Main Perspectives in Psychology

[P1] Create a booklet that explains the six main psychological perspectives.
Behaviourist Learning Theory
This theory was founded by JB Watson in 1915 and has now become a worldwide view. The theory suggests that a learner is essentially passive and is more likely to respond to environmental stimuli or that their behaviour is shaped through positive and negative reinforcement.
Ivan Pavlov contributed to this theory by introducing his own theory of classical conditioning; he believed that people learn through association. The learner will begin to respond in a desired manner to a conditioned stimulus which is repeatedly presented with an unconditioned stimulus; this will cause an unconditioned or natural response. Eventually the conditioned stimulus will create the same response, the conditioned response. For example in one of Pavlov’s experiments, he uses a dog and food, the food is the unconditioned stimulus which causes an unconditioned response, salivation. At the same time as the food is presented a bell is presented as well, this is the conditioned stimulus and eventually will cause the dog to salivate even in the absence of food, and this is the conditioned response.
"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."
-Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977 http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."
-Albert Bandura, Social Learning Theory, 1977 http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm BF Skinner also contributed to this theory by introducing his theory of operant conditioning. He believes behaviour is influenced by consequences which follow it and that this is a type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened or weakened through positive and negative reinforcement. He stated that if a learner’s behaviour is followed by positive reinforcement, they are more likely to keep doing it, but if a learner’s behaviour is followed by negative reinforcement, they are less likely to do it again. For example, if a child is refusing to do their homework and they are then told they will not be allowed dessert after dinner for arguing, they are more likely to stop arguing and do their homework because they do not want to be punished.
The Social Learning Theory

The Social Learning Theory was first founded by Gabriel Trade in 1904 but was then later developed by Julian Rotter in 1954. Then after this Albert Bandura carried on their work in 1977. Bandura believed that not all types of learning could be taught through direct reinforcement and that his theory had a social element. He believed that people could learn new behaviour through watching how other people behaved. This is also known as observational learning or modelling.
The Social Learning Theory has three concepts and these are: 1. People learn through observation 2. The idea that internal mental states are an essential part of this process 3. The theory recognises that just because something has been learnt, it does not mean this will result in a change in the learner’s behaviour.
Observational Learning:
Banduras bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children learn through watching behaviour in other people and that they imitate this behaviour when it is put into practice. For example, when the children witnessed aggressive behaviour towards the bobo doll, they copied these actions when they were put into the room with the doll.
Mental states are important to learning:
Bandura also believed that environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and behaviour. He described core reinforcement as some sort of internal reward, e.g. pride, satisfaction, accomplishment etc.
Learning does not necessarily lead to change in behaviour:
Behaviourists believe that learning leads to permanent behaviour whereas observational learning demonstrates that new information can be learnt without changing that person’s behaviour.
The modelling process:
Factors involving the learner and model can play a role in whether social learning is successful. Certain steps must be followed and these are involved in the observational learning and modelling process: * Attention: to be able to learn you must pay attention, being distracted will have a negative effect on observational learning, if you find it interesting you are more likely to pay attention. * Retention: ability to store information is important, can be affected by numerous factors and being able to retrieve information later on and act upon it is vital to observational learning. * Reproduction: once the information has been retained, the behaviour can then be performed by the learner. * Motivation: the learner must be motivated to copy the behaviour which has been modelled. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation, for example, if a learner sees another learner receiving praise for turning up to class on time, they are more likely to copy this to receive praise themselves.

Psychodynamic Theory
Sigmund Freud founded this approach around the 19th century and it was one of the earliest to come about, although there are other psychodynamic theories based upon his ideas, such as Jung’s theory.
Freud had three main assumptions which he believed played a role in an individual’s behaviour, these are: 1. An individual’s behaviour is influenced by the three parts of the mind, the id, the ego and the superego. 2. An individual’s behaviour is influenced by different levels of consciousness which range from their conscious, to their preconscious to their unconscious mind. 3. An individual’s behaviour is influenced by their early childhood experiences.
To explain assumption one, Freud believed that an adult’s personality is structured from these three parts of the mind and that they develop during different stages in our life.
Id is the instinctive part of our mind and personality which is normally within our unconscious. It operates on the pleasure principle because it often demands immediate satisfaction.
Ego is the logical part of the mind and personality because it operates on the reality principle. This part of the mind is used to make rational and conscious decisions whilst trying to balance the demands of the id in a way which is seemed socially acceptable.
Superego is the last to develop within our mind and personality, usually around the age of four. It is the moral aspect of the personality due to moral and ethical restraints placed upon us by our parents/caregivers. We begin to dictate what is right and what is wrong and learn to perfect and civilise our behaviour.

