approaches

• what does the biological approach assume


  that all psychological behaviours and functions have a biological root
• genotype

  unique sequence of DNA which is inherited from the parents
• phenotype

  physical characteristics of a genotype
• genotype/phenotype idea

  people have inherited psychological traits and that genes influence all traits and behaviours
• Twin studies

  • investigate the genetic basis for human behaviour
  • monozygotic and dizygotic twins are compared
  • concordance rates for depression for mz is 46% and for dz it is 20%
  • evidence that depression has a strong genetic basis yet is not fully a genetic trait
  • family history is a reliable predictor of an individuals psychological disorders due to the understanding of both environmental and genetic factors
• structures: assuming that behaviour is rooted within a particular brain structure

  • occipital lobe: visual perception
  • parietal lobe: processing of sensory information
  • frontal lobe: personality
• brain structure case study

  Phineas gage

  • suffered damage to the frontal lobe due to a work-based explosion
  • turned anti-social and violent as a result, contrasting his previous self
  • supports the correlation between brain structure and behaviours
• neurochemistry recognises...

  the roles of chemicals upon determining behaviour
• neurochemistry shows that the

  imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain are associated with atypical behaviour

  • low serotonin: depression
  • high dopamine: schizophrenia
• evolution and behaviour: Darwin

  • specific human traits have evolved and developed due to natural selection
  • aggression: fighting off predators
  • mate selection: to bear healthy offspring
  • different desirable traits in women (youth) and men (dependability)
• who is responsible for the origins of psychology

  wilhelm wundt
• wundt studies from a

  scientific perspective rather than a philosophical one
• structuralism

  breaking down mental processes into their most basic components
• what are wundts main two components

  • sensations
  • perceptions
• introspection

  consciously examining ones own thoughts and emotions
• the behaviourist approach assumes that

  all behaviour is learned
• classical conditioning

  learning through association
• operant conditioning

  learning through reward and punishment
• the behaviourist approach believes all behaviour should be

  observable and measurable
• the behaviourist approach believes

  animal behaviour is comparable to human behaviour
• the behaviourist approach believes

  all behaviour is learned through ones environment (stimulus and response)
• Classical conditioning researcher

  Pavlov
• Classical conditioning study

  • neutral stimulus (bell) elicits no response
  • unconditioned stimulus (salivation) elicits an unconditioned response
  • when the neutral stimulus and unconditioned response are paired an unconditioned response is produced
  • After many attempts a conditioned stimulus (bell) elicits a conditioned response (salivation)
• Classical conditioning only applies to

  Involuntary and reflex behaviours
• extinction

  association between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus weakens and eventually becomes extinct
• spontaneous recovery

  sudden display of behaviour what was thought to be extinct
• define reinforcement

  a consequence that increases the likelihood of a particular behaviour being repeated (strengthens)
• define punishment

  a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a particular behaviour being repeated (weakens)
• operant conditioning is learning through

  consequences
• positive reinforcement

  something good is given (more likely to be repeated)
• negative reinforcement

  something bad is taken away (more likely to be repeated)
• positive punishment

  something bad is given (less likely to be repeated)
• negative punishment

  something good is taken away (less likely to be repeated)
• operant conditioning applies to

  voluntary responses
• continuous reinforcement

  behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs

  has less of an impact overtime
• partial reinforcement

  behaviour is reinforced some of the time

  more resistant to extinction
• fixed ratio schedule

  reinforcement is given after a fixed number of responses/behaviours have occurred
• variable ratio schedule

  reinforcement is given after a varying number of responses/behaviours have occurred
• fixed interval schedule

  reinforcement is given after a fixed number of time elapses following the behaviour being performed (every nth term)
• variable interval schedule

  reinforcement is given after a varying amount of time elapses following the behaviour being performed