approaches

Question 1

what is the psychodynamic approach

Answer 1

• Our behaviour is caused by unconscious factors that are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
• unconscious mind is the part of our mind that we are unaware of
• The unconscious contains repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
• Events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives as they shape our personality (and therefore behaviour). Events that occur in our childhood can remain in the unconscious and influence our adult behaviour.
• Therefore, our relationships are very important according to the psychodynamic approach, particularly the relationship between parent and child.

Question 2

assumptions of the psychodynamic approach

Answer 2

• According to the psychodynamic approach, all human behaviour can be explained in terms of inner conflicts of the mind (think about the tripartite structure of the personality - id, ego and superego are always in conflict).
• Most of our mind is made up of the unconscious – the part of our mind that we are unaware of. The unconscious contains repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Therefore, behaviour is caused by unconscious factors which are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
• The unconscious extends its influence into every part of our waking and sleeping lives. Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and influence our behaviour as adults.
• Psychodynamic theory stresses the importance of relationships, particularly those with family members. The relationship between parent and child is of particular importance.

It is a perspective that emphasises change and development in the individual.

Question 3

what si the role of the unocniouss

Answer 3

• contains repressed ideas and memories, and primitive desires, drives, impulses and instincts. These then influence most of our everyday thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
• Personality and behaviour are caused by unconscious factors which are largely unknown to us and beyond our control.
• The unconscious also protects the conscious self from anxiety/fear/trauma/conflict.

Question 4

the tripartite

Answer 4

• Freud believed that the personality (the psyche) was composed of 3 parts; the id, the ego, and the superego
• Each part of the personality demands gratification, but is frequently in conflict with the other parts.
• Experience/conflicts in childhood shape the development of the three parts, which affects how a person behaves.

Question 5

what is the id

Answer 5

• primitive part of our personality that is formed from birth to 18 months
• ource of our unconscious desires, impulses, drives and instincts
• operates on the pleasure principle – it demands immediate gratification of its needs regardless of circumstance - needs consist of hunger, thirst and sex.
• It focuses on the self (selfish), is irrational and emotional
• it deals with feelings and needs
• contains the libido – the biological energy created by reproductive instincts.

Question 6

what is the superego

Answer 6

• internalised sense of right and wrong based on parental and societal values (acts as our conscience or moral guide)
• formed between 3-6 years - around this age that parents start to demand that the child acts in more socially acceptable ways
• unoconcious
• perates on the morality principle – it is our internal representation of the moral standards of the child’s same-sex parent and causes feelings of guilt when rules are broken

Question 7

what is the ego

Answer 7

• rational part of our mind that mediates between the id and superego
• formed between 18 months and 3 years old - child realises that the demands of the id cannot always be met. It seeks to satisfy the id in socially acceptable ways.
• It operates on the reality principle – it mediates between the impulsive demands of the id and the reality of the external world
• concious
• its role is to reduce the conflict between the demands of the id and superego.

Question 8

what are defense mechanisms

Answer 8

• used if an individual is faced with a situation that they are unable to deal with rationally
• usualy work unconsciously and work by distorting reality so that anxiety is reduced
• ensure that the ego is not overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas.
• individual stops themselves becoming aware of any unpleasant thoughts and feelings associated with the situation
• long-term seen as psychologically situation

Question 9

what are 3 defense mechanisms

Answer 9

• denial
• repression
• displacment

Question 10

what is denial

Answer 10

• refusal to acknowledge and accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with that event
• The person acts as if the event never happened.

Question 11

what is repression

Answer 11

• unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts and impulses
• the distressing memory is forced out of the conscious mind
• However, these repressed thoughts and impulses in the unconscious continue to influence behaviour without the individual being aware of the reasons behind their behaviour.

