Approaches blurting

Behaviourist approach A01

A01:

• Classical conditioning

  • Behaviour = learnt through associations

  • Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together → stimuli diagram process:

  • Neutral stimulus = no response

  • Unconditioned stimulus = unconditioned response

  • Neutral stimulus + unconditioned stimulus = unconditioned response

  • Conditioned stimulus (neutral stimulus after being paired with unconditioned stimulus) = conditioned response

  • Study → Pavlov’s dogs

• Operant conditioning

  • Behaviour = shaped + maintained by consequences

  • Three types of consequences:

  • Positive reinforcement = increase probability of repeated behaviour

  • Negative reinforcement = increase

  • Punishment = decrease probability of repeated behaviour

  • Study → Skinner’s rats (positive + negative reinforcement studies)

Behaviourist approach A03

• Scientific credibility → lab experiments = controlled, reliable, replicable, objective results, demonstrate cause + effect

  • Enhances credibility

  • Research support = Pavlov + Skinner

• Animal research → extrapolation = not valid, humans are more complex + have more advanced cerebral cortex

  • Ethical issues

• Real life application → token economy systems for eating disorder patients

• Less explanatory than SLT → takes into account behaviourist views + mediational processes

  • Reductionist

Social Learning Theory A01

• Vicarious reinforcement → behaviour = influenced through observation of others being reinforced for a behaviour (indirect experience)

  • Study → Bandura et al. Bobo Doll

  • Shows children learn through observation + imitation

  • Does not explain why the child might be motivated

• Identification → modelling behaviour of people who they identify with

  • Study → Bandura & Walters Bobo Doll

  • Three groups:

  1. Aggressive + rewarded

  2. Aggressive + punished

  3. No behaviour + no control

  • Children learn through vicarious reinforcement

• Role of mediational processes

  • Mediate learning + influence whether a behaviour is learnt

  • Attention

  • Retention

  • Motor reproduction

  • Motivation

Social Learning Theory A03

• Scientific method → lab experiments = controlled, reliable, replicable, objective results, demonstrate cause + effect

  • Artificial situation = demand characteristics, may lack ecological validity

• Real life application → vicarious reinforcement explains real world problems

  • Childhood aggression from video games = review games + game certification policy

• Recognises cognitive factors in learning → more comprehensive explanation of human learning than behaviourism

• Ignores role of biological factors in learning → ignores influence of genes, hormones, biochemicals on behaviour

  • Studies have shown boys show more aggressive behaviour than girls = more testosterone

  • Reductionist

Cognitive A01

• Internal mental processes → behaviour = influenced by thoughts

  • Can be conscious or non-conscious

  • CA assumption IMP can be indirectly studied through observable behaviours

• Models

  • Compared mind to computer (computer metaphor) = similarities in way information is processed

  • Provide testable theories that can be studied scientifically

  • Input → processing → output

• Schemas → mental representations of our knowledge + understanding developed through experience

  • Cognitive processing = can be affected by person’s beliefs and expectations (schemas)

  • Act as a mental framework for interpretation of incoming information from our senses

  • Study → Bugelski & Alampay Rat Man:

  • Demonstrates impact of schema on perception = negative/faulty schema can have a negative impact on mental health

Cognitive A03

• Real life application → development of CBT + cognitive interview technique = improve witness recall

• Inferences are subjective → relies of drawing inferences about IMP = abstract + may be biased

• Machine reductionism → computer analogy is reductionist, ignores motivation, morals, emotions = influence our ability to process information ~ anxiety can affect EWT memories

• Ignores biological influences on behaviour → BA, ignores genes, hormones, neurotransmitters influences on behaviour

  • Reductionist

Biological A01

• Genes = contain DNA that encode physical + psychological features, form chromosomes

• Genotype = genetic makeup

• Inherited from parents = assumption we may inherit a genetic disposition to certain behaviours from our parents

  • Genes may affect development of our brains + neurotransmitters = affect our behaviour

• Phenotype = way our genes are expressed through physical + psychological characteristics, mix of environment + genetics

  • Therefore environment can influence how our genotype is expressed

  • Biological psychologists accept some behaviour is caused by inherited factors interacting with environment → twin studies

• Twin studies → determine likelihood certain traits have a genetic basis

  • Comparing concordance rates between pairs of twins

  • Monozygotic twins have same genotype but different phenotype

• Evolution = changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations

• Natural selection = individuals change to improve their chance of survival and reproduction

• Neurotransmitters → communicate messages that influence thought + behaviour

• Hormones → serotonin = mood stabiliser, adrenaline = fight or flight

• Cognitive neuroscience → scientific study of brain/neurological structures + mechanisms + processes believed to be responsible for cognitive processes

  • Phineas Gage → identify Broca’s area that controls speech production

  • Can plan therapy to help those recover from brain injuries + strokes

Biological A03

• Scientific methods → blood tests + chromosomes tests + fMRI’s = controlled, reliable, replicable, objective results, demonstrate cause + effect

  • See how biological factors have influence on behaviour

• Real life application → understanding processes in the brain = development of psychoactive drugs

  • Treat schizophrenia, depression, OCD

• Causal explanations → BA attempted to identify causes of many disorders to develop drug treatments

  • Drugs do not reduce symptoms for all = other explanations (nurture or social)

• Deterministic + reductionist

  • No free will → everything is purely biological, impossible to say

  • Assumption complex behaviours can be reduced to simple biological factors → emptions, culture or morals?

