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Approaches in psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What is psychology known as?

A

The scientific study of the mind and behaviour

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2
Q

Name the 5 approaches in psychology?

A

Behavioural, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic and humanistic

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3
Q

What was William Wundt known as?

A

The farther of experimental psychology

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4
Q

In 1879 what did William Wundt do?

A

Opened the first institution for experimental psychology in Germany. He separated psychology from philosophy and focused on studying the mind in a more structures and scientific way

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5
Q

What method did Wundt develop?

A

Introspection

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6
Q

What is introspection?

A

Psychological method which involves analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally

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7
Q

Name 2 problems with introspection.

A

It doesn’t explain how the mind works, it relies on people describing their own thoughts and feelings, which isn’t objective and doesn’t provide data that can be used reliably

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8
Q

Wundt believed in reductionism, what is it?

A

Idea that things can be reduced to simple cause and effect processes

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9
Q

What are the 5 features that make something a science?

A

Objectivity, control, predictability, hypothesis testing and replication

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10
Q

What is one argument for psychology being a science?

A

Allport (1947) said psychology has the same aims as a science to predict, understand and control.

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11
Q

What is one argument against psychology being a science?

A

They use unreliable methods to study the data and it is hard to get a representative sample of the population for a study so findings can’t be generalised.

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12
Q

When did behaviourism start, and who developed it?

A

1900s by John Watson

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13
Q

What are the 3 assumptions made about behaviourism?

A

1)Nearly all behaviour is leant there’s only a couple of exceptions like inborn reflexes/instincts
2) Animals and humans learn in the same ways we learn by the same principles based on stimulus-response associations
3) The ‘mind’ is irrelevant

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14
Q

Who studies classical conditioning in dogs?

A

Ivan Pavlov (1900s)

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15
Q

Explain what Pavlov did.

A

Before conditioning: A certain stimulus like food is the UCS and triggers a natural reflex like salvation
During conditioning: UCS repeatedly presented with another stimulus like a bell (NS)which triggers salivation UCR
After conditioning: Overtime the bell presented by itself (CS) triggers salivation (CR)

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16
Q

How can Pavlov’s experiment be related to human development?

A

Having its needs dealt with and gaining comfort naturally makes a baby happy, but being happy is an inborn reflex its not learnt. Comfort is an UCS that produces happiness which is an UCR, the babies mother will talk to it while she feeds it and changes its nappy so the mothers voice becomes the CS producing the CR of being happy

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17
Q

What are the 5 principles of classical conditioning?

A

Generalisation, discrimination, extinction, spontaneous recovery and higher order conditioning

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18
Q

What is the key idea behind classical conditioning?

A

Learning through association

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19
Q

In CC what is generalisation?

A

When stimuli similar to the original CS produce the CR

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20
Q

In CC what is discrimination?

A

When stimuli similar to the original CS don’t produce the CR, this can be achieved by withholding the UCS when the similar stimulus is used

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21
Q

In CC what is extinction?

A

When the CR isn’t produces as a result of the CS, this happens when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS following it

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22
Q

In CC what is spontaneous recovery?

A

When a previously extinct CR is produced in response to the CS, this happens when the CS is presented again after a period of time during which its not been used

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23
Q

In CC what is higher order conditioning?

A

When a new CS produces the CR as the animal associates it with the original CS. This can be achieved by consistently presenting the new CS before the original CS

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24
Q

Who investigated operant conditioning?

A

B.F Skinner

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25
Q

What study is Skinner famous for?

A

Skinner box with the rats

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26
Q

What is the main idea behind operant conditioning?

A

Learning as a result of consequences of their actions

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27
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

When something ‘desirable’ is obtained in response to doing something (chocolate bar given to well behaved student)

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28
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

When something ‘undesirable’ is removed when something happens (no homework given if they pass the test)

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29
Q

Name 3 weaknesses of conditioning?

A

Conditioning can’t explain all human behaviour, most studies are done on animals making generalisation hard and genetics seem to influence and limit what different species can learn by conditioning

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30
Q

Who conducted the experiment on ‘Little Albert’ and in what year?

A

Watson and Rayner (1920)

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31
Q

Name 3 things that have been discovered through experiments on humans.

A

Our genes influence behaviour,
we can learn in ways other than conditioning and mental,
cognitive processes are relevant to understanding behaviour

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32
Q

Who developed the Social Learning Theory and when?

A

Bandura in 1960s

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33
Q

What does the SLT agree with?

A

The idea that people can learn by conditioning but also claims that they learn a lot from role models, people must focus their attention on the the role model, perceive what they do and remember it in order to learn how to do it

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34
Q

What is modelling?

A

Involves observing and imitating another person, it requires identification with the model where certain characteristics are picked up on

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35
Q

Name 2 ways the behaviours can be learnt (SLT)?

A

Reinforcement- positive or negative makes the behaviour more likely to happen in the future and Vicarious reinforcement

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36
Q

What is vicarious reinforcement?

