Task 1
Psychology Perspective
Psychology is described as “the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes” (Wade ad Travis 1990). There are five major theoretical approaches in psychological such as biological, psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive and humanistic, which emerged using experiments, case studies, animal experiments and observations. Some of the psychological approaches have overlapping between theories and also share complementary assumptions and methods of understanding why we behave the way we do and think the way we think. All approaches have their own unique way of helping an individual through various transitions of life, therefore it cannot be said that there is only one particular way of therapy or approach to understanding atypical behaviour.
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
The biological approach assumes that our behaviour is a product of our genetics and biological makeup and ultimately our thoughts, feelings and behaviour are the consequences of a biological cause or physical process. There is two main assumptions within the biological theory. Firstly, it is assumed that the way we behave is a result of our brain function and nervous system, which is explained by looking at the interconnection of neurons and neurotransmitters (chemical that sends messages around the brain). Different neurotransmitter affects different parts of our behaviour and if you have an imbalance of certain type of neurotransmitter, it can cause abnormal behaviour. For example, serotonin affects emotion and if you have too much serotonin in the brain, it can cause depression.
Secondly, the neuroanatomy assumption looks at the different parts of the brain and how it is structured as well as what effect it has on behaviour. The brain is made up of four different lobes and each lobe has a different function on our behaviour. If there is a damage to any part of the brain, this can cause abnormal behaviour, for example, the frontal lobe. This controls emotion and if this were damaged it can cause a change in personality.
Although the biological approach can be scientifically tested and proven for example by the effects of neurotransmitter or brain function, it also limits itself in that it mainly focuses on
the biological effect on behaviour and not the environmental effect, thus the nature vs nurture debate which emphases that the cause of our behaviour is not just biological but also environmental.
To understand behaviour bio-psychologist use various scientific methods such as the Clinical method, experimental method and scientific inference. Within these scientific methods, there are various tools used to carry out investigations such as X-rays, EEG, PET, CAT and MRI scan. These tools are used to measure response as well as to view and compare the brain function between different test subjects.
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH
The behaviourist assumption is that behaviour is an influence of our environment. This is to say that all behaviour no matter how complex is due to external stimuli in the form of either classical conditioning (reflex response) or operant conditioning (voluntary behaviour).
From the assumption of classical conditioning, it is believed an experience (unconditioned stimulus) teaches us to respond (unconditioned response) or behave in a particular way whenever that experience is repeated. For example, if a person goes to the dentist to have an extraction and the experience was unpleasant, in future that person will always associate going to the dentist with pain and may have anxieties whenever they have a dentist appointment.
Unlike classical conditioning, operant conditioning is more focused on voluntary behaviour. This a responded behaviour associated with reward and punishment otherwise known as the ‘token economy’. This is based on Thorndike’s (1913) “Laws of Effect”, which states behaviour, resulting in pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated in the same circumstances whereas those that has no pleasant consequences dies away. For example, if a child has done something naughty they would be punished by giving them something they don’t like such as detention(positive punishment) or something gets taken away that they like such as TV privileges(negative punishment), therefore they learn to associate punishment whether negative or positive with that naughty behaviour. Same can be said, if a child is good, they might be rewarded with sweets or something they like, which teaches them that being
good will result in something pleasant like sweets or a reward, this is known as positive reinforcement.
Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic approach believes that our behaviour are all rooted in our unconsciousness, which stems from childhood conflict, trauma and anxiety. It is believed that there are three levels of our consciousness, first the unconscious mind (id) which exist outside of your awareness. Secondly, we have the preconscious mind (ego) which is all the information in the brain, which you are not aware of but can be recalled. Last, we have the conscious mind (super-ego) which is your current state of awareness, i.e. our current thinking process. Within the unconscious mind, there are conflicts between the three components of the mind (the id, ego and super-ego). The id wants what it wants (instant gratification) while the super-ego (thinking about what is morally acceptable) has a conflict with Id. In the middle, we have the ego acting as a mediator between the unconscious desires of the Id and the moral demands of the super-ego.
According to the psychodynamic theory when the mind has difficulties reconciling the needs of these parts then psychological problems could occur. When the ego cannot satisfy the desires of the Id, it uses defence mechanisms such as repression, denial, suppression, projection, displacement and rationalization just to name a few; to cope with anxiety and maintain a positive self-worth. For example, If a person hates their boss, they would be unable to express their feelings openly, therefore they would either use one or more of these defence mechanisms to cope with their anxieties such as rationalization. This is where they invent various explanation to justify the situation (while denying their feelings) such as saying, “he’s so critical because he (the boss) is trying to get us to do our best”. Another defence mechanism could also be displacement. This is where the redirect their anger at another object instead of the person they are angry at. For example going home and taking out their frustration and anger on a family member instead of the boss with whom they are angry.
