p - Approaches

Psychology → Origins

• Philosophy → Descartes belief in dualism (mind and body separate), John Lock proposed empiricism (all experiences through senses hence no inheritance)

• Biology → Darwin’s evolutionary theory, assume behaviour has evolved, due to brain and hormones

• Physics → Scientific methods and principles to study human behaviour, Gustav (a physicist) demonstrated these methods for behaviour using quantified science

When did psychology begin?

In 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt (‘founding father’) created first psychology lab in Leipzig, also published books, to establish psychology as an independent science

Wundt 3 key ideas

1. ‘structuralism’ → basic building blocks of though and how they interact, the conscious mind as the object of study

2. studied ‘sensation and perception’, breaking down observations into constituent parts

• reaction time → systematically changing stimuli and measuring time till response → inferring number of mental processes

  • individual differences (age), external factors, too quick may not include any mental processes (chemical)

3. introspection → examination of one’s conscious though and processes, ppts trained to report in detail on their inner experiences and presented w stimulus

Introspection → limitations

• unfalsifiable, cannot be replicated and hence unreliable

• observations subjective, dependent of ppts mindset and experienced

• strongly critiqued by John Watson → can never prove/disprove; proposed psychologists should study behaviour as it is measurable and observable (only make claim to science if objective methods used)

Introspection → strengths

• seen in cognitive approach, brain scans can see stimulated areas

• Griffiths 1994 used to study cognitive processes of fruit machine gamblers

• Csikzentmilyi and Hunter 2003 to study happiness in positive psychology

Behaviourist approach → key assumptions

• all behaviour is learned

• tabula rasa → blank slate

• experience an interactions make us (nurture)

• only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically

• also known as learning theory

  • valid to study animals as they share principles of learning

  • two main forms of conditioning: classical(association) and operant(reinforcement)

Classical conditioning

• learning through association

• Ivan Pavlov accidentally discovered this whilst conducting experiments on dogs

• stimulus → response link

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

a stimulus that elicits an automatic response

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

an automatic response to stimuli

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that causes no response

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

conditioned stimulus that elicits a response

Conditioned Response (CR)

conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus

Pavlov’s dogs

Before: Food (UCS) → Salivation (UCR)

Bell (NS) → No response

During: Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) → Salivation (UCR)

After: Bell (CS) → Salivation (CR)

Pavlov’s additions

Stimulus Generalisation → stimulus generalised to other related stimulus which are also associated with CR

Stimulus Discrimination → no response if stimulus is too different

Time Contiguity → NS/UCS need to happen at same time

Classical conditioning → Strengths

Real world application, e.g. systematic desensitisation for phobias

• flooding based on extinction, if continually presented without UCS, CR will decrease

• addiction treatments → aversion therapy (change association)

Views conditions (e.g. phobias) as learned and can therefore be unlearned

Classical conditioning → Limitations

• Biological constraints and preparedness, doesn’t explain why some associations as learned more easily than others or biological predisposition

• Continuity not always sufficient, some argued that learning involves more than just S-R associations, learn ‘expectations’ instead → CR as a ‘reliable predictor’

• ethical concerns of research → little albert long term fear of white fluffy things

Operant Conditioning

• learning is acquired and maintained on its consequences

• Types of maintenance:

  • Positive/Negative reinforcement

  • Positive/Negative punishment

Positive Reinforcement

Something desirable is added following a behaviour, making it more likely to be repeated

Negative Reinforcement

Something unpleasant is removed, strengthens behaviour and makes it more likely to be repeated

Positive Punishment

Something unpleasant added, less likely to repeat behaviour

Negative Punishment

Something pleasant is removed, less likely to repeat behaviour

BF Skinner

• developed ‘skinner box’, a highly controlled setting to study the effects of reinforcement and punishment

  • contains lever, light, sound source and food delivery mechanism

  • reinforced behaviours tend to be repeated, punished causes a decline

  • intermittent (unpredictable) reinforcement had higher response than continuous (used for gambling)

Operant Conditioning → Strengths

Real world application:

• Behaviour modification e.g. schools, prisons, psychiatric hospitals, easy to do

• Treatment of addiction e.g. how smoking/gambling are maintained

• Classroom management

Operant Conditioning → Limitations

• Neglects internal processes

• Doesn’t explain initiation (e.g. addition), explains maintenance but not acquisition (social learning theory)

Behaviourist Approach → Strengths

• scientific objectivity → increases reliability as Pavlov and Skinner establish clear cause and effect

• clear explanatory power, display clear associations between stimulus and response

• Positive view of human nature

Behaviourist Approach → Limitations

• Reductionist → simplified to SR links, ignores internal processes

• Environmentally deterministic → no free will or personal responsibility has implications on legal and moral accountability

