Approaches

Assumptions of the behaviourist approach

everyone is born as a 'blank slate' which life writes upon (Watson, ‘30)

• all behaviour is learnt from the environment and can be understood by classical and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

• behaviourist approach

learning via association : Pavlov (1897)

• Food (UCS) → Dog drools (UCR)

• Bell (NS) → Dog doesn’t respond

• Bell (NS) + Food (UCS) → Dog drools (UCR)

• Bell (CS) → Dog drools (CR)

Operant conditioning

• behaviourist approach

learning via reinforcement and punishment : Skinner

• Skinner studied rats in a Skinner Box.

• The box had a lever that released food (positive reinforcement)

• Rats explored and accidentally pressed the lever.

• They learned to repeat the behaviour to get food.

• Shows behaviour is strengthened by reinforcement.

AO3: Use of scientific methods

• behaviourist approach

• Uses lab experiments with controlled variables (Skinner’s box) = high internal validity + replicability

• may lack ecological validity because real-life learning often occurs in more complex environments.

AO3: Real life application

• behaviourist approach

Systematic Desensitisation: uses classical conditioning to treat phobias by gradually associating a feared stimulus with relaxation instead of fear.

AO3: Environmental determinism

• behaviourist approach

• Alludes that all behaviour displayed is learnt from our environment and ignores the idea free will

• This oversimplifies human behaviour and neglects internal mental processes

AO3: Uses animal studies

• behaviourist approach

• many behaviourist studies use animals (rats, dogs), the findings are hard to generalise to humans due to differences in complexity, cognition, and emotions

• some animal studies also raise ethical concerns about the treatment of animals in experiments

Assumptions of the biological approach

everything psychological has a biological basis

Twin studies

• Biological approach

• Used to investigate the genetic basis of behaviour

• Concordance rates are higher in MZ twins (100%) as they are identical compared to DZ twins (50%)
  

Genotype

inherited genetic material that can pass from generation to generation

Phenotype

characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment

Natural selection : Darwin

• biological approach

genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival will continue in future generation

AO3: Research support for twin studies

• biological approach

• Bouchard et al: (‘90): Collected data on 1,500 pairs of twins

• MZ twins reared together showed a correlation of +0.9 

• The large sample size and quantitative data give this study good reliability

AO3: Research support for evolution

• biological approach

• Curtis et al (04): Higher levels of disgust for disease-salient images

• If people have an innate disgust response to rotten food = validity to the idea that humans are biologically programmed for survival

AO3: Real world application

• biological approach

• success of drug therapies: SSRIs for the treatment of psychological disorders such as depression and OCD

AO3: Biological determinism

• biological approach

• arguing that complex human behaviour is a product of genetics alone is a simplistic view which ignores environmental factors on behaviour = limits external validity

Neurochemistry influencing behaviour

• chemicals are transported via electrical impulses from pre synaptic neuron to post synaptic neuron across the synaptic cleft

Role of serotonin

• Neurochemistry influencing behaviour

• Can act as a hormone that helps regulate sleep, mood and body temp

• Low levels of serotonin can lead to depression, SSRIs help prevent uptake of depression

Assumptions of the humanistic approach

humans have free will, humans should be viewed holistically, each individual is unique

what is free will

• humanistic approach

describes people as self determining

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

• humanistic approach

 interested in what motivates people and how to achieve self actualisation

1. Physiological (essential): water, food, air, shelter

2. Safety: security, protection, law, order

3. Social: friendship, family, love, feeling of belonging

4. Esteem needs: self worth, accomplishment, respect

5. Self actualisation: self fulfilment, transcendence, autonomy

Congruence

• humanistic approach

• self image overlaps with your ideal self. to be completely congruent you have to achieve self actualisation.

Incongruence

• humanistic approach

• Occurs when the gap between the real and ideal self is too wide + self actualisation isn’t possible

Conditions of worth

• humanistic approach

Rogers claimed that issues we experience as adults like worthlessness + low self esteem can be explained from a lack of unconditional positive regard in childhood

• UPR: When one receives acceptance without any conditions

or judgments.

• Counselling: Rogers developed client-centred therapy to reduce incongruence between self image + ideal self and to increase persons feelings of self worth

AO3: Holistic approach

• humanistic approach

Gives a complete + realistic understanding of people in comparison to other approaches

• Behaviourist: learn behaviour from our environment, focuses on rewards and conditioning

• Biological: reduces behaviour to physical causes like hormones, genes + brain chemicals

• Cognitive: reduces behaviour to mental processes like thinking, perception + memory

AO3: Positive approach

• humanistic approach

• Removes blame, guilt and shame from people who seek counselling, likely to lead to a good rate of client retention

AO3: Limited real life application

• humanistic approach

• Difficult to operationalise + measure so it lacks reliability being too opened to interpretation

AO3: Culture bias

• humanistic approach

• More applicable to individualistic cultures: HON emphasised the importance of reaching self actualisation. Rogers also placed value in one’s self-esteem and personal growth.

Assumptions of the cognitive approach

• Possible to make inferences about mental processes using theoretical + computer models

Theoretical model

• cognitive approach

info processing approach: suggests info flows through cognitive systems in stages such as the MSM

Computer model

• cog approach

 mind is compared to a computer

1. Storage: computer = RAM + hard drives. | mind = STM + LTM

2. Brain acts as a CPU: responsible for processing info

3. Coding: computer = encodes data | mind = converts info into a usable format

Schemas

• cog approach

• Shortcuts helping us process info faster and stop you from becoming overwhelmed with environmental stimuli

• Babies are born with simple motor schemas for innate behaviours and as you get older, they become more sophisticated

Cognitive neuroscience

• cog approach

• Origins: discovery of the Broca’s area which is linked to speech production

• New tech: fMRI + PET allow psychologists to study how mental processes are linked to brain activity

AO3: Real life application

• cog approach

t has contributed to the development of AI due to it’s use of theoretical and computer models

AO3: Has a degree of flexibility

• cog approach

• It is an example of soft determinism compared to the hard determinism of the behaviourist approach

• This means that the cognitive approach does not take a completely rigid view of human behaviour; it acknowledges the existence of free will

AO3: Machine reductionism

• cog approach

ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system, and how this may affect our ability to  process information.

AO3: IMP can only be inferred

• cog approach

So the explanation of behaviour is overly abstract and detached from real life = low external validity

Assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

• assumes that experiences in early childhood help determine an individual's mental state and outcomes in later life

• this would manifest in behaviour such as addiction, neediness, greed

• if someone is conflicted due to dysfunctional parental behaviour in childhood they may exhibit defence mechanism behaviour

Role of the unconscious 

• psychodynamic approach

1. Conscious: part of mind that the individual is aware of

2. Preconscious: thoughts and feelings that a person is not currently aware of

3. Unconscious: protects the conscious self from trauma

Structure of personality: Id

• psychodynamic approach

• Present from birth

• Part of unconscious mind

• Operates according to the pleasure principle

• Seeks only self-indulgent pleasure and instant gratification

Structure of personality: Ego

• psychodynamic approach

• Develops around 18m-3y

• Operates according to the reality principle

• Balances Id and Superego

• Develops in response to control by others - usually one's parents - during the anal stage of development

Structure of personality: Superego

• psychodynamic approach

• Develops around 3-6y

• Operates according to the morality principle

• Represents an internalised sense of right and wrong

List the steps of psychosexual stages

1. Oral (0-1): focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mother’s breast is the focus of desire

2. Anal (1-3): focus of pleasure is the anus and child focuses on withholding and expelling faeces

3. Phallic (3-5): focus of pleasure is genitals and children experience the Electra complex

4. Latency (6-12): previous conflicts are resolved/repressed and early years are largely forgotten

5. Genital (12-adulthood): sexual desires become conscious with the onset of puberty

• there is an unconscious conflict at each stage which must be resolved before the next stage is reached

Defence mechanisms

• psychodynamic approach

help the ego manage the conflict between the id and the superego and provides compromise solutions to deal w unresolved conflicts alongside a way to reduce anxiety

• Displacement

• Repression

• Denial: refusal to accept reality