Explain the Principal Psychological Perspectives Essay

The behaviourist perspective is an idea that we can understand any type of behaviour by looking at what the person has learner. This includes personality traits such as shyness, confidence, optimism or pessimism. Behaviourist psychologists explain all human behaviour as resulting from experience. Two key psychologists are Pavlov and Skinner, although these two theorists believed that different processes were involved, they both explained all types of behaviour as being the result of learning. This is everything from shyness to aggression and happiness to depression. Classical conditioning was a theory developed by a Russian psychologist called Ivan Pavlov. He was working with dogs to investigate their digestive system. The dogs were attached to a harness and Pavlov attached monitors to their stomachs and mouths so he could measure the rate of salivation. He noticed that the dog began to salivate when someone entered the room with a bowl of food, but before the dog had eaten the food. Since salivation is a reflex response, this seemed unusual. Pavlov decided that the dog was salivating because it had learned to associate the person with the food. He then developed a theory. Food automatically led to the salivation response, since this response had not been learned, he called this an unconditioned response, which is a response that regularly occurs when an unconditioned stimulus is presented. As food automatically leads to this response, he called this an unconditioned stimulus, which is a stimulus that regularly and consistently leads to an automatic response. Pavlov then presented food at the same time as ringing a bell (neutral stimulus), to see if the dog would learn to associate the bell with the food. After several trials, the dog learned that the bell was associated with food and eventually it began to salivate only when the bell was rung and no food was presented. It therefore had learned the conditioned response of salivation to the conditioned stimulus, the conditioned response is a new, learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that mimics the response to the unconditioned stimulus. The Conditioned stimulus is a neutral stimulus that, when paired with the unconditioned stimulus, produces a conditioned response, just as the unconditioned response used to. Operant conditioning was a theory created by an American psychologist called Burrhus Frederic Skinner. Skinner worked mostly with rats and pigeons to discover key principles of learning new behaviours. He used a device called a Skinner box, the box contains a lever which, when pressed, releases a food pellet into the box which therefore should reinforce lever-pressing behaviour. When the rat is first placed in the box it will run around and sniff the various items and at some point it will press the lever, releasing the food pellet. When the rat has performed this action several times, it will learn that this behaviour is automatically followed by the release of a food pellet. Because the pellet is reinforcing, this consequence increases the probability of the behaviour being repeated. The two types of reinforcement are positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is when the consequence following a particular behaviour is experienced as desirable. Negative reinforcement is when behaviour results in a consequence that removes something unpleasant. Skinner tested the negative reinforcement by running a very low electrical current on the floor of the skinner box. The current would be de-activated if the rat pressed the lever. The lever pressing was therefore negatively reinforcing. Social learning theory: There are many influences on our behaviour, this comes from peers, siblings, parents, television, sports and celebrities. According to the social learning theory, role models are very important. The likelihood of imitating behaviours is strongly influenced by the way we perceive the person performing the behaviour. If we observe the behaviour of someone we admire, we are more likely to imitate their behaviour. For example, if someone such as Bradley wiggins recommends that we should wear a cycle helmet, we are much more likely to imitate this behaviour as we are closer to being like this admired model. But, if someone we look down on recommends that we do the same, we are much less likely to do so as we do not want to be perceived as the person we look down on. Certain attributes of a person determine whether the behaviour is more likely to be imitated, these attributes include; gender, similarity to ourselves, status, prestige, competence and fame. Our behaviour is also influenced by the presence of other, no matter how much we believe ourselves to be individuals. Culture is the shared values, norms, language, customs and practices of a group. It also refers to different sub-groups within society. It is important to understand how culture affects our behaviour in order to gain a full understanding of the people we encounter and those we work with. Watson found that the average amount of eye contact made varied between countries, with high degrees of eye contact being seen as insolent by some Africans and East Asians, whereas among Indians and Latin-Americans this was seen as desirable. The self-fulfilling prophecy is a concept in psychology that has an impact on the way we behave towards others and expect them to behave towards us. If we believe ourselves to be worthwhile, pleasant and likeable then we will almost certainly be polite and cheerful towards those we meet, therefore it will create a favourable impression. In response, those who come into contact with us perceive us favourably and behave in a positive way towards us, this results in our positive self-beliefs being confirmed. On the other hand, if we are angry and feel the whole world is against us, then we are likely to behave in a more aggressive way and therefore this is how we will be responded to, which will confirm our views of ourselves and the world. The Psychodynamic approach: This approach was created