A

Seeing others being rewarded for a behaviour influences someone in whether they choose to imitate the behaviour

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37
Q

Name the 4 meditational processes.

A

Attention, retention-remembering what was observed, motor reproduction, ability to reproduce the behaviour and motivation, evaluate the direct or indirect results of imitating the behaviour

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38
Q

What type of theory is SLT?

A

Reductionalist

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39
Q

What does it mean that SLT is reductionist?

A

Explains things through very basic cause and effect mechanisms, explaining behaviour as a result of learning from others and ignores any biological explanations

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40
Q

What were some of the main comments made about Bandura’s study into SLT?

A

That it shows reinforcements isn’t needed for learning, that bobo dolls are meant for aggressive plat and your meant to hit them and that it emphasises learning as the case of behaviour and so is on the nature side of the nature-nurture debate.

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41
Q

What is cognitive psychology?

A

How we interpret the world

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42
Q

What does the cognitive approach study?

A

Explains the mind through cognitive processes, which is all about how we think. It uses experimental procedures and methods to test behaviour

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43
Q

In the cognitive approach what can the mind be compared to?

A

A computer, humans are treated as information processors and the theoretical models are used to explain and make inferences about the mental processes that lead to certain behaviours

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44
Q

What are the 3 main research methods that cognitive psychologists use?

A

Lab experiments, field experiments and natural experiments

45
Q

What are the 3 principles behind the cognitive approach?

A

Our mental systems have a limited capacity, a control mechanism oversees all mental processes and there is a two-way flow of information

46
Q

What do cognitive psychologist use to represent particular features of the human mind?

A

Computer models

47
Q

Explain how the computer models show features of the human mind?

A

The brain is the processor it has data input into it and output from it. Some parts of the brain from networks but some can work sequential meaning that one process must finish before the other starts and they all work in parallel too

48
Q

What are they differences between humans and computers?

A

Humans are influenced by emotions and motivational factors, humans have an unlimited and unreliable memory but computers have a limited but reliable memory humans also have free will

49
Q

What does a schema consist of?

A

All information you know about an object, action or concept

50
Q

What do schemas help you do?

A

Organise and interpret information and experiences

51
Q

Explain how schemas work.

A

When information is consistent with a schema, it is assimilated into the schema. When information is inconsistent within a schema accommodation occurs and the schema has too change in order to resolve the problem

52
Q

What are the 3 types of schema?

A

Role, event and self schemas

53
Q

What is as role schema?

A

These are ideas about the behaviour which is expected from someone in a certain role

54
Q

What is an event schema?

A

These are also called scrips and contains information about what happened in a situation

55
Q

What is a self schema?

A

These contain information about ourselves based on physical characteristics and personality, as well as beliefs and values

56
Q

Name a problem with schemas?

A

They can stop people from learning new information

57
Q

When did neuroscience begin to develop?

A

1970s

58
Q

What is cognitive neuroscience?

A

An approach which maps human behaviour to brain function

59
Q

What has brain-imaging techniques allowed psychologists to discover?

A

When and where things happen in the brain in relation to peoples behaviour at the time

60
Q

Name 3 types of cognitive neuroscience.

A

Lesion studies (look at people with brain damage to see how behaviour is effected), electrophysiology (using electric and magnetic fields to measure brain activity) and neuroimaging

61
Q

Name 2 strength of the cognitive approach.

A

It considers mental processes which are overlooked in other approaches and has a big influence on the development of therapies

62
Q

Name 2 weaknesses of the cognitive approach.

A

Research is often carried out in artificial situations and fails to take individual differences into account

63
Q

what are the 3 basic assumptions of the biological approach

A

1) Human behaviour can be explained y looking at biological stuff such as hormones and genetics
2) if we explain all behaviour using biological causes, unwanted behaviour could be modified or removed using biological treatments (medication)
3) experimental research conducted using animals can inform us about human behaviour and biological influences

64
Q

what do genes contain

A

info that makes us unique in appearence

65
Q

what is darwins theory of evolution

A

Suggests overtime individuals who are better adapted to their environment through having better genes are more likely to survive to reproduce and pass on their useful genes
those who are less-well adapted will be less likely yo survive and reproduce and pass on their genes through natural selection

66
Q

whats the genotype

A

genes that they have

67
Q

what do faulty genes cause

A

some diseases that have psychological effects (huntingtons disease)

68
Q

whats the phenotype

A

characteristics their genes produce

69
Q

what do biological psychologicals claim

A

genetics can explain “psychological traits”, these are things like gender, behaviour, personality and sexual orientation

they also study genetics to see which genes make some people more likely to develop things like mental illness or addictions

70
Q

whats good for biological psychologists to study

A

twin and adoption studies

71
Q

give an example of a twin study

A

gottesman (1991) a meta analysis of twin studies

72
Q

why are twin studies good

A

Identical twins share 100% of their genes so in theory is someone has a mental disorder then they should both suffer from it but this isnt always the case

