Approaches

• Behaviour is learnt through the process of 'association', whereby a stimulus can be neutral, unconditioned, and conditioned.
• Operant conditioning involves reinforcement or punishment which increases or decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
• Reinforcement, both positive and negative, increase the likelihood of a behaviour re-occurring again.
• Punishment decreases or extinguishes a behaviour from re-occurring.
• A model is someone you observe producing a behaviour, which can be categorised into live model (someone you personally know/are close to) and symbolic model (someone represented in the media/TV who you don’t know personally).
• Unconditional positive regard should help the person work towards self-actualisation.
• Modelling is when you reproduce the same behaviour that you observed the model do.
• Unconditional positive regard is used to reduce incongruence and help with worthlessness and low self-esteem.
• Unconditional positive regard aims to overcome any conditions of worth experienced in childhood by the therapist providing the patient with unconditional positive regard.
• Vicarious reinforcement is the process whereby an individual observes a model produce a behaviour and receive a reward for it, leading to the individual modelling/copying the same behaviour to gain the same reward.
• Mediational process is the cognitive process which takes place to determine where someone will model/copy a behaviour or not, according to Bandura, this process occurs in a 4-stage process: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
• Behaviourism assumes that we are born a 'blank slate', and all behaviour is learned from the environment, as demonstrated in Watson's (1913) lab experiment where dogs can be conditioned to associate a bell with food leading to salivation with just the sound of a bell.
• Watson & Rayner's (1920) lab experiment demonstrated that a 6-month toddler can be conditioned to associate a rat with fear, this fear generalised to anything white and fluffy.
• Operant conditioning involves reinforcement or punishment which increases or decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated, as demonstrated in Skinners box experiment where rats were reinforced to continue performing a behaviour if rewarded or punished.
• Social learning theory (SLT) combines behaviourism (environmental learning) and cognitive psychology (role of thinking/processing), as demonstrated by Bandura.
• Being raised by parents who place limits or boundaries on their love for their child instils conditions of worth in a child.
• Neurons do not touch each other, but when one neuron comes close to another, a synapse is formed between the two.
• All four lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs must be met before the individual can work towards self-actualisation.
• The myelin sheath insulates one nerve cell from another and to prevent the impulse from one neuron from interfering with the impulse from another.
• In Roger’s theory, congruence occurs when the self-concept matches with the ideal self.
• Incongruence is when there is too big a gap between the selves resulting in negative feelings of self-worth to arise.
• Humanistic approach: Key terms include free will, determinism, idiographic approach, self-esteem, self-actualisation, the self, and conditions of worth.
• The soma (cell body) is the core of the neuron, maintaining the cell and keeping the neuron functioning efficiently.
• The stages in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation.
• During synaptic transmission, the action potential (an electrical impulse) triggers the synaptic vesicles of the pre-synaptic neuron to release neurotransmitters (a chemical message).
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory comprised of a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.
• Dendrites receive information from other neurons and to transmit electrical signals to the cell body.
• Conditions of worth are adult experiences of worthlessness and low self-esteem that have roots in childhood.
• Humanistic psychologists regard personal growth as essential in becoming fulfilled, satisfied and goal orientated.
• Darwin observed that different species of birds had different sized beaks, suitable for their environment.
• Roger’s personality theory includes the concept of self-actualisation, which we all strive to achieve due to our Innate desire to achieve our full potential.
• Roger’s personality theory includes the concept of client-centred therapy.
• Not everyone will manage self-actualisation as psychological barriers can prevent us.
• Axon terminals are responsible for transmitting signals to other neurons.
• Roger’s personality theory focuses on the self, with two primary sources that influence our self-concept being childhood experiences and evaluation by others.
• The axon acts as a conduit, carrying signals away from the cell body to the terminal buttons to transmit electrical signals to other neurons.
• The second stage of Bandura’s bobo doll experiment involved mild aggressive arousal where children entered the same room and went to play with the toys, at which point the experimenter entered and told them the toys are reserved for someone else.
• Girls were more verbally aggressive if they had a female model and more physically aggressive if they had a male model.
• Vicarious reinforcement occurs through a mediational process: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
• Projection involves individual attributes unwanted thoughts, feelings and motives onto another person.