Approaches Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is the behaviourist approach and evaluate?
GIVE ALL STUDIES
- Behaviour is acquired and maintained through classical and operant conditioning.
- Behaviours from animals can be applied to humans as well
- The mind is irrelevant.
STUDIES
Pavlov’s dogs (classical)
Matches a bell to food making the dog salivate.
Skinner’s box (operant conditioning)
Rat wants food and presses lever = positive reinforcement
Rat presses lever to prevent an electric shock = negative reinforcement
REAL LIFE EXAMPLES
Car repeating a sound to make sure all passengers have their seat belts on (negative)
Giving a gold star to a student’s HW (positive)
It’s use is to replicate DESIRED BEHAVIOUR.
Evaluation
- Scientific methods, high reliability.
- Real life application: token economy
- Doesn’t care about free will
- Animal behaviour and human behaviour can’t be linked.
- Major ethical breaches with animals
What is the SLT approach? evaluate and give a study
- Learning occurs through conditioning and vicarious reinforcement (modelling)
- People go through meditational processes to copy their role model’s behaviour: ATTENTION, RETENTION, MOTOR PRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION.
STUDY
- Bandura’s Bobo doll
The aggressive role model was copied by the children when observed and was more angry to the Bobo doll.
EVALUATION
- Bandura ignores biological differences between boys and girls and generalises. BETA BIAS: men have more test meaning they are more likely to be aggressive.
- Demand characteristics: hitting a doll is artificial, meaning that the children have acted more aggressive to please the experimenter.
- Better explanation than behaviourism, this includes human cognition and doesn’t use animals to explain human behaviour.
- SLT is reductionist and it ignores biological factors.
What is the cognitive approach? evaluate and give studies
Ideas of behaviours are based off computer analogies and graphs
- Assumes that internal mental processes can be studied objectively.
- They can’t directly study them but make inferences through observable behaviour.
- See mental processes as separate from the brain
- The use of computer models help to understand cognitive processes.
STM:
- WORKING MEMORY MODEL: CENTRAL EXECUTIVE, PHONOLOGICAL LOOP, EPISODIC BUFFER, VISUOSPATIAL SKETCH PAD AND TRANSPORTS TO THE LTM.
SCHEMAS:
- Packages of ideas and knowledge about a certain person or event created through experience.
- ‘Mental shortcuts’ we can process large volumes of data quickly and efficiently.
This can sometimes lead to prejudice and stereotypes about a certain subgroup of people.
STUDIES:
- Emerging neuroscience allowed cognitive psychologists to discover that the Wernicke’s area is activated during a listening task and Broca’s area was being activated during a reading task.
EVALUATION:
- PET scans were used when studying about the Broca’s area and the Wernicke’s area. SCIENTIFIC METHODS.
- Soft determinist approach: says that we can make decisions within our limits.
What is the psychodynamic approach? evaluate and give studies.
Freud assumes that:
- Human behaviour has unconscious causes that we’re not aware of
- From birth, humans need biological motivations like food, warm and sleep etc.
- Childhood experiences are important to the development of adult personalities.
There are 3 levels of consciousness:
CONSCIOUS
PRECONSCIOUS (LIKE MEMORIES)
UNCONSCIOUS
Three parts of personality that contribute to behaviour (TRIPARITE PERSONALITY)
ID: greedy and wants pleasure sexually or even aggressively.
EGO: the meditator, it’s rational and it exists consciously and unconsciously.
SUPEREGO: the morals, it makes us feel guilty.
ID wants instant satisfaction whilst SUPEREGO wants to impose morals and it can lead to anxiety, the EGO then calms it down.
Does it through repression (forgets a traumatic event)
Denial (ignores it from coming to the conscious).
Displacement (redirects anger onto something else).
FREUD LITTLE HANS:
- Case study on Hans with a horse phobia. Analysed his dreams and the stuff he said.
- Hans was afraid of them because he thought they would bite him or fall on him. He had an interest towards the horse’s penis and that he had a dream of where he was married to his mum.