by an Austrian psychologist called Sigmund Freud. Freud was one of the earliest thinkers to bring to public attention the idea that we are not always aware of all aspects of ourselves. He said that we’re are aware of things in our conscious mind, but things like our memories, feelings and past experiences are locked up in a part of our mind called the unconscious. We can’t access the unconscious part of our minds but they leak out in dreams or through a slip of the tongue. Part of the unconscious that we can easily access he called the pre-conscious. This contains information that isn’t in the conscious part of our minds but can be easily retrieved. Freud believed that early experiences determine behaviours later in life. He developed the psychosexual theory, he believed we all go through several stages of psychosexual development. At each stage, the individuals libido is focused on a part of the body that is particularly relevant at that stage. If the needs are met for the developing child at each stage, it moves on to the next development stage. If there is a struggle or conflict, the individual becomes stuck at this stage. This results in certain personality traits, which are carried through into adulthood and which can explain behaviour in later life. The earliest stage is the ‘oral stage’, the focus here is on the mouth and consists of behaviours such as sucking, biting and licking. Freud believed that, either, the infant was weaned too early and would feel under-gratified and unsatisfied and would develop into a pessimistic sarcastic person. On the other hand, the infant was weaned too late and would develop a gullible personality and naively trust in others. This stage lasts from birth to approximately 18 months. If the infant passes through the oral stage without becoming stuck, the next stage is the ‘anal stage’, which lasts from approximately one to three years. The libido here is focused on aspects to do with potty training. If there is a battle with parents about potty training, with the child feeling forced to use the potty before they are ready. The child may rebel by retaining their faeces, therefore holding on to the control and withholding satisfaction from the parents. This is called ‘anally retentive’ and is associated with later personality traits such as obstinacy, miserliness and obsessive traits. The alternative is that the child is not given enough boundaries over potty training so they take pleasure in excretion and become a messy, creative, disorganised person. During the ages of four to five, a child passes through the ‘phallic stage’. Fixation at this stage is associated with anxiety and guilty feelings about sex and fear about castration for males. If this stage is not resolved, Freud suggests that a boy may become homosexual and a girl may become a lesbian. Between the ages of five to seven and the onset of puberty, a child enters the ‘latency stage’, it is not a developmental stage but is when the focus is on social pursuits such as sport, academic excellence and the development of friendships. The final stage is the ‘gential stage’, this begins at puberty. Freud believed that the less fixated a child has become during the earlier stages, the more easily this stage will be negotiated, resulting in the ability to form strong heterosexual relationships, with the ability to be warm and loving as well as receive love in a mature way. Another important feature of early experiences is the development of ego defence mechanisms. An ego is the part of the mind whose function it is to moderate the demands of the id and prevent the superego being too harsh. It operates on the reality principle. The use of a defence mechanism allows us to block out events that threaten to overwhelm us. Examples of ego defences are things such as repression which allows a person to forget an event such as a traumatic event. Regression is reverting to an earlier stage of development such as wetting the bed when gaining a new sibling despite never doing so before. Denial is pushing an event or emotion out of the conscious mind, such as denying that a loved one has died. Displacement is redirecting desires onto a safe object, such as taking your anger out on someone you love because of someone else giving you a hard time. Freud suggested that the mind is divided into three dynamic parts which he called the ‘psyche’. The ‘id’ is the part of the mind which is completely unconscious and exists at birth. It is focused on getting what is wants and has aggressive, sexual and loving instincts, such as ‘i want’. The ‘superego’ is a result of socialisation and consists of all the instructions, morals and values that are repeatedly reinforced when growing up. It consists of an internalisation of all the values of right and wrong we have been socialised to believe in, it is our conscience and represents a view of our ideal self. The main role of the superego is to subdue the activity of the id. The ego tries to balance the id and the superego. It is the rational part of the mind. Different behaviours can be understood by trying to infer which part of the psyche is dominant at any time. For example, a person who is submissive, guilty and always wanting to please others may have a very strong superego. A person who is impulsive, careless of other people’s feelings and does not care about the consequences of their actions will have a very strong id. A person who can be submissive but assertive when need be, who is able to think about other peoples needs but value their own can probably balance the id and superego. Eric Erikson was a psychologist who agreed with much of Freuds theory that we developed through a series of stages. Although, he believed these continued throughout our lifetime and were essentially social in nature. He believed that Freud put too much emphasis on desire and not enough on our need to be accepted by society and lead a meaningful life. Erikson suggested that we move through a series of psychosocial crises with a different social focus at each stage. The Humanistic perspective: Humanistic psychology looks