approaches

introspection definition

first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking it up into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations.

who opened the first psychological lab. when and where?

wundt

leipzig, germany. late 1800s.

how did wundt document and describe the nature of human consciousness?

introspection. wundt and co-workers recorded their own conscious thoughts with aim of breaking them down in their constituent parts. this is structuralism. introspections recorded under controlled conditions with the same stimulus (ticking metronome) each time. standardised instructions for repeatability.

assumptions of behavioural approach

learning theory.

only interested in observable and measurable behaviour, not mental processes.

behaviourists like watson rejected introspection as it relied on things that weren’t measurable. therefore, behaviourists focused on lab experiments with more control and objectivity.

pavlovs research

behaviourist. classical conditioning. bell. food and dog. salivation.

skinners research

behaviourist. operant conditioning. positive reinforcement - reward for behaviour. negative reinforcement - avoidance of unpleasant things. punishment - consequence.

rat in skinners boxes. when a lever was activated by rat, they got food. positive reinforcement. also showed how they did this behaviour to avoid electrical shock.

behaviourist approach eval

scientific credibility - influential in the development of psychology as a science. acknowledges importance of scientific processes like objectivity and replication.

real-life application - token economy system in prisons where prisoners are given tokens for good behaviour which they can use for extra privileges. application in treating phobias which takes less effort for the patients as they don’t have to think of their problems as much.

mechanistic view of behaviour - individuals are seen as passive and machine-like, we only respond to the environment. other approaches like SLT and cognitive approach take into account mental processes. suggests learning theory is better applied to animals than humans.

social learning theory assumptions

learning theory. bandura agreed with behaviourists but said that there was another way people learn: through observation and imitation of others within a social context. learning is direct and indirect.

vicarious reinforcement

social learning theory. reinforcement which isn’t directly experienced but occurs through observation of someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.

4 mediational processes in SLT.

1. attention - noticing certain behaviours.

2. retention - remembering behaviours.

3. motor reproduction - ability of observer to perform these behaviours.

4. motivation - will to perform these behaviours, determined by if the behaviour was rewarded or punished.

identification

SLT. imitating the behaviours of someone we identify with, a role model. this is modelling. role models have similar characteristics to us or have a high status. don’t have to be physically present (can be in media).

bandura’s bobo dolls

recorded behaviour of children who watched adults behave in an aggressive way towards the bobo doll. hit doll with hammer and shouted at it. children who saw this aggressive adult were more likely to act aggressive than the children who observed the non-aggressive adult.

this was repeated but group 1 saw the adult being praised for their behaviour, group 2 saw them being punished, group 3 had a non-aggressive adult. group 1 acted in an aggressive way, then 3, then 2.

SLT eval

more comprehensive explanation - recognises meditational processes. the behaviourist approach doesn’t consider cognitive factors like SLT.

over-reliance on lab studies - bandura’s ideas based on lab studies. suggests there may have been demand characteristics in the bobo doll study. can’t generalise it to everyday life.

underestimates biological factors - boys more aggressive than girls in bobo doll study. could be because of different levels of testosterone. learning theory doesn’t acknowledge this.

cognitive approach assumptions

internal mental processes can and should be studied. cognitive psychologists make inferences about what is going on in people’s mind according to their behaviour.

theoretical and computer models

cognitive approach. helps us understand mental processes. theoretical models are more abstract, computer models are concrete things.

information processing approach is a theoretical model. suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages including input, storage and retrieval, similar to the MSM. based on the way a computer functions but a computer model would involve programming a computer to see if instructions produce a similar output to humans. if they do, we can assume a similar process is going on in a humans mind. proved useful in AI.

schema

packages of ideas and information developed through experience. mental framework for interpretation of incoming information.

babies are born with simple motor schemas like sucking and grasping. through age, our schema becomes more complex.

may also cause distortion of interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors.

cognitive approach eval

scientific and objective methods - lab experiments for reliable, objective data. emergence of neuroscience has caused cognitive psychology and biology to come together. established credible scientific basis.