In Freud’s theory of personality, it is stated that children go through a series of stages related to pleasure seeking (id). These are oral (0-18mo), anal (1-3yrs.), phallic (3-6yrs), latent (6-puberty) and genital (puberty to adulthood). According to Freud’s theory, if we do not
transition these stages correctly or become fixated at a particular stage, it can cause problems and influence our behaviour and personality later on in life, i.e. adulthood.
HUMANISTIC APPROACH
The humanistic theory believes that individuals are fundamentally good, they have free will, and it in our nature to desire to become the person we are capable of being, thus actively developing ourselves to our highest potential in order to reach self-actualization which makes us happier and more fulfilled. According to this theory, a behaviour is linked to the way people perceive the world around them and how they see themselves. The Humanistic approach believes that there are three selves within everyone which is the perceived self (how an individual sees themselves), the actual self (how others see the individual) and the ideal self (how an individual would like to be). Therefore, what we feel about our self will ultimately manifest in our behaviour in a negative or positive way.
According to Carl Rogers, “a person can only fulfil their full potential if they had a positive view of themselves”. Each individual have an inbuilt need for self-actualization which according to Abraham Maslow is “the key ingredient that drives people”, even if they do not know it. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs depicted by a pyramid, states that a person can only reach ‘self-actualisation’ when they complete each stage of the pyramid which shows first, the need for survival (physiological need), then safety, then the need for love and belonging, then self-esteem and then self-actualization. As we progress through each stage of personal growth, we begin to feel good about ourselves. For example, a person suffering from low esteem (perceived self), sees himself or herself as worthless or inadequate. In order to reach self-actualization, Carl Rogers’s theory is that the person has to begin the process of viewing oneself differently by being first being genuine and then accepting oneself. As they do this, they move closer to the Ideal self (how they should be), such as worthy, capable and confident thus increasing their self-esteem which makes them happier.
Cognitive Approach
According to the cognitive approach, human behaviour is a result of how we process information. It is assumed that individual’s process information differently, which ultimately
shape our behaviour. We use several different processes to process information such as attention (The things we place emphasis on or notice more), meaning (what meaning we ascribe to the information we already have), storage (the deeper information is stored the longer it takes to forget) and recall (using different strategy to recall information stored). It is assumed that how people process information affects the way they behave. This happens because our experiences influence how information is processed; therefore, how they think or the environment they create from that thinking process will give rise to their personality or behaviour. For example, a person who has experienced loss or traumatic event will think about the world differently compared to someone who has never had these experiences.
Task 2
As humans, we go through different stages of life and experiences. These events normally have a positive or negative effect, which ultimately determines the person we become. According to Albert Bandura, “much of what we learn is the consequence of observation, indirect reward/ punishment and modelling,” (Williamson, C., Cardweel, M and Flanagan, C., (2007)). From the behaviourist perspective, it is believed that our environment both the past and present shapes behaviour. As we go through various stages of life these experiences (known as stimuli) teach us how to respond which causes us to behave in a particular way based on its reward, punishment or reinforcement.
To explain alcoholic addiction, a behaviourist would suggest that an individual has become addicted because of operant conditioning based on the law of reinforcement. This person has learnt that alcohol makes them feel good or numb certain feelings; therefore the behaviour of drinking is repeated to get the same or desired effect. Once the habit has been acquired, it is maintained because the person does not want to experience any unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. In this instance, the addiction to alcohol provides positive reinforcement (the high) and negative reinforcements (withdrawal). Both of these strengthen the addictive behaviour and increases the chance that it will occur again. An individual will continue an addiction because of the triggers that activate those desires (Drummnd et al (1990) proposed
a treatment approach based on the idea that the cues associated with drug-taking are an important factor in the maintenance of a drug/alcohol habit). For example, if a person has learnt that when stressed it helps to drink to alleviate the feeling of stress, whenever they are in a stressful environment or faced with a stressful situation the need or desire to drink will present itself.
The biologist approach, however, would explain that alcohol addiction is a result of a biological predisposition but an environmental trigger is required for that behaviour to be exhibited. When a person drinks, it alters the brain chemistry by altering the levels of neurotransmitters. These Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signal throughout the body that control the thought process, therefore alcohol increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain’s reward centre, which creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink. When there is an imbalance the mesolimbic dopamine system and the control system loses control in sending a signal to the brain telling the person they have had enough and this results in an addiction to the alcohol. These neurobiological factors explain the maintenance of an addiction because taking an addictive substance such as alcohol can stimulate the pleasure and reward site in the brain and the person therefore seek out these substances so that they can continue to stimulate these pleasure areas of the brain.