at human experience from the viewpoint of an individual, it focuses on the idea of free will and that we are all capable of making our own choices. Maslow is an American psychologist who believed that we are all seeking to be the best we can both, spiritually, physically, emotionally and intellectually. He called this self-actualisation. He made a theory called the hierarchy of needs, which explains that every person requires certain basic needs to be met before they can reach the next level. Maslow believed that until our basic needs are met, we will focus on getting them met and not be able to progress further. When we are comfortable physically, we focus on our emotional needs such as self-esteem. When these needs are met we strive to self-actualise. Carl rogers was a psychologist who was interested in the concept of self. Self-concept refers to the way we view ourselves, this is physically and biologically, attributes such as being male or female, blonde or brunette, tall or short, as well as personality traits such as being kind, humble, assertive or hard-working. The self-concept is formed from an early age and children internalise other people’s judgements of them, which may become a part of their self-concept. Internalise is the way we take in information from the outside world and build into our sense of self. It then becomes part of our feelings, thoughts and beliefs about ourselves. If a child is told they’re silly, naughty and will come to no good, part of their self-aspect will contain these aspects. On the other hand, if a child is praised and encouraged to succeed, they will have positive self-concept. The cognitive/information processing perspective: Jean piaget was a Swiss psychologist who initially worked on measuring intelligence. He noticed that children on the same ages make the same mistakes in logic, no matter how bright they were. He came to the conclusion that cognition develops through a series of stages, each new stage building on the previous one. Birth to 1 Â ½ or 2 years ‘the sensorimotor stage’ – Learning to use senses and muscles – thinking without language. Babies are born with the ability to sense objects, they are also born with a range of reflexes such as the sucking reflex to enable them to feed. These reflexes lead to ‘motor actions’ controlling body muscles. The sensorimotor stage is a stage when thinking is limited to sensing objects and performing motor actions. Piaget believed that a baby would not have a working system for remembering and thinking about the world until they were about 18 months old. 2-7 years ‘the pre-operational stage’ – Pre-logical thinking in language but without understanding logic. Piaget believed that during this stage, children could not think in a logical way. Children can use words to communicate but cannot understand logical implications involved in language. Pre-operational children cannot properly understand how ideas like number, mass and volume really work. 7-11 years ‘the concrete operational stage’ – A stage where logical thinking is limited to practical situations. Children in the concrete operations stage can think logically provided the issues are concrete. In the concrete operational stage children may be able to understand simple logical puzzles. 11+ years ‘the formal operational stage’ – Thinking using logic and abstract thought processes – adult thinking. With formal logic, an adult can solve complex problems. This stage allows adolescents and adults to use abstract concepts to gain understanding of the world. Adults can think scientifically and think through complicated ideas in our head without having to see the concrete picture. George Kelly developed a psychological theory called the psychology of personal constructs. He saw the individual as a scientist, making predictions about the future, testing them and revising them according to new evidence. A construct is a way of construing reality and the environment. Kelly believed that we do not have to be constrained by our past history but can seek out new, alternative, more positive meanings. The biological perspective: Maturational theory – this theory holds that the effects of the environment are minimal. A child is born with a set of genetic instructions that are passed down from their parents. Their cognitive, physical and other developmental processes merely unfold over time, rather than being dependent on the environment to mature. It is a theory which states that development is due to nature not nurture. Arnold Gesell believed that development occurred according to a sequence of developmental processes. Development in the womb has a fixed set of stages; the heart begins to form first, along with a nervous system. Bones and muscles develop next and over time the organism develops into a fully functioning human being. As the child develops from birth, its genes allow it to develop gradually into the person they’re meant to be. Genes can affect behaviour in many ways. Many diseases such as Cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease are passed on through parents genes. Diseases such as these are genetically determined, regardless of environmental factors. Disorders that are not genetically determined, but where an individual’s genes may leave them with a vulnerability to developing the disorder are very common. The autonomic nervous system produces its effects through activation of nerve fibres throughout the nervous system, brain and body or by stimulating the release of hormones from endocrine glands. Hormones are biochemical substances that are release into the bloodstream and have a profound effect on target organs and behaviour. They are present in very small quantities and individual molecules have a very short life, so their effects quickly disappear if they are secreted continiously. There are a large number of hormones, such as, melatonin which acts on the brainstem sleep mechanisms to help synchronise the phases of sleep and activity. Testosterone, which may influence aggressiveness, and oxytocin which stimulates milk production and female orgasms.