Core Approaches of Psychology

Annotations:

• The cognitive approach is about the mental processes such as remembering, percieveing, understanding and producing laqnuage, solving problems, thinking and reasoning.
• A central concern of the cognitive approach is the question of how information is processed by the brain - The ability to to act in ways that are recognisably human depends upon the ability to make sense in the world that we live in.

1. Assumptions
   1. Mental processes can be scientifically studied.
   2. Mental Processes shape behaviour.
   3. The brain stores, processes and retrieves information like a computer.
2. Memory
   1. OCR specifically focus on the part of our memory that plays tricks on us, remembering events that didn't occur.

      Annotations:

      • For example, when you start to pre-think an event that doesn't happen, maybe imagining something in which you want to say to somewhat to someone... but it doesn't actually happen, would be considered a false memory.
   2. Our memory can be phenomenally irritating, there are moments in which we have words on the tip of our tongues but are unable to bring the to the front of our mind or verbalise them. Other times we can recall random information, like personal facts, for no evident reason.
   3. Loftus and Palmer's (1974) analysis of accuracy of eyewitness testimony illustrates how cognitive psychology can be put to work in addressing important, real life questions. A lot of faith is put in eyewitness testimony's. L&P's subjects indicate that they should be regarded more sceptically.
3. Understanding
   1. Another cognitive psychology concern is the mind; what it means, how it works, how we are able to reflect on our own experiences and describe it to another.
   2. Baron-Cohen et al (1997) is a study on autistic children which tests the hypothesis that central deficit of autism is a failure to develop a 'theory of mind'. This is claiming that children and adults are not very good at understanding what is going on from another persons perspective, viewing an event in another persons shoes.
4. Communication
   1. Communication is a basic feature of all living organisms. We can communicate in multiple ways, both consciously and unconsciously, through body language, passing out intentions, out attitudes and our emotions.
   2. Human being are seen as unique in the ability we possess when communicating through language, something the Savage-Rumbaugh study supports. Savage-Rumbaugh's study has two pygmy chimps. Kanzi&Malika, being studied in there ability to learn communication of varied levels.
5. Studies
   1. Baron-Cohen (Emotional Perception)
   2. Savage-Rumbaugh (Language Acquisition)
   3. Loftus and Palmer (Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction)
6. Self-reports & Experiments

Annotations:

• Is concerned with change and development over time. A true comprehensive developmental psychology should concern itself with the whole lifespan of human development. The OCR AS course looks specifically at child development.

1. Cognitive Development
   1. Jean Piaget is an important theorist in Cognitive tradition. He was intruiged to find how how a childs view of the world changes as they age. Samuel and Bryant also do experiments on how children conserve between specific ages.
2. Affective Development
   1. Freud's Little Hans' study gives us insight into the emotional development of children. Proposing the psychosexual stages that each childs go through. Little Hans was going through the Phallic stage and the Oedipus complex.
3. Assumptions
   1. That cognitive abilities and processes are not static, but can that change occurs across a life time.
   2. That behaviour changes with age.
   3. The methods developed in other approaches (cognitive & Physiological) can be used to understand developmental change.
4. Studies
   1. Samuel and Bryant (Conservational Reasoning)

      Annotations:

      • Cognitive
   2. Bandura, Ross and Ross (Aggression Imitation)

      Annotations:

      • Observational
   3. Freud (Childhood Phobia)

      Annotations:

      • Case study
5. Behavioural Development
   1. Covers the behavioural aspects of human development is provided by behaviourism. It used to be believed that behaviour is only learned (classical and operant conditioning).

1. Studies
   1. Milgram (Obedience)
   2. Reicher and Haslam (Conformity to roles)
   3. Piliavin (Helping behaviour)
2. Bystander Apathy
3. Assumptions
   1. Humans are social animals and human behaviour can be best understood in term of interpersonal relationships.
   2. Explanations of human behaviour should take into account situational factors as well as individual factors because context and culture can influence behaviour.
   3. Individuals do not always exercise free will but others are often influenced by other behaviours.
4. Social Roles
5. Social influence
6. Observations (experiments) & field experiments (ecological validity)

1. Sleep
2. Methodology
3. Assumptions
   1. What is psychological is first biological.
   2. All behaviours have physical correlates (regions in the brain that they can be traced back to).
   3. Behaviour can be largely explained through the terms of biology (genes/hormones).
4. Studies
   1. Sperry (Hemispherical Specialisation)
   2. Maguire (Localised brain functions)
   3. Dement and Kleitmen (Sleep and Dreaming)
5. Correlations & Experiments

1. Gambling Behaviour
2. Abnormality
3. Assumptions
   1. That studying what makes us unique as individuals is as important as understanding the norms of human behaviour.
   2. That the differences between people in terms of personality and intelligence are important influences on behaviour as well as situational factors.
   3. The individual differences approach is fundamental to an understanding of mental health and dysfunctional psychology.
4. Studies
   1. Thigpen and Cleckley (Multiple Personality Disorder)

      Annotations:

      • Case Study
   2. Griffiths (Gambling Addiction)

      Annotations:

      • Lab, Field and self-report (the interviews)
   3. Rosenhan (Reliability of Psychological diagnosing)

      Annotations:

      • Observation & Field Experiment