machine reductionism - similarities between human mind and computers. ignores influence of human emotion. research has shown human memory may be influenced by emotional factors. e.g. anxiety and EWT.

no real-life application - cognitive psychologists can only infer, causing it to suffer from being too abstract and theoretical. experimental studies with artificial stimuli (like in memory tests) may not reflect everyday memory experience. lacks external validity.

biological approach assumptions

to understand human behaviour, we need to understand biological structures and processes like genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system. contrasts the cognitive approach which suggests the mind is different from the physical brain.

genetic basis of behaviour

behaviour genetictics study whether behavioural characteristics are inherited like physical characteristics. twin studies are used to determine the likelihood of certain traits having a genetic basis by comparing concordance rates. if monozygotic twins (100% shared dna) have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins (50%), this would suggest a genetic basis.

genotype and phenotype

genotype is genetic make-up. phenotype is how genes are expressed. phenotype influenced by environmental factors, genotype is the same.

evolution and behaviour

darwin’s natural selection. genetically determined behaviour is for survival. if an individual survives but doesn’t reproduce, these traits don’t remain in the gene pool.

biological approach eval

scientific - scientific methods like fMRIs, EEGs, family and twin studies, and drug trials. accurately measures biological and neural processes without bias. biological approach based on reliable data.

real-life application - led to development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental health illnesses. not effective for all patients. means sufferers are allowed to manage their condition and live a relatively normal life.

casual conclusions - explanations for mental illness in terms of actions of neurotransmitters. evidence for this relationship comes from studies that show a particular drug reduces symptoms of a mental disorder. assumed the neurochemical in drug causes the disorder. does not mean causation. limitation because biological approach is claiming to discover causes where there is an association.

psychodynamic approach

freud. focus on the unconscious mind. storehouse of biological instincts that shape our behaviour. where threatening and disturbing memories have been repressed. can be accessed through dreams or ‘slip of tongue’ (parapraxes).

there is also the preconscious, where thoughts and memories which aren’t in conscious awareness are. we can access these if desired.

freud’s structure of personality

id - operates on pleasure principle. present at birth. selfish.

ego - operates on reality principle. mediator between other two parts. develops around 2 years old. defence mechanisms to reduce conflicts between demands of id and superego.

superego - formed at the end of phallic stage, age 5. operates on morality principle. represents moral standards of child’s same-sex parent. punishes ego for wrongdoings though guilt.

psychosexual stages

oral (0-1yrs) - focus of pleasure is mouth. breast-feeding. unresolved conflict leads to oral fixations like biting nails, sarcastic, critical, smoking.

anal (1-3yrs) - focus of pleasure is anus. pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces. unresolved conflict leads to anal retentive (perfectionist, obsessive), anal expulsive (thoughtless, messy).

phallic (3-5yrs) - focus of pleasure on genital area. oedipus and electra complex. unresolved conflict leads to phallic personality - narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual.

latency - earlier conflicts are repressed.

genital - sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty. unresolved conflict leads to difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.

oedipus and electra complex

oedipus - boys. romantic love to mother, murderous hatred and jealousy to father. fear father will castrate them so they repress their feelings and identify with father, taking on his gender role and moral values.

electra - girls experience penis envy and desire their father. hate their mother. give up desire for father over time and replace this with desire for a baby, resonating with their mother in the process.

what is fixation?

unresolved psychosexual conflict leading to carrying certain behaviours and conflicts associated with that stage to their adult life.

psychodynamic approach eval

explanatory power - despite being controversial, it has a huge influence on psychology. alongside behaviourism, it remained the dominant force in psychology. explains personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender. draws attention to the association between childhood and adult development.

not generalisable - theory based on study of individuals often in therapy (little hans). observations were detailed but critics said we can’t make universal claims about human nature based on studies of a small number who were psychologically abnormal. freud was subjective, other psychologists wouldn’t have made the same conclusion about little hans. lack of scientific rigour.

