Psychology a level - approaches

all the approaches topic with key terms, evaluation and comparisons!

Father of psychology

Wundt

What does BIG LADIES EAT OTHER ANIMALS stand for and what approach does it apply to

Blank slate

Learned

Environment

Observable behaviour

Animals

Behaviourist approach

What does Pavlov’s dogs investigate

Classical conditioning

What is the food, bell and salivation in Pavlov’s dogs experiment

UCS, NS-CS, UCR-CR

What is operant conditioning

a form of learning where behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences

what is the difference between punishment and reinforcement

punishment discourages a behaviour, reinforcement encourages a behaviour

what is continuous reinforcement

reinforcement every time the behaviour occurs. establishes response quickly

what is partial/variable reinforcement

behaviour not reinforced every time. this helps maintain the response

two strengths of behaviourist approach

scientific method

real world application e.g. treating phobias, in schools

two limitations of behaviourist approach

deterministic

use of non-human animals

who proposed social learning theory

Bandura

what does social learning theory assume forms behaviour

observation and imitation of role models

what is vicarious reinforcement

indirect learning

what are cognitive factors, as considered in SLT

mental processes that mediate between stimulus and response

What mediational processes does ARRM represent in SLT

Attention

Retention

Reproduction

Motivation

Describe bandura’s bobo doll experiment

36 girls and 36 boys aged 3-6 years

IV - aggressive role model, non-aggressive role model, no role model. sex of role model and child

DV - number of aggressive behaviours each child showed

Found that boys more aggressive than girls. boys more likely to imitate same sex role models. all children in group with aggressive role models were aggressive

Two strengths of SLT

Explanatory power e.g. why people act aggressively, cultural variations in behaviour

real world application e.g. age restrictions on media

Two limitations of SLT

Deterministic

underestimates influence of biological factors e.g. boys in bobo doll exp may have been more aggressive because higher testosterone

what is the bio approaches main argument

behaviour has a physical cause e.g. genes, biological structures and neurochemicals

Evidence for impact of bio structures on our behaviour

Phineas Gage - brain injury changed his personality, becoming more short-tempered. Damage occurred to frontal lobe, suggesting this affects personality

2 examples of impacts of neurochemicals on behaviour

dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia

testosterone linked to aggression

What evidence is there for genes impacting behaviour? give an example

monozygotic twins have higher concordance rates than dizygotic twins

e.g. Nestadt et al (2010) found 68% concordance for MZ twins and 31% for DZ for OCD

why are advantageous genes passed on?

evolution and natural selection

what is a genotype

entire set of genes

what is a phenotype

characteristics that form as a result of genotypes interaction with the environment

two strengths of bio approach

real world application in drugs

scientific method

two limitations of bio approach

biological reductionism

twin studies don’t show 100% concordance

What are the psychosexual stages in order with time frames

Oral (0-1y)

Anal (1-3y)

Phallic (3-5y)

Latency (6-12y)

Genital (12y-adulthood)

what prevents someone from moving onto the next psychosexual stage

an unresolved conflict associated with a stage

what is the tripartite personality from Freud’s theory from first to develop

Id - works off the pleasure principle, creates unconscious drives and instincts

Ego - works on reality principle, develops at 2 years

Superego - based of morality principle, develops after phallic stage (5 years)

what are defence mechanisms

unconscious strategies the ego uses to manage the conflicts between the id and the superego

What case study did Freud use

Little Hans. developed a fear of horses after traumatic event which represented his fear of his father

What real world application do Freuds ideas have

Talking therapy, dream analysis

two strengths of psychodynamic approach

High influence: Freud one of the first to suggest mental illness is caused by psychological factors which is supported by later research e.g. later study showed anxious people struggle more to recall painful memories

Real world application in psychoanalysis

two limitations of psychodynamic approach

case study is unreliable

unfalsifiable because we cannot see unconcious

What does PSLES stand for in humanistic approach

physiological

safety

love and belonging

esteem

self-actualization

What term describes the PSLE part of maslow’s hierarchy

Deficiency needs. Self-actualization is the only growth need

why is humanistic app a person-centred app

does not make general laws about human behaviour

what is congruence

when real and ideal self match

what are conditions of worth

requirements that must be met in order for us to feel/be loved

three strengths of humanistic approach and a counterpoint

values personal ideals HOWEVER this may only be a strength in individualist cultures

more sensitive to human experience than scientific methods

real world application in Rogers’ client-centred counselling

one limitation of humanistic approach

not scientific

what does MICCS represent in cognitive approach

mental processes

inference

computer analogy

cognitive neuroscience

schema

two strengths of cognitive approach

real world application e.g. CBT, cognitive interview

lead to cognitive neuroscience

two limitations of cognitive approach

lacks ecological validity since studies are in labs

machine reductionism

what did phrenology believe

shape of the skull showed something about a persons behaviour

what did aggregate field theory suggest

brain must be whole for any behaviour to be normal

what did the emergence of neuropsychology suggest about the brain

different parts have different roles, based on studying brain damaged patients

what does the Golgi method help us see

structure of brain tissues and cells

what is brain mapping

sectioning the brain into different areas with different functions

what did the EEG do for the first time

record a brains electrical activity

what do MRI’s do for cognitive neuroscience

provide detailed images of the brain

what do fMRIs show

the location of oxygen activity in the brain

which is the only idiographic approach

humanistic

which is the only holistic approach

humanistic

which approaches focus on nature

cognitive and biological

what is the name of an approach that considers multiple approaches

interactionist

what is the aim of cognitive neuroscience

discover the neurobiological basis for thought processes and disorders

summarise emergence of cognitive neuroscience

cognitive science formed in MIT in 1956

cognitive neuroscience coined by Miller and Gazzaniga in 1970s

strength of cognitive neuroscience

research support that disorders have neurobiological basis e.g. OCD

limitation of cognitive neuroscience

deterministic

what was the first psychological lab called and when did Wundt establish it?

The Institute of Experimental Psychology (Germany), 1879

inter-rater reliability of Bandura’s bobo doll experiment

89%

what was used to measure aggression in Bandura’s bobo doll study

4 5-point rating scales

2 real world applications of the cognitive approach

improving EWT through the cognitive interview

treating depression through CBT

list the approaches in order of their emergence

Wudnt’s introspection

psychodynamic

behaviourist

humanistic

cognitive

social learning theory

biological

cognitive neuroscience

outline Wundt’s introspection in 5 points

introspection is the process of analysing one’s own conscious experience

focused on being objective - known as structuralism

asked patients to focus on everyday objects and systematically report their sensations, images, and feelings

broke down thoughts into separate elements

also used sensory stimuli e.g. ticking metronome

real world application of all approaches

behaviourism - SD/flooding

SLT - regulating media

psychodynamic - psychoanalytic therapy

cognitive - CBT and REBT

biological - drug therapy

humanist - person centred counselling

2 roles of the unconscious according to the psychodynamic approach

protects the conscious self from anxiety e.g. through defence mechanisms like repression

direct behaviour