psychology approaches

• Wundt


  -1879

  -father of psychology

  -opened first psychology lab in Germany

  -separated psychology from philosophy (as he was first researcher to analyse human mind in controlled scientific environment)

  -applied experimental methods to study internal mental processes

  -introspection
• Introspection


  -self-examination (subjects attempt to record own thoughts/feelings to basic sensations/perceptions)

  -introspection to study behaviour= form of structuralism as he tried to identify basic building blocks of internal mental processes

  -recorded under strictly controlled conditions using same stimulus every time, and the same standardised procedure was issued to all ptts which allowed it to be repeated
• introspection evaluation


  -WEAKNESS- unreliable/unscientific - behaviourist approach argued it produced subjective data so couldn't establish general beh laws

  -WEAKNESS- behaviourists argued for it to be scientific it needed to focus on beh that's directly observable/measurable

  -STRENGTH- marked separation of modern scientific psychology from philosophical roots

  -STRENGTH- modern cog psychologists have used it to further our understanding of human beh
• behaviourist approach (pavlov+skinner)

  -explains beh as a result of learning from experience (via classical+operant)

  -study of mind should focus on external beh not internal thought processes

  -same processes that govern human beh also govern non-human animals
• classical conditioning- pavlov


  -explains how beh is learnt from environment via association

  -other e.g.s of classical conditioning is seen in beh explanations of phobias

  -demonstrated how dogs could be conditioned to salivate (a natural response to food) in response to ringing a bell (a neutral stimulus) by ringing the bell at the same time as presenting the food, the repeated occurrence of the bell ringing at the same time as the food meant the dog associated the bell with food, eventually this association produced a conditioned response in the dog to salivate at the sound of the bell (now a conditioned stimulus) even when there was no food
• operant conditioning- skinner+skinner


  -explains how beh are learnt+reinforced in response to consequences

  -positive reinforcement= reinforce desirable beh by rewarding

  -negative reinforcement= reinforce desirable beh by removing aversive stimulus

  -punishment= eliminating undesirable beh through negative outcome

  -VARIATION 1- rat quickly learnt if it pressed the reponse lever, food would come out of dispenser, so it would repeat beh to get reward (e..g. of pos reinforcement)

  -VARIATION 2- electrified grid woul cause pain to the rat, the rat learned to press the response lever to turn the grid off (e.g. of neg reinforcement)
• behaviourist evaluation


  - STRENGTH- use of controlled lab environments, which allowed behaviourists to implement standardised procedures which leads to high internal validity, therefore beh approach gained scientific cred

  -STRENGTH- application to real world, through flooding+systematic desensitisation in beh treatment for phobias, which heightens explanatory power

  -WEAKNESS- reliance on animals to support assumptions, which created an unrealistic reality as it can't be generalised, which lowers external validity of beh approach

  -WEAKNESS- environmental determinism, suggest environment is only force to control beh, decreases explanatory power as it doesn't consider all factors, e.g. genetic
• social learning theory- bandura


  - explains beh by learning from experience (agreeing with behaviourists) and observing+imitating others

  -children imitate beh of role models they identify with (identification- similar characteristics, attractive, high status, same gender), beh might be reinforced vicariously (more likely to imitate beh they observe being rewarded), so individual also observes consequences

  -mediational processes- how mental processes influence an individual's learning of new beh:

  1. attention- beh has to be important to get our attention

  2. retention- beh has to be remembered to be imitated

  3. motor reproduction- ability to perform beh

  4. motivation- our will to perform beh
• bobo doll experiment


  -aim of the study was to see if imitation of beh continued even if role model wasn't present

  -36 boys and 36 girls (3-6) put into a room with inflatable doll and observed an adult role model interact with it

  -subjects were seperated into aggressive (role model hits with hammer and shouts), non-aggressive (doesn't hit/shout), and control (no role model)

  -1/2 of subjects had a role model of same gender, 1/2 didn't

  -after observing role model children were taken into a room full of toys they couldn't play with as an attempt to increase aggression, they were then taken to the room with the bobo doll

  -children who observed aggressive role mode, acted aggressively, especially boys

  -VARIATION 2- children who saw the role model praised for aggression were more likely to imitate behaviour, showing vicarious reinforcement
• social learning theory evaluations

  -STRENGTH- research evidence to support, bandura demonstrated children who observed role models being violent would imitate it showing influence of vicarious reinforcement, which heightens explanatory power

  -WEAKNESS- reliance on lab experiments, doesn't reflect human beh in real world and lacks mundane realism, which lowers the external validity of research as it can't be applied to real world
• cognitive approach


  -explains beh through cognitive processes such as thoughts, believe and perceptions

  -theoretical models: cannot directly observe internal mental processes so we can't understand how they influence beh, so psychologists created theoretical models which are a visual representation of how we believe internal mental processes occur within the brain (e.g. multi store model of memory)

  -computer models: computer models test whether theoretical models are accurate, it's a computerised version and stimulates what we assume is happening in the brain

  -schemas: mental framework developed through experience to help us interpret info from our environment, highly effective as they allow us to process info rapidly making it easy for us to navigate around our environment, however if schemas are incorrect this can lead to distortion of memories as they help fill in gaps of our memories which has serious implications on eye-witness testimonies at court.

