Approaches Key Terms

• introspection


  the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
• psychology


  the scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience
• science


  a means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. the aim is to discover general laws
• classical conditioning


  learning by association. occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together
• operant conditioning


  a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. possible consequences of behaviour include reinforcement and punishment
• reinforcement


  a consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated. can be positive or negative
• social learning theory


  a way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors
• imitation


  copying the behaviour of others
• identification


  when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model
• modelling


  from the observer's perspective modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model. from the role of model's perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be interpreted by an observer
• vicarious reinforcement


  reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour
• mediational processes


  cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
• cognitive approach


  focuses on how our mental processes (e.g. thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour
• internal mental processes


  'private' operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response
• schema


  a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. they are developed from experience
• inferences


  the process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour
• cognitive neuroscience


  the scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes
• biological approach


  a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
• genes


  they make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which code the physical features of an organism and psychological features
• biological structure


  An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing.
• neurochemistry


  Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
• genotype


  the particular set of genes that a person possesses
• phenotype


  the characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment
• evolution


  the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
• psychodynamic approach


  A perspective that describes the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience.
• the unconscious


  The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which continues to direct much of our behaviour.
• id


  Entirely unconscious, the id is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification.
• ego


  the 'reality check' that balances the conflicting demands of the Id and the Superego
• superego


  The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self: how we ought to be.
• defence mechanisms


  Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage the conflict between the id and the superego.
• psychosexual stages


  Five developmental stages that all children pass through. At each stage there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development.
• humanistic psychology


  an approach to understanding behaviour that emphasises the importance of subjective experience and each person's capacity for self-determination
• free will


  the notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour / thoughts are not determined by internal biological or external forces
• self-actualisation


  the desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one's potential - becoming what you are capable of
• hierarchy of needs


  a five-levelled heirarchial sequence in which basic physiological needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved
• self


  the ideas and values that characterise 'I' and 'me' and includes perception and valuing of 'what I am
• congruence


  the aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord or match
• conditions of worth


  when a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children