Conclusion:
- He had reached the phallic stage, had the OEDIPUS COMPLEX, wanted a relationship with his mum and was jealous of his dad. He was scared of horses because it symbolised his father and that they both had big penises.
- He had castration anxiety.
EVALUATION OF LITTLE HANS:
- Case study: can’t be generalised to wider public
- Can’t make cause and effect explanations because it was just interpretations.
- Father was giving him the findings so it could be biased.
EVALUATION OF PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY:
- The emphasis on childhood experiences have influenced other theories
- First theory to focus on mental health disorders
- Freud’s theories are related to the unconscious mind which are unfalsifiable. NOT SCIENTIFIC
- The methods used can’t establish cause and effect.
What is the biological approach? evaluate aswell
- Humans thoughts, ideas and cognitive processes must be biological in origin.
- Use of neurotransmitters, hormones and genes must be understood to explain behaviour
- Use of animals to understand human behaviour
Biological psychologists say that behaviour is scaled from heritability.
HERITABILITY
How much the environment and genes affect a characteristic (IQ is 0.5) showing that both nature and nurture plays a role.
NATURAL SELECTION AND EVOLUTION
- Superior genes gives an advantage over others surviving and over time and generations it gets passed down and is present in future generations.
This can be compared to cows: the cows that produce more milk survive and thrive meaning that these cows are more common.
TWIN STUDIES ON SCHIZO (GOTTESMAN)
- 40 twins studied: found that 48% MZ twins had a chance of developing schizophrenia. HIGH GENETIC BASIS.
- Could suggest that the environment plays a factor as MZ twins share 100% genes.
BRAIN STRUCTURE
- Case study on PHINEAS GAGE suggested that a bad injury into his frontal lobe was causing him to act more impulsive and aggressive suggesting that these areas control behaviour.
HOWEVER: Case studies aren’t representative and can’t be generalisable to the public.
MAGUIRE:
- MRI scans of 16 taxi drivers compared to 16 drivers found that the taxi drivers had bigger HIPPOCAMPUSES than the drivers.
- HOWEVER: small sample size so it may not be generalisable.
NEUROCHEMISTRY:
- Too much/little of a neurotransmitter may produce psychological disorders like schizophrenia; high levels of dopamine can contribute.
EVALUATION
- Increased understanding towards biological processes help the development of mental health drugs such as depression and schizophrenia with the use of candidate genes or neurotransmitters to relax the symptoms.
- Lacks free will: suggests that all behaviour is caused by internal biological factors. Can be argued that criminals are born.
- Uses PET scans and fMRI scans to measure biological behaviour. Increases scientific credibility of Psychology and it helped develop drugs.
What are the 3 types of schemas?
ROLE: Ideas about behaviour which is expected from a person’s role
EVENT: Contain information about what happens in a situation.
SELF: Contain information about our physical characteristics and personality.
What are five stages of development Freud?
ORAL (0-18 MONTHS): sucking behaviour
ANAL (1.5-3.5 YRS): discarding faeces
PHALLIC (3.5-6 YRS): Oedipus+Electra complex
LATENT (6YRS-PUBERTY): repressed sexual urges
GENITAL (PUBERTY-ADULT): awakened sexual urges
Too little/much pleasure during these stages means that you become ‘fixated’. For examples in the oral stage you may develop smoking traits later in life.
3 assumptions of psychodynamic theory
- Human behaviour has unconscious causes we are not aware of.
- Humans have a need towards biological motivations like food, sleep, warmth.
- Childhood experiences are important on developing an adult personality.
What did Pavlov study? BEHAVIOURIST
To see how classical conditioning makes a dog salivate to a bell.
FOOD triggers a natural reaction SALIVATION
FOOD IS ASSOCIATED WITH BELL and triggers SALIVATION
overtime BELL triggers salivation
What is humanistic psychology? give studies and evaluate.