• Generalising from animal research → human behaviour more complex, ethical concerns, lacks ecological validity

• Lack of ecological validity, research in highly controlled environments and hence not reflective of human life

Cognitive approach → Key assumptions

Focus on how internal metal processes influence our behaviour

Key Assumptions:

• Information received from our senses is processed by the brain, directing how we behave

• Internal mental processes cannot be observed directly, but we can infer from actions (not fully objective)

• the use of schemas and their impact on our internal processes

Schemas

Mental frameworks of beliefs and expectations that individuals developed through experience, help organise and interpret information quickly and effectively

Schemas → Use

→ help us make sense of situations and make life predictable by guiding expectations

→ prevent us from being overwhelmed by vast amounts of information

→ when new information is consistent with existing schemas, it is added to make it more detailed

→ if inconsistent, accommodated by changing existing/forming new schema

Schemas → Imact

• Usefulness → allow us to process stimuli in simplest and most economic way

• Downsides → can distort interpretation of sensory information, perceptual errors and inaccurate memories (EWT)

• Mental health → negative self-schemas, create cognitive biases and distorted interpretations of life

Use of models

• to explain/represent how mental processes work, often simplified to show stages

• provide testable theories about mental processes that can be studied scientifically

Theoretical Models

Flowchart like representations showing the flow of information through cognitive symptoms

→ e.g. multistore model of memory and working memory model

Computer Models

Views mental processes as a form of informational processing, suggests information is input (senses), processed (brain), stored (memory), and then retrieved/output

→ overly simplistic, lead to ‘machine reductionism’, human brain far more complex than a CPU

Cognitive Approach → Practical Applications

• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), challenge irrational thoughts and negative schemas → effective for depression/anxiety

• cognitive interviews (CI), understanding how schemas can distort memory, used to improve accuracy of EWT

• artificial intelligence (AI), development of thinking constraints

• cognitive neuroscience, enabled by brain scanning technology (diagnosis)

Cognitive Approach → Strengths

• Objective methods → controlled lab experiments increase reliability, nomothetic approach

• Focus on internal mental processes, deeper understanding of complex human behaviour

• soft determinism, middle ground between hard determinism and free will

• studies done on humans, higher generalisability

• interactionist view (nature-nurture)

Cognitive Approach → Limitations

• machine reductionism and oversimplification of human experiences (e.g. effect of emotions on memory)

• lack of ecological validity, too abstract and theoretical as reliant on highly controlled lab experiments (artificial stim. such as word lists)

• Inference and subjectivity, internal processes cannot be directly observed

• doesn’t explain how mental processes work together and with other factors

• neglects underlying causes → e.g. psychopathology describes how cognitive deficits or biases contribute but not their underlying causes, incomplete understanding of complex disorders

• vague central executive (WMM), considered vague and untestable, but crucial part of structure

Social Learning Theory

• learning also happens indirectly through observation

• acknowledges cognitive factors:

  • Imitation, modelling, identification, vicarious reinforcement

• acknowledges mediational processes

Imitation

Act of copying someone else’s behaviour → bandura argued some behaviours are too complex

Modelling

Demonstration of behaviour from ‘model’ makes imitation more likely if positively reinforced

Identification

Imitation more likely if we identify with model → share similar characteristics

Vicarious Reinforcement

Occurs through observing someone else being rewarded/punished

Four Cognitive Mediational Processes

1. Attention → individuals must pay attention to the behaviour and its consequences, forming mental representation

2. Retention → behaviour must be stored in long term memory, imitation not always immediate

3. Reproduction → rehearse behaviour mentally/physically to have ability and skills to enact

4. Motivation → must be motivated to perform, often due to expectation of receiving the same positive reinforcement

Bandura’s bobo doll experiment

• 36 boys and 36 girls age 3-6

• three experimental groups: 1 exposed to real life aggressive models, 2 observed aggressive model on film, 3 viewed an aggressive cartoon character

• children who observed an aggressive role model behaved more aggressively themselves towards the bobo doll compared to non-aggressive role model control group

• Questions: why someone is chosen as a role model, why behaviour is sometimes not reproduced, influence of media

Bandura - evaluation

• beta bias, ignores differences between genders as it was found boys exhibited more aggressive behaviour in comparison to the girls

• environmentally deterministic

• demand characteristics - bobo doll is specifically designed to be hit

• lacks mundane realism as it may not represent how the children act day-to-day if given opportunity to act aggressively towards a person

