Paper 2 A03 Flashcards
(16 cards)
Origins of psychology
P- Wundts methods were unreliable
E- Pps could only report conscious experiences so other things like memory or perception were unobservable. Due to nature also couldn’t be reproduced easily.
L- Less reliable
P- Introspection still useful in some cases
E- Study used bleepers to prompt teenagers to write down thoughts at random points in day and they were able to find that teens were happier when focused on a challenging task.
L- Shows how introspection can be used to gain findings
P- Introspection is not particularly accurate
E- Nisbett and Wilson claim that we lack knowledge of causes behind our behaviour due to implicit attitudes for example unconscious racism influences the way someone thinks
L- As those attitudes are unconscious introspection won’t reveal them.
Behaviourist approach
P- Real world application in treatment for phobias
E- Sysetmatic desensitisation based on Classical conditioning as it works by dissociating from it CR from the CS. It replaces the anxiety response with a relaxation response which stops phobia.
L. Real world application
P- Over reliance on animals
E- Study of dogs and rats can be criticised as human beings have free will and more complex minds than animals
L- Therefore extrapolation is issue however skinner argued free will is an illusion
P- Strength is skinners research used experimental method
E- He used skinners boxes to manipulate IV precisely so he could measure DV accurately
L- Allowed him to establish cause and effect
SLT
P- Support from criminal behaviour studies
E- Studies show probability of someone being a criminal
Increases when they identify with criminal models. Ulrich found that the strongest predictor of violent behaviour was association with delinquent peers where violence was rewarded.
L- Research support however may be that criminals attract other criminals
P- Research support for identification
E- Study uses virtual humans that were looked either similar or dissimilar too pps. Found that after viewing the models exercising pps who viewed similar model exercised more in the following 24 hours.
L- Greater identification leads to more learning
P- Disregards other influences on behaviour
E- For example slt emphasises gender specific modelling but really there are many factors that influence gender role behaviour like genetic and media influences
L- Credibility issue
Cognitive approach
P- Real world application
E- Has helped explain how faulty thinking results in dysfunctional behaviour and depression which has then led to development of cbt.
L- Application
P- computer model is limited analogy
E- Many important differences between computers and humans: -computers don’t make mistakes or ignore information - human behaviour is affected by emotion and motivation
L- Limits explanation
P- Cog approach uses scientific methods
E- uses experimental method with carefully designed lab studies which provides empirical data
L- Conclusins are objective
Biological approach
P- Real world application
E- Provides clear displays of the effects of neurotransmitter which has allowed researchers to develop drug treatment like SSRIs.
L- Value of bio approach
P- Critical argue genetic explanations could be misused for criminals
E- Could lead to genetic screening where people with genetic predisposition for criminality are expected to be criminals despite many other factors being involved
L-However also could be seen as positive as could use genetic screening to prevent criminals
P- Reductionist
E- ignores other factors for example neural explanations being solely responsible for ocd but cultural cognitive and emotional factors are involved
L- Reductionist
Psychodynamic approach
P-Gender biased approach (Alpha)
E- Freud remained ignorant of explaining female behaviour as he didn’t see it as important. L-Therefore huge limitation as female behaviour not explained
P-
One weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that Freud’s theory was based on intensive study of single individuals who were often in therapy.
E: For example, Freud came up with the concept of the Oedipus complex through the case study on Little Hans. Hans was a 5 year old boy who developed a phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in the street. Freud suggested Hans’ phobia was a form of displacement in which his repressed fear of his father was displaced onto horses. Thus, horses were merely a symbolic representation of Hans’s real unconscious fear: the ear of castration experienced during Oedipus complex.
E: This is a weakness because critics have suggested it is impossible to make such universal claims about human nature based on studies with such a small sample.
L: This lacks scientific rigour
P-Another weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that a lot if its concepts are untestable.
E: For example, the philosopher of science Karl Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach does not meet the scientific criterion of falsification, in the sense that it is not open to empirical testing.
E: This is a weakness because many of Freud’s concepts (such as the id, ego, superego) are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult, if not impossible to test.
L: As a result, the credibility of the psychodynamic approach is reduced.
Humanistic approach
P- Research with adolescences supports Conditions of worth
E- Study found teenagers show feel they must fulfil certain conditions in order to meet parents approval frequently end up disliking themselves.
L- Consistent with Roger
P- Cultural differences in hierarchy of needs
E- Some cultures the hierarchy may be on different order. For example study in china found that belonging was more important than physiological and self actualisation was related to community.
L- Shows cultural bias
P-A strength of humanistic psychology is that it is not reductionist at all unlike the other approaches.
E: For example, humanistic psychology rejects any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components like other approaches. Freud described the whole of personality as a conflict between three things: id, ego and superego; biological psychologists reduce behaviour to its basic physiological processes etc.
E: In contrast, humanistic psychologists advocate holism, the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person.
L: As a result the credibility of the humanist approach is increased as it has more validity than its alternatives by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real life context.
Fight or flight response
P- Females actually show tend and befriend response
E- Research found females in response to stress attempt to protect young and firm alliances as they won’t flee from offspring
L- Gender bias
P- may actually be first response of freezing
E- Gray argue that before we fight or flee we freeze where we become
Hyper vigilant and alert
L- Ignores other response
P- Stress can lead to cooperative behaviour between men and women
E- Von dawans challenges view of fight and flight and that actually in times of immediate stress all can come together for example during 9/11 as humans are fundamentally social animals
L- Response may not always occur
Localisation of function
P- Support for Brocas and wernickes area
E- Found that damage to Broca’s area causes Brocas aphasia where speech production is impaired whereas damage to wernickes area causes wernickes aphasia where speech comprehension is impaired.