Question 12

what is disaplacment

Answer 12

• transferring your emotions from the true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target.
• in situations where the person feels unable to express their thoughts or feelings in the presence of the person they should be directed towards, the thoughts or feelings are redirected onto someone or something else
• gives their hostile feelings a route for expression, even though they are misapplied to an innocent person or object

Question 13

what are the psychosexual stages

Answer 13

• Freud believed that personality developed through a sequence of five stages.
• These are referred to as psychosexual stages because Freud believed that children are born with a libido – an unconscious sexual (pleasure) urge.
• Each stage is marked by a different conflict that the child must resolve in order to progress successfully to the next stage.
• Any unresolved conflict leads to fixation where the child becomes ‘stuck’ and carries certain behaviours and conflicts associated with the stage into adult life.

Question 14

what are the 5 psychosexual stages

Answer 14

• oral
• anal
• phallic
• latent
• genital

Question 15

what is the oral stage

Answer 15

• 0-18 months
• focus of libido is the mouth. The child is being breast fed and weaned. The mother’s breast is the object of desire. They are passive, receptive and dependent.
• They also focus on exploring with their mouths. They will pick up and suck objects. The mouth is the way in which the child expresses early sexual energy.
• This is the least contentious of the stages; there is biological evidence that babies do have more nerve endings in this area and from a survival point of view it makes perfect sense to derive pleasure from suckling

Question 16

consequence of being fixated in the oral stage

Answer 16

• Freud suggested that an individual could become fixated in this stage if they were either under or over fed as a baby
• A fixation here could lead to smoking, biting nails, being sarcastic and critical as an adult.

Question 17

what is the anal stage

Answer 17

• 18 months to 3 years
• The focus of Libido is on the anus as this is when potty training takes place.
• The ego develops as parents impose restrictions and the child becomes aware of the demands of reality and the need to conform to the demands of others
• first time the child experiences any sort of control (expulsion/retention of faeces) and the child gains pleasure from these activities

Question 18

Consequences of fixation in anal stage

Answer 18

• too strict or too lax potty training can result in the child becoming fixated in this stage
• There are two possible outcomes to this fixation, either an anally retentive or an anally expulsive personality - Anally retentive people are perfectionists and obsessive. Anally expulsive people are thoughtless and messy.

Question 19

what is the phallic stage

Answer 19

• 3-6 years old
• focus of libido on genitals
• curiosity and examination
• child becomes fully aware of gender differences
• child becomes obsessed with its own genitals
• superego develops through resolution of the Oedipus or Electra complex.
• Identification with same sex parent leads to formation of gender identity.

Question 20

Consequences of fixation during phallic stage

Answer 20

• Phallic personality – narcissistic and reckless
• Freud also suggested that this may lead to homosexuality.

Question 21

what is the latent stage

Answer 21

• 6-12 years
• sexual desires remain dormant
• Earlier conflicts and issues are repressed with the consequence that children are unable to remember much of their early years.
• Children want nothing to do with the opposite sex, as social and intellectual development occurs
• The child develops mastery of the world around them

Question 22

what is the genital stage

Answer 22

• puberty onwards
• This stage marks the beginning of mature adult sexuality
• Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
• The calm of latency is disrupted as the id makes powerful demands in the form of heterosexual desires
• The opposite sex is now needed to satisfy the libido
• This eventually directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life.
• focus of libido is genitals

Question 23

Consequences of fixation in the gential stage

Answer 23

Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships.????

Question 24

wjhat is the oedipus complex

Answer 24

• During the phallic stage, boys unconsciously develop sexual desires for their mothers and so see their fathers as a rival for her attention. They also fear their fathers discovering their desire and so develop castration anxiety. The boys resolve this conflict by identifying with their fathers and internalising their moral standards. This is how the superego develops and how gender identity develops (boys feel like boys). Boys therefore substitute their desire for their mother with desire for other women.

Question 25

steps of opedius complex

Answer 25

- Boy starts to desire his mother, and wants to have sex with her - Boy sees father as a rival for his mother’s attention and wishes to kill him. - He fears that if his father finds out about his feelings for his mother, he will castrate him. - The boy is in a state of conflict. He resolves this by internalising and identifying with his father. - This leads to the development of the superego. The boy substitutes his desire for his mother into desire for other women.