• recognises mediational processes, probably still better than behaviourism

Biological Approach → Key Assumptions

• genes influence behaviour

  • evolution - behaviour evolves similar to physical

• the central nervous system

  • brain as focus when explaining behaviour

  • origins of how the world is seen/acted upon

• neurotransmitters and hormones

  • related to behaviour as it influences reactions

Genotype

genetic makeup

phenotype

observable characteristics

Genetic basis → twin studies

• 23 chromosome pairs

• monozygotic twins share 100% of DNA

• compare childhood of monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins having a disorder/behaviour

  • if MZ higher, argued that there’s a genetic component

  • cannot be fully relied on as it should be 100% concordance (p 2 people who share genes dev. same genetic disease)

  • suggests environment is still a strong factor for whether the gene is expressed

evolution

• initial random mutation → behaviour/characteristic developing

• if characteristic increases chance of survival, gene is more likely to be passed on

• change has been adapted → e.g. peppered moth case studt

• e.g. aggression started as an attractive characteristic in males

Biological structures

CNS

• brain and spinal cord

• transfers messages to and from surrounding environment

• acts as a centre for physiological control → behaviour

PNS

• sends and receives information to and from the CNS

• responsible for survival as it affects reactions to threats and returning the body to normal(homeostasis)

• responsible for movement and detecting changes in the environment

neurons are the cells that relay information throughout the CNS and PNS

endocrine system

• responsible for biochemistry - maintains hormone levels in the blood using glands

• Carre et al. 2006 studied Canadian ice hockey team → surges in testosterone when playing home

Neurochemistry

in the nervous system, transmission of chemicals (neurotransmitters) via cerebral fluid

• e.g. increase in dopamine is related to schizophrenia, decrease in serotonin is related to depression

limitations of the biological approach

Limitations

• deterministic and reductionist

  • free will and individual differences ignored

• ignores other factors

  • behaviourist(conditioning effect on hormones)

  • psychodynamic(unconscious mind)

• cannot be explored ethically - phinneas gage

strengths of the biological approach

• contributes biological factors for behaviour

• supports ‘nature’ side of the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate

• practical applications: helping symptoms of mental disorders(SSRIs for depression/OCD)

  • can be used to identify aetiology

psychodynamic approach

• Sigmeund Freud

• describes the dynamics, mostly the unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour

Psychodynamic approach - assumptions

1. The unconscious mind

2. drives motivate behaviour

3. early childhood experiences

The unconscious mind

• driving force behind behaviour

• if problematic behaviour is displayed, must access the unconscious via hypnosis, dream analysis, free association

PDA early childhood behaviour

believed to be pivotal

Bowlby - attachment

PDA drives motivate behaviour

• eros: life instinct, aids survival

  • e.g. respiration, eating, sex/libido

• thanatos: death instinct destructive forces

  • aggression/violence

• sexual instinct since birth, five stages of development

PDA iceburg analogy

1. conscious mind

• can access, current focus of attention

2. preconscious mind

• can surface into the conscious at any time

• e.g. memories(accessible) - Freudian slips

3. unconscious mind

• vast storehouse of biological drives and instincts that have significant influence on our behaviour and personality

• cannot access

• may contain repressed memories

Structure of personality - ID

• 0-18 months

• unconscious drives and instincts that follow the pleasure principle

  • do things that = gratification

• childlike and hedonistic part of personality

structure of personality - ego

• 18months - 3years

• reality principle to accommodate the needs of the environment

• balances ID and superego, as domination=poor mental health

structure of personality - superego

• 3-6 years

• morality principle guides feelings of guilt and holds back actions

• formed through identification with same sexed parent

structure of personality - a healthy psyche

ego is dominant

structure of personality - neurotic

• characterised by anxiety, fear, moodiness, worry, envy, frustration, jealousy, loneliness

• superego dominant

structure of personality - psychotic

• loss of contact with reality, may display unusual or bizarre behaviour, difficulty with social interactions and impairment in carrying out daily activities

• id dominant

structure of personality - psychopathic

• defined as a personality disorder

• characterised as antisocial behaviour, callous, manipulative behaviour with no regard for others, delinquency, crime, violence and sexual offences

• a dominant ego that has been heavily corrupted by the id

defence mechanisms

• methods we use unconsciously to reduce anxiety

• anxiety weakens the influence of the ego, which in turn must be strong to mediate between the id and superego

displacement

• discharging pent up feelings, usually hostile, on objects less dangerous than those that initially aroused the emotion

• e.g. slamming doors

• emotion may still disappear

Repression

• blocking a threatening memory from consciousness

• e.g. people held in concentration camps may not remember

• can manifest in the conscious

Denial

• refusing to admit that something unpleasant is happening or that a taboo emotion is experienced

