psychology - approaches

who was Wundt

• father of psychology (1870)

• he set up the first psychological laboratory and produced the first academic psychological journal

introspection

analyzing ones own thoughts and feelings

Briefly explain operant conditioning

• learning through consequence

• Skinner’s box had a rat where it pressed a button and was positively reinforced with food. If it didn’t press the button it was punished with a shock which lead to negative reinforcement where it presses the button to avoid being shocked

Explain classical conditioning using research

• learning through association

• Pavlov pairs the bell (NS) with the food (UCS) which causes the dog to salivate (UCR)

• After conditioning, the bell is the conditioned stimulus and the dog’s salivating in the conditioned stimulus

What approaches did Wundt use?

Structuralism → breaking down human thoughts into its most basic and simple components

Reductionism → concepts can be broken down into a cause and effect process

introspection → analyzing ones own thoughts and feelings

Introspection AO3

• scientific → controlled(lab) & standardised

• real world application → significant inspiration to psychologists, laid the foundation for psychology as a scientific discipline

• self report data → subjective

what are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach

• the mind is a blank slate at birth and behaviour is learnt

• they only care about behaviour that can be objectively measured and observed

• learning through classical and operant conditioning

punishment definition

a consequence following a behaviour that decreases the likelihood of the behaviour

Outline AO3 of behaviourist approach

• scientific → they focus on measurement of observable behaviour

• research support on classical conditioning → Watson’s research on Little Albert’s fear of white rats

• can’t be generalised to humans cause it uses animals

• environmentally determinist (behaviour is because of internal/external forces rather than their will to do smth e.g. they believe the mind isn’t suitable for scientific study since it cant be directly observed and is a ‘black box’ )

key assumptions of SLT

• behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation (vicarious reinforcement)

• which is when you observe an individual do a behaviour and if they are rewarded, you imitate that behaviour

What is the difference between operant conditioning and SLT

operant → individual themself is being reinforced

SLT → individual watches someone else be reinforced

Explain link between modelling , identification and imitation

Live or symbolic model performs behaviour and if individual indentifies (relates) with them then they imitate that behaviour

Mediational processes

Attention , Retention , Motor reproduction and motivation determine if a new behaviour is required or not

occur after observing a model and before imitating them

SLT Case Study

• Bandura et al

• children aged 3-6, one group observed an adult displaying physical and verbal aggression to a bobodoll, another group observed an adult play non-aggressively

• findings → children exposed to an aggressive role model were more likely to be aggressive themselves (imitation), and boys were more likely to mimic an aggressive male role model (identification)

Outline SLT AO3

• scientific → highly controlled

• research support for identification

• overreliance on lab studies - increases demand characteristics, may inhibit or exaggerate behaviours that wont occur in everyday life

• underestimates role of biology

Key assumptions of cognitive approach

• behaviour is based on cognitive processes: perception, attention, language, memory

What is the schema

• mental framework of beliefs and expectations

• role → used to quickly navigate and understand the world and interact with people and objects

• schemas can lead to inaccurate memories and lead to negative biases which cause mental health issues

What is inference

Logical conclusions on thought processing based on evidence

what is a theoretical model + example

• flowchart representation of the steps of mental processes

• e.g. computer models - suggests humans and computers receive inputs, generate outputs and process information through a sequence of programmed steps

explain the role of cognitive neuroscience

it aims to scientifically examine neurological structures and chemical processes in the brain linked to internal mental processes using scanning techniques such as PET and fMRI scans

What is machine reductionism

• When analogies of computers are used to explain human behaviour

• This ignores the complexity of human behaviour and influences like emotion

Outline AO3 for cognitive approach

• real world application → explains OCD is linked to faulty thought processes

• scientific → neuroimaging in labs

• uses inferences - subjective and not fully scientific

• machine reductionist → uses theoretical models

Key assumptions of biological approach

• everything psychological is first biological

• the mind is inseparable from the brain

• takes into account genes

AO1 for biological approach

• biological structures affect behaviour such as hormones and frontal lobe

• neurotransmitters such as serotonin (associated with happiness) and dopamine (associated with pleasure) affect behaviour

• evolutionary psychologists believe in natural selection where innate, inherited behaviours that increase survival chance are passed on to next generations

Genes definition

Hereditary definition

• Carry information about psychical and psychological characteristics in the form of DNA

• Passing characteristics from one generation to another through genes

Monozygotic vs dizygotic

Monozygotic twins share 100% DNA

Dizygotic twins share 50% DNA

Define genotype and phenotype

G → genetic makeup

P → the way genes are expressed through physical and behavioural characteristics

Outline biological approach AO3

• scientific twin studies → measures heritability of different characteristics

• real world application → show how neurotransmitters effect behaviour

• reductionist

• negative connotations on society

Key assumptions of psychodynamic approach

• Different forces act on the mind that direct human behaviour

AO1 for psychodynamic approach

• mind is made up of the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious which affects behaviour the most

• tripartite personality (Freud) → id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), superego (morality principle)

• ego uses defence mechanisms → denial, displacement & repression to protect us from unresolved conflict which causes stress & anxiety

• Oedipus Complex (Freud) → boys are jealous of their fathers because they have romantic feelings towards their mother

• Oedipus Complex is resolved in phallic stage of psychosexual stages

• Psychosexual stages (at each stage, the child experiences a conflict that must be resolved and if its not they become fixated with affects adult personality) → oral, anal, phallic, genital, latency

AO3 for psychodynamic approach

• real world application → Freud’s dream analysis and ink splatter therapy

• androcentric → male centered

• subjective research support → Little Hans

• negative view on human behaviour ( say we have no free will)

Key assumptions of humanist approach

• Rogers and Maslow state that humans are active agents so psychology should be subjective

Humanist approach AO1

• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs → psychological needs, safety, belonging, esteem need to be achieved to reach self actualization

• Congruence and Incongruence

• Roger’s client centred therapy→ requires genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard, aimed to reach congruence and self actualisation, clients and therapist are equal.

Humanist approach AO3

• real world application → client centered therapy

• positive view on human behaviour

• cultural bound → doesnt take collectivist cultures into account

• unscientific