Psychological Perspectives - Essay Example

Psychological Perspectives Different schools of thoughts have different viewpoints. The number of topics studied by the psychologists has increased over the years. There are a number of psychologists and psychoanalysts working, but most of the psychologists categorize their work according to their specialty area and different perspectives. Section 1 (Behaviorism). 1. Give a brief account of Pavlov’s Theory of classical conditioning,( use the terms UCS, UCR, CS, CR) Pavlov presented this theory after studying salivation in dogs as part of his research program. He observed that normally dogs salivate when food is presented to them. From his personal experience he knew that when he used to open the door of his cabinet to take out dog food, his dog would start salivating, however then he thought of using other stimuli which would make the dog salivate. Therefore he rang the bell and noticed that the dos wouldn’t salivate, it would only salivate on hearing the squeaky sound of the cabinet, not on anything else. So he started to ring the bell while he gave food to his dog, so that the dog would know that the ringing sound of the bell was a stimuli that the food is being presented. Then one day he would keep ringing the bell and not give food to the dog. But the dog kept on salivating. After a while the dogs stopped salivating as no food was being presented when the bell rang. Hence he made the dogs unlearn to associate food with the bell, introducing the classical conditioning theory. Unconditional stimulus (UCS) is one that automatically or naturally generates a reaction. Unconditional response (UCR) is the immediate response of the reaction, in this case, the reaction of UCS. Food is the UCS and salivation is UCR in Pavlov’s research. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) in this scenario is the bell. It is so, because it will produce salivation when the bell is rung. A response to the conditioned stimulus is known as the conditioned response (CR). In this case, salivation to the bell alone is the CR (Boeree). 2. How did Watson believe that Pavlov’s theory could explain the origin of Phobias? After studying about classical conditioning, Watson demonstrated an experiment which involved a young child named Albert and a white rat. Albert was not afraid of the white rat. But Watson created a loud noise when Albert touched the rat. Now because of the loud noise Albert was scared and would not touch the rat. In this way Albert became conditioned to fear. Similarly, Watson did this with many other small animals. Then Watson extinguished the fear by presenting the rat without the loud noise. Hence this shows that conditioned fear was more powerful than it really was. Therefore this is how people associate fear and phobias with things, and this is how Watson believed in Pavlov’s theory. 3. Give a brief account of how organisms learn new behavior according to Skinner's theory of Operant conditioning. Like Watson and Pavlov, Skinner too believed in the classical conditioning theory. His theory ignores the possibility of any process which occurs in the mind; however he dealt with changes in observable behavior. The operant conditioning theory is basically based on the environment and the behavior of a person due to the environment. It tells that the learner operates on the environment, and is further rewarded for any sort of a behavior. Therefore this theory teaches us about the fact that organisms learn new behavior according to the environment. 4. How did the behaviorists approach researching human behavior? Mostly their study was based on animals because they believe that animals behave similarly to that of human beings and are easier to study. As with the humans, the research revolves around attempts to manipulate the behavior in a real world setting. In the laboratory the behavior can be manipulated deliberately, in order to assess the effect on the alternative setting. 5. Outline some important strengths and weaknesses of the behaviorist approach. Behaviorism teaches us about the reaction which is caused by the stimulus. The main strength of the approach is the fact that is focuses mainly on the behaviors that can be easily manipulated and observed. It is more useful in laboratory experiments because in this way the learning can be easily measurable. Secondly, this approach focus on the ‘here and now’, instead of looking at a person’s past. In this case a person’s past history is not to be known. This is so because many people don’t know the past causes for their abnormal behavior. Another strength however is about the introduction of positivism is strongly presented in behaviorism. The idea of rewards and punishments sometimes seem to be worthy and helps in shaping the required behavior. .The weakness of this project is however the fact that this approach mainly focuses on animals and not much research is done on the human behavior, which is more complex. Behaviorists also ignore the innate abilities of an individual. Sometimes what people are doing or their reactions have nothing to do with their experience, therefore they have another source, the mental ability. Therefore it is necessary that behaviorists start focusing on the innate abilities and get aware of the inner processes. They should be aware of the fact that if we are crying, so is it because we are sad or are we sad because we are crying? Hence if they start focusing on this, this weakness of the theory will turn into a strength. Section 2 (The Social Learning Theory) 1. In what ways does Bandura think that Operant Conditioning provides limited account of human learning of new behavior? Operant conditioning basically talks about learning that occurs through rewards and punishments of behavior. We can make a connection between a behavior and the consequence of that behavior with the help of operant conditioning theory. Whereas Bandura has studied the social learning theory in depth. In this theory he talks about the fact that aggression is learned through a behavior which is known as modeling. He argued that people don’t inherit violent behavior, instead they adopt it. He believes that children learn aggressive behavior either through observing other people, either personally or through the media or environment. In accordance to this, he carried out the Bobo Doll experiment, which he is famous for. In the experiment a video was shown to the children, in which a doll was being punched, hurled, being sit on, hair being pulled, repeatedly being punched and kicked and flinging around the room. Later those children were taken to another room, where there were similar toys. It was seen that those children treated them similarly as was shown in the video. This shows how Bandura’s social learning theory is more practical. 