approaches

• Attachment is a strong reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and a primary caregiver
• Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study on attachment:

  • Aim: identify stages of attachment / find a pattern in the development of an attachment between infants and parents
  • Participants: 60 babies from Glasgow
  • Procedure: analysed interactions between infants and carers
  • Findings: babies of parents with 'sensitive responsiveness' were more likely to have formed an attachment
• Freud's superego is the moral component of the psyche, representing internalized societal values and standards
• Behaviorist approach:

  • Developed to make psychology more scientific
  • Focuses on highly controlled experiments
  • Classical conditioning: learning by association
  • Operant conditioning: learning by trial and error
• Classical conditioning:

  • Learning by association
  • Neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus
  • Pavlov's experiment with dogs
• Operant conditioning:

  • Learning by trial and error
  • Behavior consequences influence learning
  • Skinner's experiment with rats
• Types of reinforcement in operant conditioning:

  • Positive reinforcement: adding a stimulus to increase behavior
  • Negative reinforcement: removing a stimulus to increase behavior
  • Punishment: adding a stimulus to decrease behavior
  • Extinction: stopping reinforcement to stop behavior over time
• Behavioral therapies for phobias:

  • Counter conditioning
  • Systematic desensitization
• Social learning theory:

  • Behavior results from learning experiences
  • Focuses on learning in a social context
  • Observational learning and imitation
  • Vicarious reinforcement and punishment
• Cognitive approach:

  • Focuses on conscious and unconscious information processing
  • Internal mental processes are stages of mental information processing
  • Cognitive models like memory and attention
  • Cognitive neuroscience links processes to brain activity
• Biological approach:

  • Behavior results from physical processes within the body
  • Includes neurological and hormonal factors
  • Influence of genes on behavior demonstrated in twin and family studies
  • Biological structures in the brain associated with behavioral functions
• Biological psychologists reduce complex behaviors and human experiences to simple biological elements like neurotransmitters, based on the scientific principle of parsimony
• This reductionist approach has led to the development of effective drug treatments, but it overlooks the complex interaction between environmental experiences and the development of biological structures
• Work on plasticity, like McGuire's 2000 study using MRI brain scans on taxi drivers, shows that environmental experiences play a significant role in brain development
• Freud's psychodynamic approach focuses on how unconscious psychological processes, shaped during early childhood experiences, influence behavior
• Freud's structure of personality includes the id, the pleasure principle; the ego, the reality principle; and the superego, the morality principle
• Defense mechanisms, like repression and denial, are unconscious processes that reduce anxiety felt by the ego by distorting reality
• Psychosexual stages, such as oral and phallic stages, are phases of development children pass through according to Freud
• Humanistic psychologists, in contrast, focus on personal growth, free will, and self-actualization, suggesting that individuals have the motivation to work towards their full potential
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs proposes that individuals must satisfy basic needs before progressing to self-actualization, the point at which they achieve their full potential
• Humanistic counseling, like Rogers' client-centered therapy, aims to help clients achieve congruence between their self-concept and ideal self through unconditional positive regard
• Humanistic psychologists reject the scientific method in studying human behavior, taking a holistic view that considers all factors influencing individuals
• Comparison of psychological approaches: behaviorists focus on environmental conditioning, social learning theorists include mental factors, cognitive psychologists emphasize internal mental processes, biological psychologists study the brain's complex interactions, psychodynamic psychologists delve into unconscious processes, and humanistic psychologists emphasize free will and personal growth
• Treatment approaches: behaviorists use techniques like flooding and classical conditioning, social learning theory employs reward mechanisms, cognitive therapy corrects maladaptive thought patterns, biological treatments involve drug interventions, psychodynamic therapy explores childhood experiences, and humanistic therapy aims at self-actualization and personal development
• Nature vs. nurture perspectives: behaviorists emphasize environmental conditioning, social learning theory focuses on social learning, cognitive psychology considers brain structure and learning experiences, biological psychology looks at genetic factors, psychodynamic theory highlights childhood experiences, and humanistic psychology values personal experiences and growth
• Approaches to determinism: behaviorists see behavior as environmentally determined, social learning theorists believe in soft determinism with a role for choice, cognitive psychologists view thoughts as influenced by experience but with conscious control, biological psychologists see behavior as biologically determined, psychodynamic psychologists believe in psychic determinism, and humanistic psychologists emphasize free will and conscious decision-making
• Research methods: behaviorists use animal experiments to establish general laws, social learning theorists employ experimental methods, cognitive psychologists use mental models, biological psychologists conduct large studies, psychodynamic psychologists use case studies, and humanistic psychologists focus on subjective individual experiences
• Limitations of psychotherapy: while the effectiveness of psychotherapy can be studied, the results are limited, as shown by Eysenck's 1952 study where a significant percentage of people recovered without any treatment, casting doubt on the theory behind psychotherapy
• Humanistic psychologists believe in self-actualization and personal growth, rejecting deterministic approaches and emphasizing individual experiences and positive change at any stage of life
• Humanistic psychologists view individuals from collectivist cultures as potentially less able to self-actualize due to cultural differences in prioritizing individual success versus group success
• Humanistic concepts like self-actualization and conditions of worth are not easily measurable or open to scientific study, as they reject the scientific method in studying human behavior
• Humanistic counseling, such as Rogers' client-centered therapy, aims to help clients achieve congruence between their self-concept and ideal self through unconditional positive regard, fostering personal growth and self-actualization
• Humanistic psychologists take a holistic view of studying humans, considering all factors influencing individuals, and believe in the potential for significant personal development and positive change at any stage of life
• Humanistic psychologists reject the scientific method in studying human behavior, suggesting it is not possible for humans to study humans objectively, and take a holistic view of understanding individuals by considering all factors influencing them