This covers the entire content of Approaches in Psychology for A Level Psychology, these notes helped me achieve a B in my exams and will be useful for you.
Origins of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt – the father of Psychology:
- He trained participants to investigate their thoughts and
emotions and describe them.
- His aim of the study was to study the structure of human minds
and breakdown behaviours such as sensation and perception
using introspection.
- Introspection = examining your own emotional and mental
state.
- Wundt’s new scientific approach was based on 2 assumptions:
1. All behaviours are seen as determined. 2. If behaviour is
determined, then it should be possible to predict how humans
behave in different conditions.
- He was able to create hypothesis about certain phenomenon by
conducting research and crating theories to explain them. This
is referred to as empiricism, the idea all knowledge is derived
from sensory experiences.
Investigation:
- Highly trained assistants were given a stimuli – lights flicking on
and off, clicking of a metronome.
- They then had to reflect on their experience and report back on
what stimulus make them think and feel.
- Participants were given the same stimulus, physical
surroundings and instructions.
- The stimulus of the light had to be the same colour, same level
of brightness and shown for the same amount of time in order
for the experiment to be valid.
The Psychodynamic Approach
Key Assumptions:
- Normal and abnormal behaviour is influenced by the
unconscious forces (ID, ego, superego)
, - The importance of an early childhood may have lasting effects
on a person into adulthood
- Unconscious activity is a key determinate of how we behave
Three Parts of Consciousness: Sigmund Freud
1. Conscious – what you’re currently aware of
2. Unconscious – stores all our instinctual drives, whilst allowing
the disturbing and threatening memories to be repressed and
forgotten about.
3. Preconscious – contains stored information that’s capable of
being made conscious.
The Tripartite Structure of Personality:
- Freud describes personality as a tripartite there are three
parts: ID, ego and superego.
- ID = present from birth, is a primitive part of personality and
operates on the pleasure principle, is selfish and demanding
and ensures infant survival.
- Ego = develops at the age of 2, operates on the reality
principle, is a mediator between he id and superego and
balances the desires and requirements of both by employing
defence mechanisms.
- Superego = develops at the age of 5, operates on the morality
principle, is our internalised sense of right and wrong as it is our
conscious, punishes the ego through feelings of guilt when it
does something wrong and rewards it when it does something
right and suppresses the unacceptable urges of the ID.
Defence Mechanisms:
- They are unconscious strategies that the ego uses to maintain
conflict between the ID and superego. The ego protects us
using defence mechanisms. This allows us to cope with the
distresses in or lives, but they can be problematic if we use
them too often or do not face our problems. Freud outlined
three different types:
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