AQA Psychology - Approaches to Psychology

Who was the first person to call themself a psychologist?

Wundt

What is **Introspection**?

• A technique pioneered by Wundt to gain insight into how mental processes work

• People are trained to report their inner experiences in detail when presented with a stimulus

• Wundt used this to establish psychology as a science

Give one example of **research** that used introspection

Griffiths (1994)

⤷ conducted a study on gamblers using introspection as a research method.

• The study interviewed 30 regular fruit machine players and asked them to describe their thoughts and feelings while playing

• The study found that gamblers experienced a range of emotions while playing, including excitement, frustration, and a sense of control.

• Gamblers often used cognitive strategies to justify their behaviour, such as believing that they had a system for winning.

• The study provided insight into the psychology of gambling and the subjective experiences of gamblers

Give **criticisms** of **Introspection** as a method of investigation

• Introspection only allows insight into the persons conscious thoughts meaning unconscious ideas or prejudices that may affect their way of thinking are supressed

• Introspection has no way of verifiying the truth it accuracy of the information provided

Define **Empiricism**

Learning about behaviour through direct observation or experience

Give **one** criticism of Wundt’s contribution to society

Not all processes could be observed in the same scientific manner. For example, **learning** and **emotions** were not able to be definitively studied at the time

Give **4** features of the scientific method in psychology

• Objective - no researcher input, solely based on research support

• Systematic - observations are carried out in an orderly way

• Replicable - If it can be repeated by others an produce the same result

• Reliable - will produce the same/similar result every time it is done

Evaluate the **scientific approach**

• Strength: They are able to establish causes of behaviour based on empirical and objective research

• Limitation: Not all psychologist share the view that human behaviour can be explored using scientific methods as human behaviour is not subject to laws and regularity

Describe the **emergence of psychology as a a science**

In the early 20th century, behaviourists questioned whether or not psychology could be classed as a science, as it previously was seen as a **philosophical subject**. Wilhelm Wundt pioneered the **scientific evolution of psychology**

What is the **psychodynamic approach**?

The idea **behaviour** is **influenced** by the **unconscious**

Who came up with the psychodynamic approach?

Freud

What are the two main drives according to the psychodynamic approach?

• Eros - life drive associated with positive emotions such as love

• Thanatos - death drive which is associated with negative emotions such as fear, hatred and anger

How might a persons unconscious affect their behaviour?

Distressing events in childhood May lead to abnormal behaviours in adulthood

What three components make up personality?

• Id

• Ego

• Superego

What is the Id?

Present at birth - it involves instincts and basic drives such as sex and aggression

What is the Ego?

Balances the Id & Superego - when balance can’t be achieved, abnormal behaviour results e.g anxiety disorders from an overdeveloped superego

What is the superego?

Developers after socialisation - conscience and moral standards

According to the psychodynamic approach, how do we deal with traumatic events?

The ego deploys defence mechanisms to cope with the conflicting views of the superego and Id

⤷ Repression

⤷ Denial

⤷ Displacement

What is **repression**? (and give an example)

Repression is used when the Ego can’t handle the **pain** or **guilt** caused by a memory, so it is forced into the unconscious i.e *a child who was abused by a parent has no recollection of the events*

What is **displacement**? (and give an example) 

The unconscious redirection of an emotion to an easier target i.e *angry at your boss but want to keep your job so you shout at the intern*

What is **denial**? (and give an example) 

The Ego will deny an event so if can’t cause anxiety i.e *a drug addict may say they are in control and deny their addiction*

What are the psychosexual stages?

Stages in which conflict just be resolved by an expenditure of sexual energy otherwise, a fixation may occur

What is a fixation?

Being stuck at a particular point in psychosexual development which could lead to specific psychological disorders

Name the **five** psychosexual stages in order

1. Oral Stage

2. Anal Stage

3. Phallic Stage

4. Latency Stage

5. Genital Stage

What is the **oral** stage?

Primary source of pleasure comes from the @@**mouth** and **sucking**@@

⤷ fixation may look like… **smoking** and **overeating**

What is the **anal** stage?

Primary source of pleasure comes from the anus

⤷ fixation may look like… **orderliness** and **messiness**

What is the **phallic** stage?

Main source of pleasure comes from genitals + where elektra/ Oedipus complex arises

⤷ fixation may look like… **masturbation**

What is the **latency** stage?

Development of other activities such as school, friends and hobbies means less concentration on the sexual area - *previous conflicts repressed, resulting in little being recalled from childhood*

What is the **Oedipus** complex?

The son wants to posses his mother sexually and so subconsciously tries to get rid of his father

⤷ often results in arguing and fighting with father

What is the Elektra complex?

The daughter wants to possess her father sexually so subconsciously tries to get rid of her mother

⤷ results in arguing/ fighting with mother

Give a weakness of Freud’s psychodynamic approach

**Androcentric** - mainly focuses on men, meaning his views on female sexuality were much less developed. This might mean that treatment based on this approach is ineffective on women

**Culture Bias** - Sue & Sue argue that psychodynamic approach has little relevance to those from non western cultures. Many cultures (for example, **Chinese**) oppose dealing with traumas openly

Give an example of **research into** **Freud’s theory**

Fisher & Greenberg

• Fisher and Greenberg conducted a meta-analysis of studies on Freud's psychoanalytic theory.