Question 26

what is the electra complex

Answer 26

During the phallic stage, girls develop penis envy, blaming their mothers for removing their penis (superior sex organ) and develop unconscious sexual desires for their fathers (who have a penis). The girls resolve this conflict by identifying with their mothers and internalising their moral standards. This is how the superego develops and how gender identity develops (girls feel like girls). Girls substitute their desire for their father with a desire to have a baby.

Question 27

steps of the electra complex

Answer 27

- She starts to sexually desire her father who has a penis. - The girl begins to develop penis envy. She blames her mother for removing her penis. - The girl sees her mother as a sexual rival for her father - To resolve this, the girl identifies with her mother so that she can have her father. - The superego develops, as does gender identity. She replaces penis envy with desire for a baby.

Question 28

case study of Little Hans

Answer 28

A case study by Freud is ‘Little Hans’ 1909, who developed a phobia of horses. Hans was 5 years old and developed his fear after seeing a horse that was pulling a carriage, fall over and kick his feet in the air. Little Hans was terrified, and thought that the horse dead. According to Freud, Little Hans was experiencing the ‘Oedipus Complex’ – wanting to possess his mother, and saw his father as a rival. He displaced the fear of his father onto horses. The blinkers on the horse reminded Little Hans of his father’s glasses, and the black around the horse’s mouth reminded Little Hans of his father’s beard and moustache! Thus, horses were merely a symbolic representation of Han’s real unconscious fear of castration experienced during the Oedipus Complex.

Question 29

strengths of psychodynamic approach

Answer 29

- realworld application - had a huge influence on psychology and Western contemporary thought. Alongside behaviourism, the psychodynamic approach remained the dominant force in psychology for the 1st half of the 20th century and has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena such as personality development, abnormal behaviour, moral development and gender. The approach has also been significant in drawing attention to the connection between experiences in childhood, such as our relationship with our parents, and later development. THEREFORE The applications of the approach support its external validity as they suggest that the principles can be used to explain a wide range of behaviours. - Freud brought to the world a new form of therapy, called psychoanalysis. This employs a range of techniques designed to access the unconscious e.g. dream analysis and hypnosis. Freud and his followers were the first to demonstrate the potential of psychological, rather than biological, treatments for disorders such as depression and anxiety. A large-scale review of psychotherapy studies concluded that psychoanalysis produced significant improvements in symptoms that were maintained years after treatment THEREOFREThe applications of the approach support its external validity as they suggest that the principles can be used to help to support treatments. However, these treatments require a lot of effort from the patient because they have to think about their problems unlike with drug therapies. Additionally, psychoanalysis has been criticised as inappropriate, and even harmful, for people suffering from more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia - Many of the claims of psychoanalysis have been tested and many of them have been supported by scientific methodology. For example, a meta-analysis concluded that experimental studies of psychoanalysis compare well with studies relevant to any other major area of psychology. In particular, they found support for the existence of unconscious motivation in human behaviour as well as for the defence mechanisms THEREFORE These support the validity of the psychodynamic approach as they support the importance of the unconscious and defence mechanisms in behaviour. - Defence mechanisms have face validity - they seem to logically make sense to people as part of their everyday experience e.g. Why people can't remember the impact of a car crash as they've repressed it --> might be a valid explanation of behaviour