Psychodynamic A01

• Tripartite mind

  • Conscious → part of mind we are aware of = our thoughts we can hear

  • Pre/sub conscious → contains repressed thoughts we may be aware of during dreams or parapraxes

  • Unconscious → also contains repressed threatening or disturbing memories the conscious is unaware of + unaware but unconscious drives much of our behaviour as it stores biological drives and instincts + protects us from trauma (PTSD)

• Tripartite structure of personality → dynamic interaction between these parts determines our behaviour + experiences and conflicts in childhood shape the development of the three parts affecting behaviour

  • Id → pleasure principle, unconscious drives + instincts, present at birth, selfish, demands instant gratification

  • Ego → reality principle, mediates between Id and superego by reducing conflict between the two using defence mechanisms, develops at age 2

  • Superego → morality principle, formed at end of phallic stage (age 5), sense of right and wrong, represents moral standards of child’s same sex parent, punishes ego for wrong doing (through guilt)

• Defence mechanisms → unconscious strategies used by ego to mediate conflict between Id and superego + ensure ego is prevented from being overwhelmed by trauma

  • Repression → keeps disturbing + threatening thoughts from becoming conscious (Oedipus complex = repress aggressive thoughts about father)

  • Denial → blocking external events from awareness

  • Displacement → satisfying impulse with substitute object

• Psychosexual stages of development → fixed sequence of stages that determine adult personality + each stage has a conflict that must be resolved to move onto next stage + if left unresolved = child becomes fixated on that stage

  • Oral → age 0-1, pleasure from mouth, mother’s breast is object of desire, consequence of unresolved conflict = oral fixation (smoking, nail biting)

  • Anal → age 1-3, pleasure from anus, withholding or expelling faeces, consequence of unresolved conflict = anal retentive (perfectionist, obsessive), anal repulsive (thoughtless, messy)

  • Phallic → most important, age 3-5, pleasure from genitals, Oedipus or Electra complex, consequence of unresolved conflict = phallic personality (reckless, possibly homosexual)

  • Latency

  • Genital

Psychodynamic A03

• Explanatory power + real life application → dominant approach in early 20th century, used to explain a wide range of phenomena = personality + development + gender

  • Led to development of psychoanalysis therapy → technique used access the unconscious using dream analysis + hypnosis = led to development of more modern psychotherapies which have had some success

  • Inappropriate for people with severe conditions (schizophrenia)

• Case study method → developed his theories using a small number of case studies (Little Hans, Anna O)

  • Detailed but lacks generalisability + his interpretations were objective

  • Popper “Freud’s approach lacked academic rigor”

• Untestable concepts → cannot examine, measure or falsify the unconscious, labelled as pseudoscience

• SLT → used scientific experiments = controlled, reliable, replicable, objective results, demonstrate cause + effect

  • More generalisable

Humanistic A01

• Focuses on the whole of the person, their own situations

• Self actualisation = realisation and achieving your full potential

  • Innate tendency to achieve our full potential

• Capacity for free will + personal choice → power to shape your own lives, make own decisions, change and grow

  • Personal growth = developing as we become fulfilled, goal orientated

• Hierarchy of needs → each level needs to be met to achieve ‘self actualisation’

  1. Top → self actualisation = morality, creativity, lack of prejudice

  2. Esteem = confidence, achievement, respect of others

  3. Love/belonging = friendship, family

  4. Safety = employment, security of resources, health

  5. Physiological = sleep, breathing

• The self = to gain personal growth → self concept + ideal self must have congruence

• Big gap between two selfs = incongruence

  • Incongruence = self actualisation is not possible → negative feelings of self worth that arise from conditions of worth

• Conditions of worth = situations or conditions someone feels they must meet to be loved or approved by others

  • Lack of unconditional positive regards (parents use conditions of worth) in childhood = psychological issues + damage in adulthood

• Developed client centred therapy to reduce gap between selfs

  • Non-judgmental, empathetic, unconditional positive regard atmosphere

  • ‘Client’ not ‘patient’, focus on present, most of our problems = arise from lack of self esteem + conditions of worth

  • Aims → reduce incongruence, help mild psychological conditions, help client become fully functioning day to day

  • How → clients encouraged to discover own solutions

Humanistic A03

• Positive approach + not deterministic → optimistic approach to mental health

  • We have free will → person can grow + change throughout their life

• Not reductionist → holistic approach = subjective experience can only be understood by considering whole person (not just genes or observed behaviour)

  • Person centred approach

  • Idiographic approach → in-depth study of sole person

• Untestable concepts → not falsifiable

  • Not scientific

  • Idiographic approach = cannot generalise laws + principles to explain behaviour for all

• Limited real life application → client centred counselling = not for major psychological influences

Comparison of approaches: nature vs nurture

• Behaviourist = nurture

• SLT = nurture

• Cognitive = interactionist

• Biological = nature

• Psychodynamic = interactionist

• Humanistic = nurture

Comparison of approaches: free will vs determinism

• Behaviourist = environmental determinism

• SLT = soft determinism (constraints exist, but we have choice within those)

• Cognitive = soft determinism

• Biological = biological determinism

• Psychodynamic = high determinism (all behaviour is determined)

• Humanistic = free will

Comparison of approaches: holistic vs reductionist

• Behaviourist = environmental reductionism (simple stimulus response)

• SLT = environmental reductionism

• Cognitive = machine reductionism

• Biological = biological reductionism

• Psychodynamic = holistic

• Humanistic = very holistic (whole integrated experience)

Reductionism = break human behaviour into simplest components

Comparison of approaches: idiographic vs nomothetic

• Behaviourist = nomothetic

• SLT = nomothetic

• Cognitive = nomothetic

• Biological = nomothetic

• Psychodynamic = bit of both

• Humanistic = idiographic

Idiographic = human behaviour → best investigated by studying unique experiences of individuals

Nomothetic = establishing general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone