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Approaches complete
All key terms and key studies from Approaches - AQA
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Introspection | People trained to systematically analyse one’s own conscious experience. Experiences are analysed in terms of their component parts (or structures), thoughts, images and sensations. Developed by Wundt. |
| Structuralism | Attempting to isolate the structure of consciousness. |
| Behavioural approach | Believes that all behaviour is learnt and that we are born as a blank slate. Only concerned with observable behaviour that can be measured (not internal processes). |
| Classical conditioning | This is a behaviourist theory which says that humans and animals learn new behaviours by the process of association. |
| Association | When two stimuli are paired together at the same time, they become linked |
| Stimulus | Something in the environment that may or may not result in a response |
| Response | A reaction to stimuli |
| Generalisation | When a similar stimulus to the learnt stimulus elicits the same response (e.g. bitten by an Alsatian now afraid of all dogs). |
| Extinction | When a conditioned pairing decays over time. Conditioned stimuli aren't permanent unless they are occasionally paired with the UCS. |
| Neutral stimulus (NS) | Something in the environment that elicits no innate response, e.g. ring of a bell |
| Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) | Something in the environment that elicits a response that does not need to be learnt, e.g. food |
| Unconditioned response (UCR) | An innate reaction to an unconditioned stimulus, e.g. salivation when encountering food |
| Conditioned stimulus (CS) | Something in the environment that elicits a response that needs to be learnt |
| Conditioned response (CR) | A reaction to a conditioned stimulus |
| Operant conditioning | A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment. |
| Positive reinforcement | A pleasant consequence to a behaviour that increases the likelihood of repeating that behaviour |
| Negative reinforcement | Any behaviour that leads to an escape from an unpleasant situation will increase the likelihood of repeating that behaviour. |
| Punishment | A negative consequence to a behaviour that decreases the likelihood of repeating that behaviour. |
| Social Learning Theory | Behaviour is learned through observation and imitation of role models within a social context. |
| Identification | When a model is high status, likeable, attractive and similar to a person (e.g. age and gender) the model is more likely to be imitated. |
| Modelling | Demonstrating the behaviour to be copied |
| Mediational processes | Cognitive factors (thoughts) that come between stimulus and response and determine the likelihood that observed behaviours will be repeated. These include attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation. |
| Attention | Focusing on a behaviour - watching it closely. |
| Retention | Coding the behaviour seen into the observers memory, e.g. is it easy to remember? |
| Motor reproduction/Self-efficacy | The belief that the behaviour observed can be imitated |
| Motivation | Believing the benefits of performing a behaviour outweigh any costs. |
| Vicarious reinforcement | The observed consequences of behaviour for someone else determine the likelihood that it will be repeated, e.g. witnessing someone being praised for behaviour increases the chance the observer imitates it. |
| Cognitive Approach | Focuses on how our internal mental processes are responsible for our behaviour. The approach believes we can and should study internal mental processes scientifically. |
| Inferences | Making assumptions made about internal mental processes which can't be observed. These assumptions use and go beyond the behaviour seen within research. |
| Schema | Packages of information / units of knowledge developed through experience. They provide a mental framework for us to interpret information. They become more detailed and sophisticated as we age (assimilation & accommodation). |
| Computer analogy | Processing of information in humans is similar (analogous) to the way a computer works, concepts from computing such as coding, retrieval and storage can be used to explain internal mental processes. |
| Theoretical model | Diagrams / pictorial representations used to explain how the mind works (e.g. the multi store model of memory is a diagram of stores), which allow psychologists to construct hypotheses |
| Cognitive neuroscience | Brain scans used to scientifically study of the influence of brain structures on cognitive processes, e.g. fMRIs show a link for lateral frontal lobes and OCD. |
| Biological Approach | Everything psychological has a biological basis, such as genes, brain structure and neurochemistry. The mind and body are one and the same - the mind lives in the brain, therefore all thoughts have a physical basis. |
| Genetic influence of behaviour | Psychological characteristics are inherited, so specific genes are implicated in disorders, e.g. COMT in OCD and SZ. |
| Genotype | The genetic makeup of an individual / Particular set of genes that a person possesses |
| Phenotype | Characteristics of an individual determined by an interaction between genes and the environment |
| Concordance rates | The likelihood that if one person has a trait, someone else (e.g. their twin) also has the same trait. A test of phenotypal similarity between individuals, based on genotypal similarity. |
| Evolutionary theory | Genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction is naturally selected for, Darwin (1859). Such genes are adaptive. |
| Neurochemistry | Chemicals in the brain that can affect thinking and behaviours. Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters and hormones can affect mood. E.g. Low serotonin is linked to depression. |
| Twin studies | Scientists can compare the concordance rates of MZ and DZ twins in order to determine the extent of genetic influence of a particular trait. |
| Psychodynamic Approach | Believes that behaviour is influenced by our unconscious mind. This is a storehouse of our repressed memories, instincts and biological drives. |