Question 30

weaknesses of psychodynamic approach

Answer 30

- Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach doesn’t meet the scientific criterion of falsification. This is because it is not open to empirical testing, and therefore the possibility of being disproved. Many of Freud’s concepts, such as the id, Oedipus complex and defence mechanisms, are unconscious and so cannot be studied directly. They can only be inferred from behaviour or from reported thoughts or experiences - Popper argued that the psychodynamic approach is therefore a pseudoscience (‘fake’ science) rather than real science. Therefore it is a less credible and scientific approach than many of the other approaches. - Freud’s theory was based on intensive case studies of individuals who were often in therapy. Although the observations were detailed and carefully recorded, critics have suggested that it is not possible to make universal claims about human nature based on studies of such a small number of individuals who were psychologically abnormal. Additionally, the interpretations were highly subjective. It is unlikely in the case of Little Hans for example, that any other researcher would have drawn the same conclusions - In comparison to the other approaches, Freud’s methods lack scientific rigour and so from the research we are unable to strongly support the psychodynamic approach. - Freud’s views of women and female sexuality were less well developed than his views on male sexuality. Despite his theories focusing on sexual development, he remained ignorant of female sexuality and how it may differ from male sexuality - Dismissing women and their sexuality in such a way is problematic, not only because he treated many female patients, but also because his theories are still so influential today - psychic detrminism - law etc, not palatable to our society

Question 31

overview and assumptions of the humanistic approach

Answer 31

- emphasises the importance of subjective experiences, feelings and thoughts of a person - reject scientific models that attempt to establish general principles of human behaviour - claims that humans are self-determining and have free will – we have full conscious control and can make choices that are not determined by biological or external forces - active agents who have the ability to determine our own development. - Everyone has an innate tendency to fulfil their potential and become what they are capable of. This is known as self-actualisation. - It emphasises the importance of personal growth (developing and changing as a person to become fulfilled, satisfied and goal-oriented) and fulfilment.

Question 32

what si maslow's hierarchy of needs

Answer 32

- A 7 levelled hierarchical sequence in which basic psychological needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved, the hierarchy describes what motivates our behaviour - People are only able to progress in the hierarchy once the current need in the sequence has been met

Question 33

what odes it mena when someone echieved self-actualisation

Answer 33

when you have fulfilled your desire to grow psychologically and fulfil your full potential – becoming what you are capable of. These people tend to be creative, accepting of others and have an accurate perception of the world around them.

Question 34

what are the parts of maslow's hierarchy of needs

Answer 34

top: self-actualisation aesthetic needs cognitive needs esteem needs belonging and love needs safety and security needs physioloigcal needs

Question 35

example of physiological needs

Answer 35

- air - water - food - warmth - sleep - sex

Question 36

example of sefety and security needs

Answer 36

- security of body - employment - rescources - moraity - health - law - protection

Question 37

example of belonging and love needs

Answer 37

- family - affection - realtionships - work groups - sexual intimacy

Question 38

example of esteem needs

Answer 38

- self-esteem - confidence - achievement - status - resepect - responsibility

Question 39

example of cognitive needs

Answer 39

- able to think for ourselves - ability to problem solve

Question 40

example of aesthetic needs

Answer 40

- appreciation of beauty and 'prettiness'

Question 41

what did Rogers argue

Answer 41

- for personal growth to be achieved an individual’s concept of self (the way they see themselves) must be broadly equivalent to, or have congruence with, their ideal self (the person they want to be). - If too big a gap exists between the two ‘selves’ the person will experience a state of incongruence and self-actualisation will not be possible due to the negative feelings of self-worth that arise from the incongruence.

Question 42

what is congruency

Answer 42

- match between the perceived self (how you see yourself) and the ideal self (the self you would like to be).

Question 43

how can a person reduce the gap between their ideal self and perceived self

Answer 43

- can develop a more healthy view of themselves - have a more achievable and realistic ideal self.

Question 44

what did rogers claim as the cause of adults feeling worthless and low self-esteem

Answer 44

- roots in childhood from a lack of unconditional positive regard from our parents.