  -We form schema blueprints and use them to interpret the past, categorise info in present, and form predictions for future
• cognitive neuroscience


  -study of relationship between brain activity and mental processes

  -looks at biological workings underlying cognition, thought of to as a mixture of cognitive+biological approaches

  -as technology has advanced (brain scanning techniques), scientists have identified correlations between certain types of brain activity and mental processes

  -Braver et al observed greater working memory (cognitive concept) is correlated with greater pre-fronal cortex activity (biological concept), which suggests suggests the underlying biological basis for working memory is situation in that area
• cognitive approach evaluations


  -STRENGTH- utilises lab environments to conduct research, which ensures environment is controlled leading to standardised procedures, which increases internal validity

  -STRENGTH- real world application, forms the basis of CBT which is a successful treatment for mood disorders, which means high levels of external validity as it help improve QOL

  -WEAKNESS- reflects machine reductionism, ignores the role of emotions on beh, which lowers explanatory power as cog approach can't explain the role of emotions

  -WEAKNESS- theories based on cog approach (WMM) are lab based, e.g. Baddeley's study on capacity of central executive is an unusual task that lacks mundane realism
• biological approach


  -to fully understand beh you have to look at the underlying biological processes that cause it (genes, nervous system, neurochemistry)

  -assumes everything psychological was once biological

  -believes the mind lives within the brain so all thoughts, feelings and behaviours have a physical basis in the brain

  -e.g. of genes is the genetic explanations of OCD

  -biological psychologists accept most human behaviour is dependant on interaction between inherited factors (nature) and environment (nurture), this being indicated through the differences between:

  1. genotype- actual genetic make-up, expression of genotype is influenced by environmental factors (e.g. twins have different ways of showing aggression)

  2. phenotype- expression of genetic make-up through other characteristics
• twin studies


  - psychologists investigate genetic basis on behaviour through use of twin studies

  -they use concordance rate (probability a pair of twins will display same behavioural traits) to determine the likelihood a behaviour has a genetic basis

  -identical twins (monozygotic) share 100% genetic info, non-identical (dizygotic) share 50%, therefore if the concordance rate for a behavioural trait (e.g. intelligence) is higher in MZ twins than DZ twins, this suggests intelligence has a genetic basis

  -Nestadt et al- 68% of MZ twins have both OCD in comparison to 31% of DZ twins suffering with the disorder
• biological approach evaluations


  -STRENGTH- scientific method of investigation, use highly scientific methods (e.g. fMRI's, EEG's) alongside studies, each of these utilise standardised procedures, showing any bio research has high internal validity and free of researcher bias

  -STRENGTH- applied to real life, increased understanding of biochemical processes which enabled development of biological based treatments for disorders (e.g. antipsychotics), increases external validity as it improves QOL

  -WEAKNESS- adopts biological determinism, assumes all aspects of beh are controlled by unternal forges (e.g. genetics), ignores role of environment+cognition, lowering explanatory power
• psychodynamic approach


  -explains beh as a result of unconscious processes

  -assumes the mind is multiple parts: the conscious mind, pre-conscious mind and unconscious mind (includes biological instincts that cannot be consciously accessed but have an influence on our beh)

  -beh is explained as a result of conflict between these aspects

  -early childhood experience shapes us as adults, failure to resolve conflicts as child can lead to psychological problems as an adult
• psychoanalytic theory- role of unconsciousness- freud

  -emphasises role of unconscious mind in determining beh

  -takes a reductionist view of beh, reducing beh down to it's consistuent parts

  -ROLE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS- 3 levels of unconscious arranged vertically in a hierarchy:

  1. conscious- what we're directly made aware of

  2.pre-conscious- memories, thoughts and beliefs we're not directly made aware of by can be accessed if effort is made

  3.unconscious- everything else (e.g. biological drives), these cannot be easily accessed

  -a lot of significant psychological activity happens below the level of what's consciously available

  -Psychoanalysts use psychoanalysis to identify/interpret unconscious thoughts and meanings, which serves as a basis for treating psychological disorders.
• psychoanalytic theory- tripartite structure of personality- freud

  -TRIPARTITE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY:

  1. id- primitive, biological part of personality, present at birth, works on pleasure principle

  2.ego- mediates between the two, develops around 1-3, reality principle

  3.superego- moral 'higher values' of personality, develops around 3-5, morality principle and pushes ego through guilt

  - behaviour is determined by interaction of id, superego and ego. The ego balances demands of the id and superego, improper imbalance of these creates anxiety which causes mental disorders, you can resolve this conflict through defence mechanisms, includes:

  1.repression- hiding unpleasant or undesirable thought from conscious mind

  2.denial- refusing+rejecting to accept reality

  3.displacement- redirecting emotions from target to substitute
• psychoanalytic theory- psychosexual stages- freud

  -normal development in childhood involves passing 5 psychosexual stages which represents fixation of libido at different parts of the body, a conflict must be resolved at each stage before moving to the next, if conflict isn't resolved, the child becomes stuck at that stage, affecting beh as an adult.

