Approaches in Psychology

• Introspection: studying and reporting thought processes
• Paradigm: set of core beliefs + concepts that influence how people view the world + make sense of their life experiences
• Empiricism: method of gaining knowledge that relies on direct observation/testing
• Reinforcement: positive/negative consequence to behaviour
• Blank slate: humans are born without and knowledge they don't know how to behave/act
• Operant conditioning: teaches behaviour by using consequences (reinforcement/punishment)
• Classical conditioning: learning by association, occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together
• Positive reinforcement: receiving a reward when certain behaviour is performed - increased likelihood of behaviour
• Negative reinforcement: human/animal avoids something unpleasant - increases likelihood of the behaviour
• Punishment: unpleasant consequence of behaviour
• Mediational processes: cognitive factors that influence learning + come between stimulus and response; attention, retention, motor reproduction + motivation
• Vicarious reinforcement: if a model is observed being rewarded for a behaviour then the behaviour is more likely to be recreated by the observer
• Imitation: copying another person's behaviour
• Modelling: model demonstrates a particular behaviour that could be recreated
• Identification: type of conformity where we act the same way as a group because we value it; don't necessarily agree with the thinking
• Cognitive approach: focuses on how mental processes affect behaviour
• Internal mental processes: operations of the mind that mediate between a stimulus and a response
• Inference: process used by cognitive psychologists to draw conclusions about ways mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour
• Schema: mental framework of beliefs + expectations developed from experience; can influence cognitive processing
• Cognitive neuroscience: scientific study of biological structures that underpin cognitive process
• Machine reductionism: using models that are less complex than the human mind
• Genes: consist of DNA which codes for physical features
• Candidate genes: a gene associated with a particular trait
• Polygenic gene: idea that a trait is caused by more than one gene
• Phenotype: characteristics shown - observable
• Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual
• Neurochemistry: relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
• Concordance rates: the likelihood of relatives having the same phenotype - extent to which 2 family members have that same trait/diagnosis
• fMRI: method used to detect brain activity while someone is performing a task
• EEG: method of detecting activity of a living brain
• Unconscious: part of mind we're unaware of but continues to direct much behaviour
• Defence mechanisms: unconscious strategies that ego uses to manage conflict between id + superego
• Psychic determinism: all behaviours are caused by the unconscious