approaches Flashcards
talk about the origins of psychology
wundt was the first person to call himself a psychologist and he believed all aspects of the mind could be studied scientifically.
he only studied those aspects of behaviour that could be studied in strictly controlled experimental conditions.
he believed in reductionism and that consciousness could be broken down to its basic elements
his approach was know as structuralism and he used the technique of introspection to achieve this
what is introspection
process of examining and reporting one’s own conscious thoughts, feelings, and sensations in a controlled, structured way
features invloved:
participants were asked to reflect on their own cognitive processes and describe them
1. presented with stimulus
2. inspect own thoughts
3. draw conclusion
explain what F.O.R.E is
(influenced by wundt)
falsifiability - possibility that a hypothesis could be false via testing
objectivity - measurement not affected by the expectation of the researcher
replicability - accurate recording of procedures to allow them to be repeated
empirical methods - using observations / testing to gain knowledge
explain the emergence of psychology as a science
1900’s early behaviourists rejected introspection
1930’s behaviourists scientific approach dominated psychology
1950’s cognitive approach studied mental processes scientifically
1980’s biological approach introduced technological advancements
why is a persons unconscious important
determines peoples behaviour
two main drives life (eros) and death (Thanatos) drive
what 3 levels is the mind made up of and describe them
conscious - involves conscious awareness
pre-conscious - involves memories we are not currently aware of but can bring to mind
sub-conscious - memories that are no longer within our conscious awareness but that still affect our behaviour
what are the 3 components that make up the structure of our personality
the ID - present at birth this involves instincts and basic drives eg sex and aggression
the superego - develops after socialisation and is our conscious and moral standards
the ego - acts as a referee to resolve conflict between the superego and the ID
when a balance can’t be reached it causes abnormal behaviour
explain the 5 psycho sexual stages
- oral (0-1) primary source of pleasure from mouth. fixation: smoking, eating
- anal (1-3) primary source of pleasure is the anus. fixation: overly messy
- phallic (3-6) primary source of pleasure involves the genitals - Oedipus complex and Electra complex. fixation masturbation
- latency stage (6-12) focus of friendships and educations etc
- genital stage (puberty onwards) heterosexual relations etc
what are the defence mechanisms and explain them
repression - traumatic memorise are forced into the unconscious so they can’t cause pain or guilt
denial - deny an event so it cannot cause anxiety
displacement - the re-direction of an emotion onto an easier target or object (unconscious)
what is classical conditioning
learning through association demonstrated by pavlov.
he found dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell. he was a able to show that a neutral stimulus b=can come to elicit a new learned response through association
ucs - food
ucr - salvation
ns - bell
cs - bell
ucs - salvation
timing - if ns can’t predict the ucs then it won’t occur
stimulus generalisation - once conditioned can also respoind to similar stimuli
extinction - cr is not permanent need to continue it to reinforce it
spontaneous recovery - if cs and ucs are paired after extinction the link can be formed again quickly
what is operant conditioning
a form of learning which is shaped by its consequences
rat press lever electric shock - didn’t do it again
rat press lever food appears will do it again
pos rein - adding something positive as a positive outcome
neg rein - taking away something negative as a positive outcome
explain the social learning theory
explains behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement
modelling
imitation
identification
vicarious reinforcement
attention
retention
motor reproduction
motivation
explain bandura’s bobo doll study
model - hits doll repeatedly
child - goes to doll
child - repeats action of hitting the doll like the model did
we learn vicariously the person who is modelling the behaviour receives the reward or punishment
what is the humanistic approach
emphasise the importance of subjective experiences, free will and each person’s capacity for self determination
free will is the notion that all humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external factors
explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
self actualisation - morality, acceptance of facts, creativity
esteem - respect by and of others, confidence
love/ belonging - friendship, family, sexual intimacy
safety - employment of resources, security of health, property etc
physiological - breathing, food, water, sex, sleep
personal growth is concerned with developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled satisfied etc
however not everyone will manage this as there are physiological barriers from people reaching there true potential
what is self-worth
what we think and feel about ourselves
what is self-image
how we see ourselves important for good psychological health, body image and personality
what is the ideal self
the person we would like to be - it consists of goals and ambitions etc
what is congruence
a healthy sense of well being is established if an individua maintains a reasonable consistency between ideal self and actual self
what is incongruence
the greater the gap between ideal self and the actual self
can lead to low self worth
what is the cognitive approach
how information is received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing directs how we behave
looks at bow various cognitive functions work together to help us make sense of the world
talk about multi-store memory model
what is interference
the act of drawing a conclusion from evidence and reasoning
what else does the cognitive approach use
uses computer models where the mind is compared to a computer by suggesting there are similarities in the way information is processed
understand different areas of the brain eg speech production broca’s area and language comprehension wernicker’s area
what are positives and negatives of computer models
:) enhanced understanding of internal processes
:( model views are oversimplified