• Some support was found for Freud's theory, particularly in regards to early childhood experiences and the role of unconscious processes

• Fisher and Greenberg concluded that while Freud's theory had some merit, it was not a comprehensive or fully accurate explanation of human behavior.

Give one **issue** with the **psychodynamic approach**

• Gender Bias

• Environmentally deterministic

What is the humanistic approach?

Behaviour is influenced by free will

Where does humanistic psychology fit as an approach?

1950s - previously there were two approaches only, psychoanalytic and behaviourist

What prompted psychologists to develop the humanistic approach?

Psychoanalysis was too deterministic and Behaviourism didn’t account for individual choice

What are the 4 principles of Humanistic psychology?

• Humanistic psychology emphasises personal experience and personal responsibility for our own behaviour

• It focuses on individuals potential to become their best self

• People are innately good

• Mental, emotional and social difficulties have resulted from situations that have been experienced

What are conditions of worth?

Conditions we believe we must meet to gain acceptance

What is congruence?

A match between psychological attributes and behaviour

What is free will?

The belief we are self determined

What is self concept?

The way in which we perceive ourself

What is self actualisation?

Désire tu be the best one can be

What is unconditional positive regard?

A psychologist’s acceptance and support regardless of the clients actions

What is empathy?

Ability to sense another’s emotions

Who is the key figure in humanistic psychology?

Abraham Maslow

Draw Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Explain Roger’s definition of self concept

Self concept is made of:

• Self Worth - how we think and feel about ourselves

• Self image - how we see ourselves

• Ideal self - who we’d like to be

Explain how conditions of worth can stop us from being fully functioning

• Client has conditions of worth and low self worth

• This is due to incongruence between their actual self and ideal self

• They are unable to be their happiest self

Describe humanistic psychology and counselling

Humanistic therapists show unconditional positive regards to dissolve the client’s conditions of worth

Give a strength of Humanism

Has real world application to economic development

⤷ Hagerty (1999) found that countries in the early stages of economic development were in the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy

⤷ Countries in the later stages of economic development were in the higher stages of Maslow’s hierarchy

Give an issue regarding the humanistic approach to psychology

Determinism v Free Will

⤷ Humanism focuses on the belief that we have free will to act as we please and all our situations are able to be changed by us. This may be seen as unrealistic due to biological and environmental causes of poor mental health and psychological functioning which develop independently.

What is the biological approach?

Behaviour is influenced by genes and neurochemistry

What are the fundamental beliefs of the biological approach?

• All thoughts and behaviour just have a biological cause

• Genetic traits may be passed down through causing psychological abnormalities

  • Chemical and hormonal changes may also cause behaviours

Define **Heredity**

The passing of genetic traits from parents to offspring

Define Genotype

A particular set of genes a person has

Define Phenotype

Characteristics of an individual determined by genes and the environment

Give an example of where genotype may differ from observable traits

In adopted twins, they may have the same genotype but because of a difference in environment, they will have different phenotype

Give a limitation of the biological approach

Biological Reductionism

⤷ It reduces behaviour to pure biology which ignores environmental factors that may cause behaviour. The fact that MZ twins do not have a 100% concordance rate means that there must be some level of environmental influence

Give a strength of the biological approach to psychology

Real World Application

⤷ Research form biological psychologists has been instrumental in the development of drugs to combat psychological disorders i.e antidepressants or SSRI’s

Outline the relationship between evolution and the biological approach

Charles Darwin’s publication – **On the Origin of Species (1859)** – described the process of natural selection ; characteristics that are not suited to a species’ environment will **die out** as it struggles to survive, and with time will evolve over generations so that only adaptive characteristics remain in **future offspring**

Describe the role of neurochemistry in psychology

• Dopamine has been linked to depression and OCD

• Serotonin has been linked to aggression

What is the cognitive approach?

Behaviour is influenced by internal mental processes

What are internal mental processes?

Processes that occur within one’s own mind that affect or influence behaviour - examples are persception, memory and problem solving

T/F: Internal mental processes can be directly observed

False - these cannot be directly observed but they may be observed by resulting behaviour, brain scans and theoretical models

What is a schema?

Defined by **Bartlett**, A schema is a mental structure with a set of expectations that represent a view of the world

Give benefits of a schema

• Take shortcuts when interpreting information

• Allow us to fill in gaps about a person, place or event

• Make the world more predictable

Give some limitations of a schema

• Makes memory less accurate

• Might form the basis of prejudices

Explain the computer model description of the brain

Information is inputted through the senses, encoded into the memory and then combined with previously stored information to complete a task

Explain the storage of memory using a computer model

• Information stored on a hard disk is LTM

• Information stored on the RAM is working memory

• RAM is cleared and reset when the task being carried out is finished

What are theoretical models?