To explain assumption two, Freud considered that the mind is like an ‘iceberg’. The tip of the iceberg which is above water level is our conscious mind where we are aware of the small amount of mental activity that takes place all the time. Our preconscious is what lies just beneath the surface of our mind, this is where we can make ourselves aware of things if we wanted to or tried, such as memories. Whereas our unconscious is what lies completely beneath the surface of our mind, it holds things which we are unaware of and are not able to become aware of, such as instincts or deeply supressed memories.
Freud expressed that our unconscious mind is important because it can supposedly influence our behaviour. He believed that thoughts and feelings which occur in our unconscious can affect our conscious and that we can access these through methods such as: * Free association * Dream analysis * Slips of the tongue

For assumption three, Freud believed that events which occur during a person’s childhood effects them later on in life and that they shape a person’s personality. He also believed that the ego is not yet developed enough in childhood to deal with a life changing event, such as the loss of a parent and therefore the feelings associated with that event are supressed, then if that person suffered another loss later on in life, the thoughts and feelings supressed from the previous event could reappear and lead to things like depression. He proposed that relationships are extremely important during childhood, especially between child and parent because these are used as a template for developing relationships later on in life.e alsHe

The Humanistic Perspective
This perspective proposes a very positive view of human nature and emphasizes the importance of self-worth of each individual. It suggests that each individual is responsible for their own happiness and well-being. This perspective stemmed from a reaction towards the behaviourist and psychodynamic approach.
It tries to emphasize the importance of ‘self’ because this is who we think we are as a person. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are both influential figures which contribute to this perspective.
Abraham Maslow was responsible for introducing his ‘hierarchy of needs’ because he believed that this is what people are motivated by. He stated that an individual’s basic needs must be met before they can move on to satisfy their higher needs. Maslow’s hierarchy shows that there are five different areas in which a person’s needs must be met in order to feel completely satisfied and this is what they are, in order from lowest to highest: 1. Physiological – the need to satisfy hunger and thirst 2. Safety – the need to feel secure 3. Belongingness – the need to be loved and avoid becoming lonely 4. Esteem – the need to achieve, be recognised and have a healthy self-esteem 5. Self-actualization – the need to realise ones full potential

Carl Rogers was a clinical psychologist who used the theory of self-concept. He defined this as an organised pattern of perceived characteristics and he also believed that within each individual there is a biological drive towards the growth of self-concept and this can lead to self-actualization. He proposed that whilst a child’s self-worth is still developing, they begin to adapt and make decisions about what kinds of behaviour will bring approval from others. He felt that in order for a child to grow and develop healthily, parents/caregivers should give them unconditional love and acceptance because this allows them to develop their self-acceptance and reach self-actualization.
Cognitive Perspective
“Cognition literally means ‘knowing’.” http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html
This perspective revolves around the idea that if you want to know what makes an individual pose a reaction, then you must first be able to understand the internal processes which take place within their mind.
The main focus of this approach is the way an individual processes information like memories and problem solving; it looks at the way somebody treats information and how this treatment leads to a reaction.
Cognitive psychologists look at the internal processes, such as perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. They use the idea that the human mind is similar to a computer in the way in which they store and process information. It proposes that just like computers behaviour is determined by the input of information it receives, an individual’s behaviour is determined by: 1. The information available to them 2. The way they have learnt to process that information 3. The capacity to process information which is essential to the type of brain an individual has
They assume that a person’s mind is split into two parts, the working memory and the long term memory. The working memory deals with information that needs to be processed straight away, whereas the long term memory is responsible for storing information that we may need to use again in the future. These parts of the mind are considered to be interconnected and one of the aims of this approach is to identify and understand all the different parts of the mind and how they work in relation to each other.
This approach follows the behaviourist approach in the way that they prefer to use an objective, controlled, scientific method to investigate people’s behaviour. The results received from their investigations are used as a basis for making interpretations about the way the brain processes information.

Biological Approach
This is one of the major approaches in relation to psychology as it is based on the idea that people’s behaviour is caused by biological factors. This approach can also be known as physiological psychology or biopsychology as it has strong links with various different sciences, including neurology and genetics.
It is used in many different types of research, including the study of physiological motivators towards behaviour and genetic behavioural traits. The approach is based upon the idea that behaviour is determined by our genetics.
Bio psychologists also study the biology behind behaviour by looking at how chemical exposure affects the body and behaviour, including natural chemicals produced in the body and manmade chemicals such as those found in medicines. Results found from this type of research are used to find side-effects in drugs and how a person’s mood can be affected by chemical imbalances in the body.
This approach is also used in genetics research. They believe that some traits, such as intelligence or mental disorders are inherited. Studies performed using this approach excludes the effects of external factors, such as a person’s upbringing and focuses more on the possible genetic causes for behaviour.

References http://www.thefreedictionary.com/classical+conditioning (29/10/12) http://vle.gloscol.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=86217&chapterid=2936 (29/10/12) http://www.learning-theories.com/behaviorism.html http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Operant%20Conditioning (01/11/12) http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm (01/11/12) http://onlineclassroom.tv/files/posts/the_psychodynamic_approach_free_chapter/document00/WJEC_AS_Ch_03.pdf (05/11/12) http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html (09/11/12) http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newresources/approaches/as_aqb_approaches_cognitivebasics.pdf (09/11/12) http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-biological-perspective.htm (09/11/12)

References: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/classical+conditioning (29/10/12) http://vle.gloscol.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=86217&chapterid=2936 (29/10/12) http://www.learning-theories.com/behaviorism.html http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Operant%20Conditioning (01/11/12) http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm (01/11/12) http://onlineclassroom.tv/files/posts/the_psychodynamic_approach_free_chapter/document00/WJEC_AS_Ch_03.pdf (05/11/12) http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html (09/11/12) http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newresources/approaches/as_aqb_approaches_cognitivebasics.pdf (09/11/12) http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-biological-perspective.htm (09/11/12)