2. Explain the role of modeling and self efficacy beliefs in Bandura'a social learning theory. Bandura talks about the behavior that can be learned through modeling. For instance he talks about the fact that aggression can be learned through models, children can see their parents read. Moral behavior and moral thinking can be adopted through modeling. About self efficacy Bandura explains the fact that people are most likely to engage themselves in those behaviors in which they think they are capable of executing successfully. 3. According to Dweck, what are some of the consequences of holding beliefs about holding beliefs about whether intelligence is fixed or changeable? Dweck believes that intelligence remains fixed only if it is praised. In her study she shows that children who are constantly encouraged actually polish their capability which she refers as a genetic blessing from the sky. She studied that if a child’s intelligence won’t be praised, and then he’ll turn lazy and wouldn’t do the homework; keep himself in this bubble where he thinks that others would beat him up, etc. 4. Outline the research methods used in one study by either Bandura or Dweck. Dweck used qualitative methodology in the study of the beliefs whether Intelligence is fixed or changeable. 5. Outline some possible strengths and weaknesses of the social learning approach. The strengths are that it doesn’t suggest the fact that we have no control; instead it explains the importance of cognitive factors in detail. It also explains the role of media, peers and parents. One important strength is that this approach integrates a number of other approaches. For instance it talks about both the behaviorist and the cognitive theories at the same time. This model provides bulk of a teaching. It focuses more on children because children are always easy to study about. Weaknesses are that it talks about reductionist- which says that it could be other factors affecting behavior such as genetics. Another weakness is the fact that these theorists consider the groups being treated as individuals. However this is not how it is supposed to be. It is assumed that the individual is responding to the group they are associated with and not the researcher himself. SECTION 3 (3RD Force/Humanism): 1. Why did the 3rd force psychologists believe a third force was needed in psychology? It was needed in psychology because it focuses less on human behavior but describes what is the meaning and purpose of our existence. It focuses more on the inner needs, fulfillment and the search for identity. 2. Explain Maslow's Hierachy of needs. In this theory, Abraham Maslow mainly talks about the humans ‘innate curiosity. It basically talks about the stages of growth in humans. 3. Explain Roger's account of the role of conditional and unconditional positive regard. Roger refers conditional positive regard as something which is something in the form of approval and love. Whereas in regard to unconditional positive regard he says that is as something acceptance and caring extended because we are all human beings (Talia). 4. What research Methods were used by the Humanists? They mostly did surveys or used group data. Their work was mostly based on observations, so they did a huge deal of observations. They followed a methodology based on the experience of thinking. 5. Outline some possible strengths and weaknesses of the humanistic approach.  The strength of this approach is that it mostly focuses on the positive nature of human kind. And secondly that its aspects fits well with other approaches. This approach has made the psychologists aware of the fact that there is more to behavior than objectively discoverable facts. It promotes individual responsibility and promotes a positive approach to human behavior. The weakness of this approach is that it lacks the concrete focus on any one of the specific aspects. Since this approach is concerned only with the facts that are related to conscious behavior, they ignore everything below the level of conscious behavior. They believe on the fact that individuals can control their lives themselves. However this may be true for the western part of the world, but not true for the underdeveloped countries. The idea presented by these theorists on the fact that everyone is capable of achieving self actualization is untrue. People who have achieved self actualization are mostly intelligent, well educated, talented and more motivated than the rest of us. (SECTION 4) EXISTENTIALISM 1. Why does Satre say that we are "condemned to be free" and the implications does he draw from this? The implications which Satre draw from this concept is human existence has a free will and determinism moral values, notion of god, and relationship with others. He believes in two basic grounds. One is ‘being in itself’ and ‘being for itself’, and that ‘existence precedes essence’. 2. What doe Frankl mean by claiming we have a "will to meaning"? By this statement he means that every man has a right to search for meaning of his life. It is the primary motivation in his life. It is not about analyzing facts about a humans psyche, but it’s more about helping him grasp the meaning of his life in the existential situation. 3. What 'ultimate concerns does Yalom identify and why do they cause us anxiety? The four concerns which are inevitable according to Yalom are, death, freedom from its attendant responsibility, existential isolation and meaningless. And it is these concerns which cause us anxiety. 4. Compare and contrast Freud and Yalom's account of defense mechanisms. According to Freud it is our defenses which wither make us or break us. Had we not relied on them, we would have crumbled because life has a lot of strains. Defense Mechanism according to him live through your life because so much unexpected hits you, so it’s the power of it which keeps your feet firm. According to Yalom, the anxiety which is there because of inevitable factors such as death and meaninglessness is dealt through defense mechanisms. 5. Outline some possible strengths and weaknesses of the existential approach.  The strength is that the method which is adopted in this approach enables the clients to scrutinize to which their behavior is being manipulated by social and cultural conditioning. Clients may not always feel the sense of freedom, with this approach their sense of freedom increases, because they start realizing the fact about their social limits. It enables the clients to assess their behavior patterns and their limits to a broader context. The weakness is that it lacks a systematic statement of the principles and practices of psychotherapy. It is difficult for many practitioners to understand the mystical language, as it is different in this approach to what it actually is for them. Now since it does not include the mystical language, so it is difficult for them to conduct research or work on any matter, as the words are all vague for them. Works Cited Boeree, Dr.C.George. Behaviourism. 18 11 2010 . Talia. Psychology Class. 19 March 2008. Read More