untestable concepts - popper said it doesn’t meet scientific criterion of falsifiability. not open to empirical testing. difficult to test unconscious. pseudoscience, rather than real science.

maslow’s hierarchy of needs (top to bottom). humanistic approach.

self-actualisation

self-esteem

love and belongingness

safety and security

physiological needs

humanistic approach. free will.

other approaches are deterministic to some extent. humanistic says we have free will. we’re active agents. person-centred approach.

little hans study

psychodynamic approach. 5 year old who had a phobia towards horses after seeing one collapse in the street. freud said this was due to displacement in which is repressed fears of his father was displaced onto horses. horses were symbolic of hans’ unconscious fear: castration. oedipus complex.

self-actualisation

humanistic approach. innate tendency to achieve our full potential. psychological barriers may prevent self-actualisation. personal growth.

self, congruence and conditions of worth.

humanistic approach. roger argued concept of self must have congruence with ideal self. if the gap is too big, incongruence will cause negative feelings of self-worth so self-actualisation can’t be achieved.

client-centred therapy can reduce this gap. issues we experience as adults can be explained by a lack of unconditional positive regard from parents. conditions of worth are saying “i’ll only love you if…”. stores psychological problems. therapists will give the patient unconditional positive regard their parents couldn’t.

humanistic approach eval

not reductionist - rejects idea of breaking up behaviour into smaller components. humanistic approach advocates holistic, the idea subjective experiences can only be understood by considering the whole person. more validity than opponents considering meaningful human-behaviour within real-life context.

limited application - rogerian therapy has revolutionised counselling techniques and maslow’s hierarchy has been used to explain motivation, but it has limited impact within the discipline of psychology as a whole. lacks sound evidence-base. described as a loose set of abstract complexes, not a comprehensive theory.

positive approach - brings human back into psychology. promotes positive image of human condition. freud saw humans as slaves to their past and said we existed between ‘common unhappiness and absolute despair’.

most and least: views on development

most: psychodynamic approach - psychosexual stages determined by age. little development after genital stage.

least: behaviourist and social learning approach. no coherent stage theories. learning is continuous, at any age.

most and least: nature vs nurture

nature: biological approach - anatomy is destined. genetic blueprint.

nurture: SLT and behaviourist - born as blank slate. behaviour learnt through associations.

most and least: reductionism

reductionist: behaviourist and biological - breaks up complex behaviours into stimulus-response units. behaviour explained in neurons or genes.

holistic: humanistic - free will.

most and least: determinism

most: biological - genetic determinism.

least: humanistic - free will.

explanation and treatment of abnormal behaviour

behaviour therapies - systematic desensitisation. abnormality is when inappropriate patterns have been reinforced.

SLT - little application to treatment. modelling and observational learning from dysfunctional rolemodels causes abnormal behaviours.

psychodynamic - psychoanalysis. not appropriate for all, requires considerable input from patients. abnormal behaviours from overuse of defence mechanisms and unconscious conflicts.

humanistic - rogerian therapy. counselling. closing gap between ideal self and self.

cognitive therapy - eradicates faulty thinking. root cause of maladaptive behaviour.

biological - drug therapy. regulates chemical imbalance.

peripheral nervous system

sends information to CNS from outside world. transmits messages from CNS to muscles and glands in the body.

somatic nervous system

transmits information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the cns. receives information from the cns that directs muscles to act.

autonomic nervous system

transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. ‘autonomic’ as the system operates involuntarily. two main divisions: sympathetic (physiologically aroused) and parasympathetic nervous systems (normal resting state).

central nervous system

consists of brain and spinal cord. origin of all complex commands and decisions.

neuron

basic building blocks of the nervous system. neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals.

sensory neurons

carry messages from PNS to CNS. long dendrites, short axons.

relay neurons

connect sensory neuron to motor or other relay neurons. short dendrites, short axons.

motor neurons

connect the cns to effectors like muscles and glands. short dendrites, long axons.

3 defence mechanisms

displacement

denial - of reality

repression