  1. ORAL- 0-1, pleasure focus is the mouth, feeding is the object of pleasure (e.g. breastfeeding), oral stimulation can lead to oral fixation later in life (e.g. nail-biting), and perform when under stress

  2. ANAL- 1-3, pleasure focus is anus, pleasure from withholding/expelling faeces, strict toilet training can manifest an anal retentive personality (obsessive about details, tidiness), relaxed toilet training can manifests an anal expulsive personality (messy,disorganised)

  3. PHALLIC, 3-6, pleasure focus is genitals, child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences and desire focus on penis/clitoris, Oedipus complex in boys= develop sexual attraction towards mother and a hatred towards father, Electra complex in girls= girl desires the father, realises she doesn't have a penis, develops penis envy and resolves this by repressing her desire to father and replaces wish for a penis to wish for a baby, girl blames mother for castrated state, and is resolved through identification

  4. LATENCY- 6+-puberty, pleasure focus is repressed and have no sexual desires, sexual energy is transferred (e.g. to school)

  5. GENITAL- puberty-adult, pleasure focus is genitals, sexual desires are conscious and are directed towards sex.
• psychodynamic evaluation


  -STRENGTH- high levels of external validity, first psychologist to focus on the effect of childhood experiences on personality, which led to other psychologists such as Piaget to dvelop theories (e.g. Little Hans case study) and double-bind theory in schiz.

  -WEAKNESS- One weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that it is doesn't meet falsification criteria. This is a weakness because the assumptions can not be scientifically measured or proved wrong. An example of this is the idea of the mind being split into three parts, therefore lacks scientific credibility.

  -WEAKNESS- adopts hard determinism called psychic determinism as it suggests behaviour is pre-determined and controlled by our unconscious and people don't have free will (e.g. psychosexual stages), lowers explanatory power as it doesn't take into account other factors
• humanistic approach


  -rejects scientific and objective explanations of behaviour, instead arguing humans experience is subjective and emphasises role of free will

  -takes a holistic view, believes beh should be studied by analysing individuals as a whole and acknowledging all influences on beh

  -psychologists see humans as free to change+make decisions that leads to self-actualisation
• self-actualisation


  -means fulfilling your potential

  -MASLOW'S HIEARCHY OF NEEDS- view of self-actualisation involves satisfying 5 levels in a hierarchy of needs:

  1. physiological needs- most essential, (e.g. food, water, rest)

  2. safety needs- next most essential (e.g. shelter, safety)

  3. social needs- (e.g. having friends+romantic relationships)

  4.esteem needs- (accomplishments)

  5.then reach self-actualisation

  -if a person hasn't reached deficiency needs (lower levels)

  -RODGERS- builds on Maslow, argues self-actualisation requires positive self-regard but if parents impose conditions of worth on them they are less likely to have a positive self-regard. If parents love is conditional (only shown for achievements) this can this can create feelings of worthlessness and prevent self-actualisation, in contrast if parents have unconditional positive regard they are more likely to achieve it

  -Rodgers argues self-actualisation requires a persons self image is highly congruent with their ideal self (how closely they overlap)
• counselling


  -humanistic approach is influential on counselling therapy, originating with Rogers, the core qualities of a good counselling therapist are:

  1.Genuine- therapist doesn't hide behind a professional facade that is incongruent with real personality.

  2.Unconditional positive regard- therapist values the client for who they are without judgement.

  3.Empathy- therapist actively tries to understand and appreciate client's perspective.

  -aim of person-centred therapy is to increase congruence between client's self-image and ideal self, increasing feelings of self-worth.
• humanistic approach evaluations


  -STRENGTH- paints a positive picture of human beh+growth, they emphasise the idea that we can strive to be the best versions of ourselves unrestricted from other forces (biological/environmental, therefore demonstrates intuitive appeal as individuals like to believe they are in control

  -STRENGTH- real world application to psychological treatments, form the basis of client-centred therapy, therefore assumptions of approach has high external validity

  -WEAKNESS- demonstrates cultural bias as self-actualisation focuses entirely on the individual, whereas collectivist cultures emphasise the good on achieving community, therefore this lowers the explanatory power of the approach as it can't be generalised to other cultures