| Unconscious mind | A storehouse of repressed memories, innate drives and instincts. The part of our psyche of which we are unaware and is difficult to access. A key part in determining our behaviour. |
| Preconscious | What we are not currently conscious of but could become aware of, e.g. recent memory. |
| Conscious mind | What we are aware of |
| Tripartite structure of personality | Claims that our psyche is made up of a dynamic interaction between id, ego and superego |
| Id | Part of the personality we are born with. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding instant gratification. |
| Ego | Works on the reality principle. This aspect of the mind mediates between the id and superego and employs defence mechanisms. Develops around 5 years. |
| Superego | Internalised sense of right and wrong, based on the morality principle. Punishes the ego through guilt. Develops around 3 years. |
| Defence mechanism | Unconscious strategies such as repression, denial and displacement used to reduce anxiety. |
| Denial | A defence mechanism: The rejection of a particular aspect of reality |
| Displacement | A defence mechanism: When we transfer our true feelings from the original source to a substitute target |
| Repression | A defence mechanism: When memories are forced into our unconscious, usually due to their traumatic nature |
| Psychosexual stages (overview) | Freud claimed child development occurred in five developmental phases. Each stage is marked by a different conflict the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage. Any unresolved psychosexual conflict leads to fixation. |
| The psychosexual stages: Oral | 0-1 years old, pleasure focus is the mouth, consequence of unresolved conflict is an oral fixation - smoking, biting nails etc |
| The psychosexual stages: Anal | 1-3 yrs, focus of pleasure is the anus from withholding or expelling faeces, consequence of unresolved conflict is anal retentive or anal expulsive personality; |
| The psychosexual stages: Phallic | 3-6 years, focus of pleasure is the genital areas. Consequence of unresolved conflict is a phallic personality - narcissistic and reckless. |
| The psychosexual stages: latency | 6-12 year, earlier conflicts are repressed |
| The psychosexual stages: Genital | Sexual desires become conscious alongside onset of puberty. Consequences of unresolved conflict is difficulty forming heterosexual relationships. |
| Psychoanalysis | A form of treatment developed from the Psychodynamic approach which aims to study the unconscious mind |
| Humanistic Approach | Approach that views mental health to be related to free will and self-determination |
| Free will | The notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by internal biological or external factors. |
| Self-actualisation | The desire to grow psychologically and fulfil one's full potential - becoming what you are capable of |
| Concept of the self | The self refers to ideas and concepts that constitute what 'I' am |
| Unconditional positive regard | A technique used by Humanistic therapists, whereby they respect the patient's choices and right to self-determination. A lack of self-worth and value has its roots in a lack of unconditional positive regard (or unconditional love) in childhood |
| Client centred therapy | The Humanistic approach to treatment - focus is on the patient, and a sense of warmth and understanding |
| Maslow's hierarchy of needs | A five-levelled structure in which basic needs (such as hunger) must be satisfied before higher psychological (growth) needs, such as self-actualisation, can be achieved. |
| Congruence | When a person's ideal self broadly matches up to their perceived self It is the aim of Rogerian therapy. |
| Conditions of worth | When a person has a perception that parents set of boundaries of love - the child is taught to believe that they are only worthy of love under specific circumstances, e.g. "I will only love you if… you study medicine." |
| Wundt (not a study) | Came up with the technique of introspection as a standardised method of investigating one's conscious experience of a stimulus (like a metronome) |
| Skinner | Taught rats/pigeons etc new behaviours by using food as rewards for given behaviours (such as pressing a lever) in controlled environment known as the Skinner box. |
| Pavlov | Paired the ringing of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimuli) to create salivation (conditioned response) at the ringing of a bell in the future (conditioned stimulus) |
| Watson and Raynor | Taught an infant (Little Albert) to develop a phobia of fluffy items by pairing these items with loud noises |
| Gilroy et al | Three sessions of systematic desensitisation compared to relaxation techniques (control). Symptoms lower in SD group after 3 and 33 months. |
| Bandura et al | Developed SLT when he found that children who had seen an adult model behaving aggressively to a model were more likely to be aggressive to the model themselves |
| Bandura and Walters | Children observed consequences for a model being aggressive to a doll– praised, punished or no consequence. Praised model most likely to be imitated. |
| March et al | CBT is effective at treating depression in 81% of the time. |
| Darwin | Explains evolution and the role of natural selection |
| Soomro et al | SSRIs are 70%+ effective for OCD |
| Freud (not a study) | Developed the Psychodynamic approach, including the psychosexual stages and his iceberg theory of the psyche, containing the id, ego and superego |
| Freud | Little Hans case study. Little Hans had a phobia of horses that Freud explained as displaced feelings from castration anxiety from his father. |
| De Maat et al. | Reviewed therapies for mental health disorders. Found psychoanalysis to be effective for many conditions |
| Fischer and Greenburg | Conducted a systematic review of research. Found 2500+ studies that support elements of Freuds theory such as the unconscious and the use of defence mechanisms. |
| Maslow (not a study) | Developed the hierarchy of needs, which is a key element of Humanistic psychology |
| Rogers (not a study) | Developed client centred therapy (CCT) as a non-directive therapy to boost self-esteem and help people achieve congruence and self-actualisation. |
Created by:
SBlakeley
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