The process of using a simplified pictorial representation of a particular mental process i.e working memory model or multi store model

Give a strength of the cognitive approach

Real World Application

⤷ In social psychology, research using the cognitive approach is used to explain depression as the result of faulty thinking processes and serves as the basis for CBT

Give a limitation of the cognitive approach

Ignores emotion and motivation

⤷ Emotional and social factors also influence our behaviour. An example of this is anxiety and memory, in that when we are anxious, our memory tends to be less reliable

Give an issue with the cognitive approach of psychology

Machine Reductionism

⤷ It presents people as information processing machines and ignores the influence of emotions on behaviour. A better approach would be a more holistic one, which incorporates emotion and internal mental processes

Describe the emergence of cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience

⤷ The scientific study of the biological structures that underpin cognitive processes - cognitive neuroscientists are concerned with social cognition as well as the brain regions associated with it

Give an example of a practical application of cognitive neuroscience

Using fMRI, it is possible to work out which parts of the brain are involved in the processing of words

Describe what is meant by **behaviourism**

Behaviour is influenced by the environment. All behaviour is learned observable behaviour

What is Social Learning theory?

SLT - Behaviour is influenced by the interaction between others and the environment. Behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation

What is classical conditioning?

Learning behaviour through association

Give the **main research example** into Classical conditioning

Pavlov + Salivation in his dogs

Summarise each stage of Pavlov’s experiment

summarise each stage of Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment

Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment involved the following stages:

1. Before conditioning: The unconditioned stimulus of food(UCS) naturally elicits an unconditioned response of salivation (UCR) from the subject.

2. During conditioning: The UCS is paired with a neutral stimulus (NS) - the bell, repeatedly until the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR) from the subject.

3. After conditioning: The CS alone elicits the CR from the subject, without the presence of the UCS.

Overall, Pavlov's experiment demonstrated how a neutral stimulus can become associated with a natural response through repeated pairing, resulting in a conditioned response to the previously neutral stimulus

Explain the importance of timing in classical conditioning

If the time between the presentation of the UCS and NS is great, conditioning does not occur

What is extinction in classical conditioning?

The conditioned response is not permanent, after a few presentations of the CS without the UCS, it loses its ability to produce the CR

What is spontaneous recovery?

After extinction, if the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are paired again,the link between them us formed much more quickly

What is stimulus generalisation?

Once conditioned, animals will also respond to other stimuli similar to the conditioned response

Give one example of classical conditioning in humans

• The Little Albert study conducted by Watson and Rayner is an example of classical conditioning in humans.

• The study involved conditioning a young boy to fear a white rat by pairing its presence with a loud, startling noise.

• The boy eventually began to fear not only the rat, but other similar objects as well.

• The study demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning and its potential effects on human behavior.

Give one strength of classical conditioning

It has lead to the development of treatments such as systematic desensitisation, which is used to reduce the learned conditioned response associated with the conditioned stimuli

Give one criticism of classical conditioning

Lacks ecological validity

⤷ the research is often conducted in lab with canfefully controlled conditions which may not reflect real life

What is operant conditioning?

Developed by Thorndike (1898), operant conditioning is learning through reinforcement

Differentiate between positive effects and negative effects

Positive effects (rewards) lead to the stamping in of a behaviour

Negative effects (punishment) leads to the stamping out of a behaviour

What is positive reinforcement?

When a behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant i.e praise to a child of food to a pigeon

What is negative reinforcement?

When a behaviour leads to the removal of something unpleasant i.e rats suffering electric shock press a lever that turns it off (do it confuse with punishment)

T/F: Both types of reinforcement increase the likelihood of a behaviour

True - They both stamp in a behaviour

What is a Skinner box?

• B.F. Skinner conducted research on operant conditioning using a device called a Skinner box.

• The Skinner box contained a lever or button that an animal could press to receive a reward, such as food or water.

• Skinner observed how animals learned to associate their behavior with the reward, and how they could be trained to perform specific actions through reinforcement.

• Skinner also studied the effects of punishment on behavior.

• Skinner's research contributed to our understanding of how behavior is shaped by consequences.

• Skinner's research has applications in fields such as education and psychology.

What is positive punishment?

Addition of a negative stimulus i.e a teenager grounded for staying out late

What is negative punishment?

Removal of a pleasant stimulus i.e a teenager losing their phone

Give a strength of operant conditioning

Operant conditioning has lead to development of treatments such as Token Economy

⤷ TE is used to manage the negative symptoms of schizophrenia by using primary and secondary reinforcers

Give a criticism of operant conditioning

Skinner’s research is based on animals and so may not be able to be generalised to humans

⤷ His reliance on rats and pigeons means he cannot tell us about human behaviour, as humans have some degree of free will which is not solely determined by reinforcers

Describe and outline the **social learning model**

Bandura et. al found that the normal behaviourist model ignored cognitive processes so created a model which incorporated **mediational processes**

Explain the **4** **mediational** processes

• Attention - whether we notice the behaviour

• Retention - whether we remember the behaviour

• Reproduction - whether we are able to perform the behaviour

• Motivation - whether the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs

Define **Modelling**

An attitude or behaviour needs to be modelled by either live models (parents, sibling etc) or symbolic (TV characters)