L- Demonstrates the difference in roles
P- Communication between brain areas may be more important than localisation
E- case study found that loss of ability to read came from damage to the connection between the visual cortex and wernickes area
L- Showe complex behaviours are influenced by connections rather than areas
P- Speech production may not be confined to Broca’s area alone
E- Dronkers examined preserved brains of people with Broca’s aphasia using MRIs which showed damage in multiple areas not just Broca’s area
L- Language is even more complicated than suggested
Lateralisation and split brain research
P- Limitations of split brain research today
E- Rarely carried out today as amount of patients with severed brains is very low due to the method being a less popular medical treatment
L- Means results or studies cannot easily be replicated meaning generalisation can’t be made
P- Research that disproves left hemisphere damage always leads to loss of speech
E- Case study on JW found that he developed a capacity to speak about info presented to the right side of the brain despite lateralisation suggesting this shouldn’t be possible
L- Challenges hemispherical claims
P- individual differences in terms of age
E- study found that language became more lateralised to left hemisphere with increasing age up to 25 but then decreases after that.
L- Shows reliance on different hemispheres changes depending on age
Plasticity and functional recovery
Plasticity and functional recovery
P- Supportive evidence from rat study
E- Study found that rats housed in complex environments developed more neurons than rats housed in lab cages.
L-clear evidence of brains ability to change as result of experience
P- Support from taxi drivers
E- Study found that changes in brain were found in taxi drivers as result of their spatial navigation experience. Scans showed there hippocampi were larger than control participants
L- shows plasticity occurs in people with experience
P: While there is evidence for functional recovery, it is possible that this ability can deteriorate with age.
E: Elbert et al. concluded that the capacity for neural reorganisation is much greater in children than in adults, meaning that neural regeneration is less effective in older brains.
E: This may explain why adults find change more demanding than do young people.
L: Therefore, we must consider individual differences when assessing the likelihood of functional recovery in the brain after trauma.
Ways of studying brain
P- fMRI strength is that it is non invasive
E- measures changes in blood flow so no exposure to radiation is needed while still providing objective data
L- However it isn’t direct measure of neural activity and ignores the connection between areas of the brain
P- Post morten strength is that more detail can be gathered
E- can find structural abnormalities deep in brain which did help in finding cause of schizophrenia
L- However cannot tell of the cause of death affected the brain so may not be accurate
P- Advantage if EEG is there non invasive and less expensive
E- mean they are more accessible than other techniques
L- However they have poor spatial resolution meaning the smallest measurement they can detect is bigger than other methods
Circadian rhythms
P- Individual differences
E- research found circadian cycles can vary from 13 to 65 hours. Additionally individuals appear to be innately different in terms of when their circadian rhythms peak.
L- Explains why there are morning people and evening people
P- Methodological flaws in studies
E- Pps were isolated from variables that might affect rhythms such as daylight.
L- reduces credibility
P- Temperature may be more important than light in setting body clock
E- Buhr et al found that changes in body temperature over 24 period cause tissues to become active or inactive
L- shows how temperature has control over rhythms.
Ultradian and infradian rhythms
P- One strength of the theory of infradian rhythms is that there are supportive evolutionary explanations.
E: For example, there is a suggestion that menstrual synchrony was advantageous to our ancestors because if females menstruated together, then got pregnant together, the babies would be had at a similar time and so could be cared for collectively, increasing the offspring’s chances of survival.
L- Theory is supported
P: One weakness of research into biological rhythms such as ultradian and infradian is that much of the research is conducted on animals.
E: For example, the role of pheromones in animal sexual selection is well documented e.g. sea urchins release pheromones into the surrounding water so other sea urchins will eject their sex cells simultaneously.
E: However, this is an issue because evidence for the effects in human behaviour remains speculative and inconclusive. It is not always suitable to generalise results of animal studies to humans due to the more complex nature of humans in comparison to non-human animals.
L: As a result, the credibility of the research and the generalizability of the research to humans is questioned.
P: One strength of the theory of ultradian rhythms is that there is supportive research.
E: For example, Dement and Kleitman (1957) monitored sleep patterns of 9 adults in a sleep lab. Brainwaves were taken by EEG and researchers controlled for alcohol and caffeine. REM was highly correlated with the experience of dreaming, brain activity varied according to how vivid dreams were, and PPs woken during dreaming reported very accurate recall of their dreams.
E: This is a strength because this study suggests that REM (dream) sleep is an important component of the ultradian sleep cycle.
Endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgeibers
P- Support for SCN role shown in hamsters
E- Morgan bred hamsters with 20 hour circadian rhythms and then transplanted some of those SCN neurons into normal hamsters the found the normal hamsters displayed the abnormal 20 hour rhythm
L- Supports idea of SCN
P- Support for exogenous zeitgeber of light
E- study exposed pps to light treatments to shift sleep wake cycles and found that pps exposed to bright light felt sleepy earlier in evening and woke up earlier
L- could be used to avoid jet lag
P- Practical application
E- study found teens spend more time on phones with blue light at night which leads to suppression of melatonin which results in sleep becoming irregular
L- Can be used to teach people not to use phones late at night