73
Q

what is an example of an adoption study

A

Heston (1966) an adoption study of schizophernia

74
Q

what are the 5 basic brain scanning techniques

A

1) PET scans
2) CAT scans
3) MRI scans
4) Functional MRI scans
5) SQUID magnetometry

75
Q

what do PET scans do

A

Shows which part of the brain is active during different tasks, by studying PET scans we can link certain areas of the brain with particular functions

76
Q

what does SQUID magentomery do

A

Produces accurate images of brain activity by measuring magnetic fields generated when neurons are activated

77
Q

what is a study based on evidence from MRI scans

A

Maguire et al (2000) A study of taxi drivers’ brains

78
Q

Give an example of an area of memory that has investigated brain structure

A

In a case study, Milner et al (1957) found that HM was unable to use his Long-term memory effectively, suggesting that hippocampus has an important role here

79
Q

Give an example in psychopathology of when brain structure has been investigated

A

Szeszko et al (1995) found differences in the prefrontal cortex when comparing people with and without sz suggesting relationship between them

80
Q

What is neurochemistry

A

All about the nervous system and neurotransmitters
Biological approach looks at the role they might play in explaining behaviour

81
Q

what are the effects of neurotransmitters on behaviour (bio approach)

A

Too much or too little of a particular NT may produce psychological disorders (increased dopamine linked to sz)
Some bio psychologists investigated the impact NT have on behaviour

82
Q

what are the strengths of the biological approach

A

1) Approach can provide evidence to support or disprove a theory- very scientific
2) If a bio cause can be found for mental health problems or for unwanted behaviour such as aggression then biological treatments can be developed to help individuals

83
Q

what are 2 weaknesses of the biological approach

A

1) The approach doesn’t take into account the influence of peoples environment their families childhood experiences or social situations other approaches see these as being important
2) Using bio explanation for neg behaviour can lead to individuals or groups avoiding taking personal or social responsibility for their behaviour

84
Q

in psychodynamic approach whats meant by ‘psycho’ and ‘dynamic’

A

‘psycho’ refer to the mind
‘dynamic’ refers to change or activity

85
Q

who developed psychodynamic approach

A

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

86
Q

What does the psychodynamic assume (3)

A

1) Human behaviour has unconscious causes that we aren’t aware of
2) From birth, humans have a need to fulfil basic biological motivations (food, sleep)
3) Childhood experiences are really important influence on the development of adult personality and psychological disorders

87
Q

Freud said there was 3 levels of consciousness what are they

A

conscious, preconscious and unconscious

88
Q

what is the conscious level of consciouness

A

this is what we are aware of at any given time

89
Q

what is the preconscious level of consciousness

A

this is made up of memories that we can recall when we want to (phone number)

90
Q

what is the unconscious level of consciousness

A

this is made up of memories and fears which causes us extreme anxiety and have therefore been ‘repressed’ or forced out of conscious awareness

91
Q

what are the 3 parts of personality that freud defined

A

the id, ego and superego

92
Q

what is the id

A

basic animal part of the personality that contains out innate aggressive and sexual instincts it wants to be satisfied by whatever means possible and obeys the ‘pleasure principle’

93
Q

what is the ego

A

Exists in both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind and acts as a rational part known as the ‘reality principle’ develops within the first 3 years after birth and balances the id and the super ego to keep out behaviour in line

94
Q

what is the superego

A

Both conscious and unconscious part of the mind this is the part of the mins that takes out morals into consideration and is involved in making us feeling guilty
around 4-5years of age when develops

95
Q

what governs the way that we think

A

different levels of consciousness

96
Q

what can we use to visualise the personality

A

ice berg
tip is conscious

97
Q

what did freud believe about the different parts of consciousness

A

they can be in conflict because the id wants instant satisfaction, whilst the superego tries to impose morals
these conflicts can lead to anxiety then its the egos job to mediate between the id and the superego to reduce this anxiety

98
Q

How do superego to reduce this anxiety

A

through several unconscious defence mechanisms

99
Q

what are the 3 unconscious defence mechanisms

A

repression, denial and displacement

100
Q

what is repression

A

Involves the ego stopping unwanted and possibly painful thoughts from becoming conscious

101
Q

what is denial

A

Where a threatening event or unwanted reality is simply ignored and blocked from conscious awareness

102
Q

what is displacement

A

displacement happens when a negative impulses is redirected onto something else (person or object)

103
Q

what are the 5 stages of psychosexual development

A

oral
anal
phallic
latent
gential

104
Q

when is the oral stage present and what is a characteristics of it

A

0-18mths sucking behaviour

105
Q

when is the anal stage present and what is a characteristics of it

A

18mths-3.5 yrs and keeping or discarding faeces

106
Q

when is the phallic stage present and what is a characteristics of it

A

3.5-6yrs and genital fixation, oedipus and electra complex

107
Q

when is the latent stage present and what is a characteristics of it

A

6yrs-puberty
repressed sexual urges

108
Q

when is the genital stage present and what is a characteristics of it

A

puberty-adult awakened sexual urges

Psychology (12 decks)

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