• e.g. parents don’t want to accept that their child is doing drugs

• resistance of reality

projection

attributing personal faults onto others

intellectualisation

removing emotion from your thinking to think clearly and deal with the situation

psychosexual phases

• drives in the unconscious mind that dictate the experiences at various points in development

• underlying unconscious drive is sexual

• each stage categorised by a focus on a different region of the body

Psychosexual phases - stage 1

The Oral Stage

• 0-18 months

• obtains satisfaction from eating, sucking, and other activities using the mouth

Psychosexual phases - stage 2

The Anal Stage

• toilet training takes place

• anal region becomes important

Psychosexual phases - stage 3

The Phallic Stage

• 3-6 years

• genitals become key source of satisfaction

• boys, age 5, acquire oedipus complex; sexual desires for mothers, wish to get rid of father → fear father → identification

• girls recognise lack of penis and blame mother, father becomes love object(electra complex) → substitute ‘penis envy’ with the wish to have a child → identification

Psychosexual phases - stage 4

The Latency Stage

• 6 to puberty

• boys and girls spend very little time together

Psychosexual phases - stage 5

The Genital Stage

• puberty - adulthood

• main source of sexual pleasure is in the genitals

Fixation

• if a child experiences severe problems or excessive pleasure at any stage

repression

• adults who experience stress later, regress back to the psychosexual stage they were fixated at as a child

How fixations occur: oral

weaned too late/too early, feeding patterns too erratic

How fixations occur: anal

parents overly strict/enthusiastic about training

How fixations occur: phallic

need same parent to identify with

How fixations occur: latent

no real fixation

How fixations occur: genital

fixation during the first three that have enduring effect

how fixations manifest: oral

oral receptive

• trusting, gullible, overdependent, suck thumb

oral aggressive

• aggressive, domineering, may chew pencils/bite nails/smoke

how fixations manifest: anal

anal retentive

• obsessively, tidy, can be stubborn and mean, don’t like spending

anal expulsive

• very generous, likes to spend money, untidy, very colourful/creative

how fixations manifest: phallic

• vain and impulsive, unreliable, jealous and anxious

• if men don’t have male role model = homosexual

how fixations occur: genital

• no fixation and no effect

• tend to be well adjusted and mature

Anna O

• 21F, highly intelligent

• repressed traumatic memories of ill father

  • physical effect relating to memories

  • suggests these were resolved by accessing the unconscious

e.g. disgust from governess drinking same water as a dog = inability to drink

• hypnosis used

• however, later said Anna relapsed

Little Hans

• 5M, father(fan of Freud) studied child

• fear of horses = fear of large penises

Key Features

• fascinated w penis

• spent time w mother alone - wished father away and hostile to baby sister

• scared of being bit by a horse - mother refused to touch his ‘widdler’ = fear she would leave if he persisted, thought it would be cut off

• dreamt about giraffes, took away smaller causing larger to cry out = claiming mother

  • large giraffe = penis

  • black around mouths = jealous of maturity

• fear of horses falling down - remembered thinking horse was dead → wished father was dead=anxious

• decrease in fear of horses → identification with father

therapeutic techniques

psychoanalysis ‘taking cure’ → focus on expertise of the therapist

• Free association

• Dream analysis

• hypnosis

Free association

• patient talks about whatever comes to mind - read list of words and respond with first word that comes to mind

• may not prove useful if client shows resistance

  • can provide strong clue that client is getting close

Dream analysis

• dreams = ‘royal road to the unconscious’

• ego defences lowered = repressed material to the surface

• latent content = hidden meaning

• manifest content = what we can recall

• Freud → underlying sexual significance

Hypnosis

• mental state usually induced by a procedure known as hypnotic induction → instructions and suggestions

• occurs naturally within all humans and animals

• patient is placed under a trance(relaxed and calm)

  • therapist then investigates the patient’s unconscious thoughts and desires

• can be terminated by the patient

• used to treat many things(smoking/pain management)

• does not work for everyone - some more susceptible than others

PD - Application

• therapist based therapy

• used as literary criticism

• explanation of schizophrenia

PD - Strengths

• highlights importance of childhood → e.g. attachment

• therapeutic methods (e.g. talking therapy, hypnosis) used to treat conditions

• ideographic approach → focus on single individuals, uses case studies

• interactionist view of nature-nurture

PD - limitations

• unfalsifiable, cannot be empirically tested or disproved

• deterministic, all behaviour caused by unconscious forces and drives

• pessimistic, id develops first - selfish and self-serving

• only uses case studies, lack objectivity e.g. whatever was wrong with little Han’s father

• inability to explain biological aspects

• gender bias - alpha, ‘girls greater risk of criminal behaviour due to penis envy and less internalised super ego’

• some applications are long and don’t work, e.g. for Anna O