APPROACHES

BEHAVIORIST APPROACH

  • Behaviorism is concerned with observational behavior rather than internal events.

  • Psychology is a science = behavior must be measured in highly controlled environments to establish cause and effect.

  • When born, our mind is a blank state = behavior is learnt.

  • New behavior is a result of a stimulus and is learnt through classical or operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning- learning through an association. A natural stimulus is consistently pored with an unconditioned stimulus so eventually it takes on the properties and can produce a conditioned response.

→Timing- if a NS cannot be used to predict the UCS, then conditioning cannot take place.

→Extinction- CR doesn’t become permanent established as a response.

→Spontaneous recovery- is CS and UCS are paired, a link between them is made quicker.

→Stimulus generalization- once conditioned, responses to other stimuli’s that are similar to the CS will also take place.

Operant conditioning- learning through reinforcement or punishment. If behavior is followed by a desirable consequence it is more likely to happen again.

Skinners box:

  • Rat moved around a cage and when it presses a lever on the side of the cage, a food pellet falls (Reinforcer).

  • If food pellet then stoped falling, rat will press the lever a few more times then stops (Extinction).

Positive reinforcement- occurs by adding something pleasant = pleasant consequence

Negative reinforcement- occurs when removal of something unpleasant = pleasant consequence

Positive punishment- adding something unpleasant as a consequence (eg. Issuing a speeding ticket)

Negative punishment- taking something pleasant away (eg. Grounding a naughty child)

Reinforcement→ encourages behavior

Punishment→ stops behavior

NEUROCHEMISTRY

  • When a nerve impulse reaches the end of a neuron, a Neurotransmitter is released.

  • It travels from one neuron to another across a synapse.

  • Neurotransmitters keep the body in a state of homeostasis.

  • Different levels of neurotransmitters impact behavior.

EXAMPLE: serotonin is a neurotransmitter which maintains a stable mood (low serotonin levels have been associated with aggression).

Genotype- made out of DNA and determines potential for characteristics

Phenotype- observable characteristics. Can change depending on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

  • Learning occurs indirectly from observing and imitating others.

  • Learning occurs directly through classical and operant conditioning.

Attention + retention = learning

Motor reproduction + motivation = performance

→ Identification- people are more likely to imitate behavior with those of similar characteristics.

→ Imitation- behavior that can be observed and later replicated.

→ Vicarious reinforcement- for learning to take place, an individual has to observe. They may imitate, but only if behaviour is rewarded.

→ Meditational processes- mental processes mediate in learning to determine whether a new response is required.

→ Attention- have to pay attention to new behaviour

→Retention- remember observations in order to replicate the same bahviours

→Reproduction- judge yourself whether you have the ability to reproduce to

→Motivation- if results are positive, you’re more likely to imitate

BANDORA:

AIM: See whether children would imitate aggressive behavior.

Procedure:

  • Half the children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a life size bobo doll, whereas the other half were observing an adult playing fairly with all the toys.

  • Children were then put into the same room and observed.

Findings:

  • Children who observed the aggressive behavior reproduced the same physical and verbal behaviour.

  • 1/3 repeated the same aggressive verbal response of “POW”

  • Non of the children who observed non-aggressive behavior made any verbally aggressive remarks.

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

  • Tries to explain how we think, feel and behave in terms of physical factors in the body.

  • Investigate how biological structures/ processes within the body impact on the brain.

  • The mind lives in the brain.

COGNITIVE APPROACH

  • How people perceive, store, manipulate and interpret information.

  • Study Mental processes indirectly by making inferences and how they affect our behavior

  • Eg. MSM

Schemas:

→ cognitive frameworks which help us organize and interpret information.

→ knowledge built up from previous experiences to help us make sense.

Help us take short cuts when interpreting information and help us fill in gaps of absences in information.

PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH

  • Unconsciously forces determine thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

  • Childhood experiences influence adult behaviour.

Role of the unconscious:

Conscious- small amount of mental activity we know about containing thought and perceptions.

Preconscious- thoughts and ideas we become aware of in our dreams or through ‘slips of the tongue’ (Parapraxes).

Unconscious- biological drives and insects that control everyday actions and behaviors we are unaware of. Also contains threatening/ disturbing memories that have been repressed and forgotten about.

Structure of personality:

Id:

  • Operates in unconscious

  • Source of desires and impulses

  • Operates on principle pleasure

  • If too strong, could lead to crime

Ego:

  • Represents conscious mind

  • Operates on reality principle

  • Mediates between impulsive demands of id and reality

  • If it fails the balance it can lead to conflicts and psychological disorders

Superego:

  • Contains moral values

  • Operates on morality principle

  • Consists of conscience (internalization of societal rules) and ego-ideal (what a person strives towards and is determined by parental standards)

Defense mechanisms:

→ distort reality= decreases anxiety

→ temporary and can only be directly confronted in therapy

Repression: unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses that influence behaviour without us being aware of it.

Denial: refusal to accept reality so avoids dealing with any painful feeling associated with the situation.

Displacement: redirecting thoughts and feelings in situations where they should be direct. May take it put on a helpless victim or object instead. Gives hostile feeling a route for expression.

Stages of development:

→ marked by different conflicts the child must resolve in order to move into the next stage.

→ if unresolved, it will lead to fixations of behaviors that will be carried into adult life.

  • Oral (0-1yrs): mouth is focal point of sensation (eg. Sucking, bitting)

    • Fixation- nail bitting, smoking

  • Anal (1-3yrs): child becomes aware of reality’s demands

    • Fixation- extremely organized, reluctant to spend money

  • Phallic (3-6yrs): focus on genitals. Oedipus complex is when the male unconsciously wants to posses their mother and get rid of their father. As a result they experience castration anxiety (consequence) and identify with their father instead.

    • Fixation- jealousy, anxious

  • Latency (6-puberty): issues from previous stages are repressed. Child develops mastery of the world.

  • Genital (puberty- maturity): directs to sexual intercourse and beginnings of life.