- Focuses on the individual
- All people are born good and they’re driven to achieve their full potential
- Takes into account of the feelings of the individual rather than observable behaviour
- Every person is unique
- Idiographic approach (studying the individual rather than creating general rules from summarising a group of people).
- Free will
MASLOW HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
self-actualisation = fullest potential
need for esteem = focused on gaining respect and achievement
need for love and belonging = focused on affection, acceptance.
need for safety = strive to feel safe physically, psychologically and economically.
physiological needs to survive = need food, water, shelter.
He suggests that you must meet the lower level needs to satisfy the higher level needs.
HOWEVER.. it is a western concept which encourage individual growth.
SELF ACTUALISED people have a strong sense of self-awareness, fully accepting view of themselves, deal with the unknown and are creative.
EVALUATION
- Incorporates free will as they believe that human behaviour is complex
- Takes a idiographic approach
- Lack of biological factors: genes
- Self actualisation is hard to measure
- May not be scientific as it is a idiographic approach (cannot be generalisable to the wider public).
What did Rogers (humanistic) say and formed?
- Agreed with Maslow but disagreed on the path to self-actualisation
- Suggests that the perception of themselves can help them move into self-actualisation or block it.
- Blockages such a bad childhood environment disallow self-actualisation.
- Having approval from others can help go into self-actualisation.
FORMED
Formed his ideas into therapy: client-centred therapy. It makes negative thoughts and rephrases it to make themselves feel valued.
What was the Skinner (behaviourist) study and evaluate
- Rats pulled a lever to gain a reward (food): POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
- Rats pulled the lever to prevent a consequence (electric shock): NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
OPERANT CONDITIONING
EVALUATE
- Animal behaviour can’t be generalised to humans
- Ethical issues
What is Little Albert (behaviourist) study and evaluate
- Rat was placed in front of Little Albert
- Loud metal bar was struck loudly when he tried to grab it
- After time, he would cry when he sees a rat
- Repeated with a white fluffy object and he cried too
THEREFORE: shows abnormal behaviour can be learned
EVALUATION
- Very unethical and may have done irreversible damage to the child
- Shows classical conditioning and linked to phobias.
What is operant conditioning and give a study linked to it
It regards to good/bad consequences of certain behaviour. It’s purpose is to reinforce desired behaviour using rewards or an unpleasant consequence.
Examples:
On-time H/W and you get a gold star
Not doing H/W gives you a detention
Encourages you to do the H/W to get/avoid the gold star/detention.
Links to Skinner’s rats
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Seeing others being rewarded for behaviour influences someone to imitate the behaviour
What are the 4 mediational processes?
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
What is the Bandura Bobo Doll study and evaluate?
- Children were placed into 2 groups: aggressive and non-aggressive
- Bandura noticed that boys are more aggressive towards the doll than girls
Found that when they observed a model being aggressive towards the Bobo Doll that they imitated it.
EVALUATION
- Strict control of variables: high reliability
- Low ecological validity: unnatural setting
- Sample size was small so cannot generalise
- Beta bias: Bandura ignored that boys have testosterone and that’s why they’re more aggressive.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Links human behaviour to brain functions.
For example: lesion studies looks at people with brain damage to see how behaviour is affected.
What is the theory of evolution?
Over time individuals who can adapt to the environment with their genes are more likely to survive and reproduce.
This makes less adaptable genes die out.
What did Gottesman say about schizophrenia (twin studies)?
MZ Twins share 100% genes.
He analysed 40 twins and found that having a MZ twin with schizo gives you a 48% chance of having it too.
Under 20% for non-identical
Shows that there a HIGH genetic basis for schizo.
EVALUATION
- Environment may play a role in schizo, he never factored it
What was the study of Phineas Gage? (BIOLOGICAL)
- Frontal lobe was damaged severely from an iron bar.
Found that he was less organised, more impulsive, more aggressive.
SUGGESTS THAT THE FRONTAL LOBE AFFECTS BEHAVIOUR.
EVALUATION
- One person: can’t be generalisable to the wider public.
What are PET scans?
Show which parts of the brain are active during different tasks
