcomes they have as adults
how are certain fantasies, personality traits and charateristics explaines through freud’s stages psychosexual development
During each stage, an unsuccessful completion means that a child becomes fixated on that particular erogenous one and either over—or under— indulges once he or she becomes and adult
what are the 5 stages of psychosexual development
oral stage, anal stage, Phallic Stage, Latency Stage, gential stage
what ages is the oral stage
birth-18 months
what is the childs focus during the oral stage
oral pleasure (sucking)
too little, or too much gratification during the oral stage can result in what
oral fixations or oral personality
people with an oral fixation have what characteristics
may have stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite their nails
what is included in an oral personality
these people may become too dependant on others, gullible and perpetual followers
on the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression towards other
what age does the anal stage occur at
18 moths- 3 years
what is the childs focus of pleasure during the anal stage
child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is on eliminating and retaining feces– through societal pressures (mainly the parents) the child has to learn to control and stimulate
In an anal fixation person, what might their personalty be
can result in a obsession with cleanliness, perfection and control (anal retentive)
on the opposite end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive)
when does the phallic stage occur
age 3-6
what is the pleasure zone during the phallic stage
genitals
what does the boy develop in the phallic stage
Boys develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother
because of this, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for mother affection
during the stage of phallic, why does the boy supress his sexual desires
boys also develop a feat that their father will punish them for these feelings, such as by castrating them
what is a boy’s sexual desire for his mother calles
Oediplex Complex
During the phallic stage, what did Freud think about girls in the stage
he didnt, infact, he did not think they had any oppressed sexual desires for their father
what is the Electra Complex
developed by ore modern psychoanalysts– where the daughter has sexua desires for their father
why do boys eventually identify, rather than fight, with their fathers
According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his father, boys will eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him
by identifying with his father, the boy does what
the boy develops masculine characteristics and identifies as a male and repressed his sexual deviancies (both overindulging and avoidance) and weak or confused sexual identity according to psychoanalyst
when does the latency stage occuer
6-puberty
what happens during the latency stage
it is during this stage that sexual urges remain repress and children interact and play mostly with the same sex peers
when does the genital stage occur
puberty– on
what happens during th puberty stage
the final stage begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened
through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals
where is the primary pleasure focus in the genital stage
the genitals
what is the conflict theory
the interdisciplinary sociological political theory that explains how power, not functional interdependence, holds society together
what does the conflic theory say that conflict causes
inequaloties in power
what does the conflict theory assume about competing and needs
assumes that people compete with others to meet their needs
if they are in competition, the needs of all will not be met equally
what can competition result in
this competition can result in exploitation by individuals in the group with greater power over others from a group with lesser power
what theory did karl marx beleive in
the conflict theory
what did karl marx believe
believed that the people who were wealthy and owned business and corporations, worked to make themselves wealthier and the poor, poorer. He believed that inequalities should, and could be eliminated
what did Friedrich Engels believe
believed that the gap/division between the sexes needed to be maintained in order for capitalism to continue
what theory did Friedrich Engels believe in
the conflic theory
how many stages does Piaget have in his developmental theory
4
what is the first stage of piagets developmental theory
sensori-motor stage
when does the sensori-motor stage happen
age birth-2
what happens during the sensori-motor stage
child learns to master its movements and understand its physical impact on the immediate surroundings
What is the second stage of Piaget’s developmental theory
The Pre-Operational Stage
when does the The Pre-Operational Stage occure
2-7 years
what heppens during the pre-operational stage
child starts to organize mental representations (think is signs and symbols) although mental operations are not yet reversible
what are typical features during the pre-operatonal stage
child starts to organize mental representations (think is signs and symbols) although mental operations are not yet reversible
what is stage 3 of piaget’s developmental theory
The Concrete Operational Stage
when does the The Concrete Operational Stage occur
age 7-11 years
what happens during the concrete operatonal stage
previous stage prepared for this
ability to mentally represent actions and concepts and to logically consider them
a way of determining cognition of child during this stage is to invite the child to preform the conservation task and ask the child to give a logical explanation to the results of the task, something that Piaget stated was true sign of understanding
he also placed much value on child’s mathematical abilities due to the relationship between numbers and reversibility or mathematical operations
what is stage 4 of piaget’s developmental stages
The Formal Operational Stage
when does the The Formal Operational Stage happen
11-15 years
what happens in the The Formal Operational Stage
istinguished in child’s ability to relate to ideas
child learns to create possibilities from hypotheses
actual process of observing and deducing from possibilities available
Piaget didn’t believe that everyone fills criteria for complete formal reasoning, buts its recognized that some people may develop complete understanding of a particular area (such as mechanics or math) depending on their vocational on interests
also the social cognition and the understanding of the self develops as the social takes on a more personal value