Question 45

what is conditions of worth

Answer 45

- withholding of positive regard/love/affection/esteem. - A parent who sets boundaries or limits on their love for their child (conditions of worth) by claiming “I will only love you if……”

Question 46

rogers therapy

Answer 46

- patient called a client - therapy is non-directive, and the client is encouraged towards the discovery of their own solutions within a therapeutic atmosphere that is warm, supportive and non-judgemental - client is seen as in control of their condition (free will) - uses unconditional positive regard to reduce incongruence and improve self-esteem, encouraging an individual to develop a more healthy view of themselves, or have a more achievable and realistic ideal self to reduce incongruence

Question 47

strengths of the humanistic approach EDIT THIS SHIT DOWN

Answer 47

- Humanists reject any attempt to break up behaviour and experience into smaller components (they reject reductionism). In contrast to the other approaches, humanists advocate holism; the idea that subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person - This approach may have more validity than alternatives by considering meaningful human behaviour within its real-life context. - Humanistic psychologists have been praised for bringing the person back into Psychology and promoting a positive image of the human condition. Freud saw humans as slaves to their past and claimed all of us existed somewhere between common unhappiness and absolute despair - Humanistic psychology offers a refreshing and optimistic alternative; it sees all people as basically good, free to work towards the achievement of their potential and in control of their lives.

Question 48

weaknesses of the humanistic approach EDIT THIS SHIT DOWN

Answer 48

- Unlike some of the other approaches, humanistic psychology has relatively little real-world applications. Rogerian therapy has revolutionised counselling techniques, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been used to explain motivation, particularly in the workplace. However, it remains the case that the approach has had limited impact within the discipline of psychology as a whole - This may in part be due to the lack of a sound evidence-base and also due to the fact that the approach has been described as a loose set of rather abstract concepts, rather than a comprehensive theory. - Humanistic psychology includes a number of vague ideas that are abstract and difficult to test. Concepts such as self-actualisation and congruence may be useful therapeutic tools, but would prove problematic to assess under experimental conditions. Humanistic psychology is therefore short of empirical evidence to support its claims - Therefore the approach is a less credible and scientific approach than many of the other approaches because the evidence to support it fails to establish cause and effect which is a fundamental requirement of scientific psychology - Many of the ideas that are central to the humanistic approach e.g. autonomy, freedom and personal growth, would be more readily associated with individualistic cultures in the Western world. Collectivist cultures such as India, which emphasise the needs of the group, community and interdependence, may not identify so easily with the ideals and values of the humanistic approach - Therefore, it is possible that this approach would not travel well and is a product of cultural context within which is was developed - Humanistic psychology represents an overly idealised and unrealistic view of human nature. Critics argue that people are not as inherently good and ‘growth-oriented’ as humanistic theorists suggest, and the approach does not adequately recognise people’s capacity for pessimism and self-destructive behaviour. The view that personality development is directed only by an innate potential for growth is seen as an oversimplification, as is the humanistic assumption that all problems arise from blocked self-actualisation - Encouraging people to focus on their own self-development rather than on situational forces may be neither realistic nor appropriate in modern society

Question 49

what are the possible topics you can compare about

Answer 49

* Assumptions - The beliefs that people who subscribe to the approach have about how behaviour is caused and the research methods that they think should be used to study behaviour. * Real-world applications - how knowing about the approach is useful to society - treatments of mental illnesses * Free will vs determinism * Nature-nurture * Holism vs reductionism * Psychology as a science - how well the approach fulfils the features of science and therefore contributes to psychology's credibility as a science

Question 50

comparison points between behaviour and SLT

Answer 50

Both suggest that behaviour is learned, but behaviourism suggests that behaviour is learned through our own direct experiences whereas SLT says we learn it indirectly in a social context. Both are also positively committed to science. Similar position in the nature/nurture debate. Behaviourists believe we are passive receivers of information while SLT sees us as active manipulators of the environment. SLT argues that mediational processes are important while behaviourism believes in only observable behaviour. Behaviourism it hard determinist while SLT is soft determinist Behaviourism is more positively committed to science. Behaviourism is more nurture sided Behaviourism has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 51

Comparison points Behaviourist and Cognitive

Answer 51

Both are reductionist Both are positively committed to science Strong real world application of therapy/treatment Behaviourism says we can study animals while cognitive suggests we should only study humans. Behaviourism suggests we should only study observable behaviour while the cognitive approach is focused on inference. Behaviourism is hard determinist while cognitive is soft determinist. Cognitive is machine reductionist, behaviourism is just reductionist. Behaviour is more positively committed to science. Behaviourism is more nurture sided.

