psych approaches

• Psychology


  The scientific study of the mind and human behavior
• Psychiatry


  The diagnosis and treatment of disease and illnesses of the mind
• There has been a very long-running debate in psychology about if it's actually a science or not
• Most psychologists think that psychology is a science as it involves evidence-based research, the scientific method and fact-based reporting
• Psychology


  • It is a relatively new and young science compared to chemistry, biology and physics
  • It has several schools of thought and sets of general principles known as approaches
• Approaches in psychology


  • Behavioral approach
  • Psychodynamic approach
  • Cognitive approach
  • Biological approach
  • Humanistic approach
• Reductionism


  A theory that everything can be reduced to simple cause and effects relationships
• Reductionism was a popular idea through the 19th century but has tailed off in the modern era
• Features that mark something as being scientific


  • Objectivity
  • Control
  • Predictability
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Replication
• Psychology as a discipline does have many of the features that mark something as being scientific, but there are some complications
• Behaviorism


  Also known as learning theory, it began in the USA in the early 20th century
• Theoretical assumptions of behaviorism

  • Nearly all human behavior is learnt
  • Animals and humans learn in basically similar ways
  • The mind isn't actually relevant, only observable and quantifiable behavior
• Classical conditioning


  A process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a response, resulting in that neutral stimulus also producing the response
• Steps in classical conditioning

  1. Unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response

  2. Conditioning the stimulus and response

  3. Conditioned stimulus and conditioned response
• Principles of classical conditioning

  • Generalization
  • Discrimination
  • Extinction
  • Spontaneous recovery
  • Higher order conditioning
• Operant conditioning


  Relies on the consequences of actions, with positive and negative reinforcement
• Some studies on classical and operant conditioning have used extremely unethical and dubious methods, especially on animals
• Social learning theory


  An advancement on behaviorism, applying its principles to a wider examination of human social behavior
• Conditions for learning through vicarious reinforcement

  • Attention
  • Retention
  • Reproduction
  • Motivation
• Cognitive approach


  Focuses on how we perceive the world and events, process that information, and the resulting behavior and emotions
• Types of experiments in the cognitive approach

  • Laboratory research
  • Field experiments
  • Natural experiments
• Laboratory research for the cognitive approach

  • Vast majority done in a lab
  • Extraneous variables easily eliminated
  • Limited ecological validity
  • Results hard to generalize to real world
• Field experiments for the cognitive approach

  • Take place in natural situations
  • More ecological validity
  • More generalizable
  • More variables to control
• Natural experiments for the cognitive approach

  • Observe naturally occurring events without influencing
  • High ecological validity
  • Highly generalizable
  • Many uncontrolled variables
• Cognitive psychology mostly developed

  1950s and early 1960s
• Cognitive psychology developed as computing advanced
• Underlying principles of cognitive psychology

  • Mental systems have limited capacity
  • Control mechanism oversees mental processes
  • Two-way flow of information
• Computer model of cognitive psychology

  • Brain takes in information through senses
  • Brain processes information like a computer processor
  • Brain outputs information as behaviour and emotions
• Differences between how computers and humans operate
• Schema


  • Everything you know about an object, event or concept
  • Help organise and process the world
  • Adapt and change as we learn
• Types of schema


  • Role schemas
  • Event schemas
  • Self-schemas
• Cognitive neuroscience developed in the 1970s
• Techniques used in cognitive neuroscience

  • Lesion studies
  • Electrophysiology
  • Neuroimaging
• Positive aspects of the cognitive approach

  • Considers mental processes and brain functions
  • Approaches psychology as hard science
  • Useful in developing therapies and medicines
• Negative aspects of the cognitive approach

  • Computer model is reductionist
  • Ignores individual differences
  • Majority of research done in labs with limited ecological validity
  • Overly computer-based and ignores free will
• Biological approach assumptions


  • Behaviour can be explained and predicted by biological factors
  • Mental illness/undesirable behaviour can be cured using biological techniques
  • Animal studies can inform us about human biology
• Genotype


  Genetic makeup, actual DNA
• Phenotype


  Displayed characteristics resulting from DNA
• Theory of evolution by natural selection developed by Charles Darwin
• Natural selection


  Mechanism by which evolution occurs - individuals with characteristics best adapted to environment are most likely to survive and reproduce