Question 52

Comparison points Behaviourist and Biological

Answer 52

Both suggest that we can study non-human animals and generalise to humans. Both are hard determinist Both are reductionist Both have most positive commitment to science. Strong real world application of therapy/treatment Biological vs environmental hard determinism. Behaviourism is more nurture sided while biological is almost fully nature.

Question 53

Comparison points Behaviourist and Psychodynamic

Answer 53

Both are hard determinist Environmental vs psychic hard determinism. Behaviourism is more positively committed to science. Behaviourism is more nurture sided. Behaviourism has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 54

Comparison points Behaviourist and Humanistic

Answer 54

Humanistic believes in free, behaviourism is determinist. Humanism is holistic while behaviourism is reductionist. Humanism does not commit to science at all. Behaviourism is more nurture sided. Behaviourism has stronger real world application of therapy/treatmen

Question 55

Comparison points SLT and Cognitive

Answer 55

Both SLT and Cognitive study only humans. Both SLT and Cognitive are soft determinist. Both SLT and the Cognitive Approach have a positive commitment to science. Both suggest that nurture plays a role in behaviour. SLT is more nurture sided. Cognitive has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 56

Comparison points SLT and Biological

Answer 56

Both are positively committed to science. Biological uses non-human animals while SLT is human only. Biological is hard determinist while SLT is soft determinist. Biological is more positively committed to science. SLT is more nurture sided while biological is fully nature. Biological has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 56

Comparison points SLT and Psychodynamic

Answer 56

Both study humans only. Both suggest that nurture plays a role in behaviour. Weak real world application of therapy/treatment Psychodynamic is hard determinist while SLT is soft. SLT is more positively committed to science. SLT is more nurture sided.

Question 56

Comparison points SLT and Humanistic

Answer 56

Both SLT and the Humanistic approach study humans only Weak real world application of therapy/treatment Humanistic is free will while SLT is determinist Humanistic does not commit to science at all. Both suggest that nurture plays a role in behaviour. SLT is more nurture sided.

Question 56

Comparison points Cognitive and Biological

Answer 56

Both Cognitive and Biological are reductionist. Both are positively committed to science. Strong real world application of therapy/treatment Biological uses non-human animals while Cognitive suggests only humans should be studied. Biological is hard determinist while cognitive is soft determinist. Cognitive is machine reductionist while biological is not. Biological commits to science more positively.

Question 57

Comparison points Cognitive and Humanistic

Answer 57

Both Cognitive and Humanistic study humans only. Both suggest that conscious experiences are important in determining behaviour. Similar position in the nature/nurture debate. Humanistic is free will based while Cognitive is determinist. Cognitive is machine reductionist while Humanistic is holistic. Humanistic does not commit to science at all while Cognitive does. Cognitive has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 57

Comparison points Cognitive and Psychodynamic

Answer 57

Both suggest that unobservable thoughts are responsible for behaviour. Similar position in the nature/nurture debate. Psychodynamic is hard determinist while cognitive is soft determinist. Cognitive is more positively committed to science. Biological is fully nature while cognitive is more nurture. Cognitive has stronger real world application of therapy/treatment

Question 58

Comparison points Psychodynamic and Humanistic

Answer 58

Both Psychodynamic and Humanistic study humans. Both are not positively committed to science. Similar position in the nature/nurture debate. Weak real world application of therapy/treatment Psychodynamic focuses on the past and is rather negative while humanistic is positive and focuses on the present and future. Humanistic is free will based while psychodynamic is determinist. Humanistic approach does not commit to science at all while psychodynamic does to an extent.

Question 59

what is reductionism

Answer 59

belief that complex human behaviour can be explained in terms of breaking it down to its smallest component parts such as the actions of genes, neurotransmitters or hormones