Psychology Essay Help online on: Behavioral theory and psycho dynamic theory
The aim of this essay is to describe and evaluate the behavioural and psychodynamic approach to psychology.
Psychology is the study of human mind and behaviour; this includes many fields of study. There many different approaches to psychology such as cognitive theories,humanist theories, developmental theories and behaviour theories. However the two approaches that will be discussed and evaluated in further details will be the behavioural and psychodynamic perspective.
The behaviourist theory was founded by John Watson (1878-1958), and later expanded by Pavlov (1849-1936) and Skinner (1904-1990) and many others. Watsonwas the original founder of this approach in the early years of the 20th century. He placed great emphasis on study of learning and he believed a major goal of psychology is to predict and control behaviour. He argued against the role of introspection.Pavlov put forward the idea of classical conditioning he found this through his experiments and observation with dogs. Dog salivate when food is put into the mouths. Pavlov discovered that they could be trained to salivate to a neutral stimulus. Pavlov’s work suggested that learning involved the association between a stimulus and a response.Skinner put forward the idea of operant conditioning. His main assumptions were that nearly all behaviour is under the control of reward or reinforcement. Responses that are followed by rewards will infrequency where as those not followed by reward will decrease in frequency. As he studied simple responses, it is unlikely that operant conditioning explains more complex forms of learning. He was the most influential behaviourist.
Everything in terms of person’s behaviour can be explained or related to learning process of experiences. If you want to change someone’s behaviour then the relevant learning experience needs to be changed. Behaviourists view psychology as the study of behaviour because behaviour is observable and objective. Behaviour is determined by environmental factors rather than inheritance according to Watson. The emphasis of the approach is on observable behaviour as opposed to emotional thinking or physiology. Learning can be understood in terms of conditioning for example, classical conditioning, Pavlov where learning is through the process of simple response to new stimuli.
This is different to operant conditioning as suggested by skinner where learning occurs as behaviour is controlled by the giving, rewards, or reinforcement this includes positive reinforcement (i.e. rewards) for good behaviour and negative reinforcement (i.e. punishment) for bad behaviour to discourage this type of behaviour.
The symptoms of psychological disorders arise because a person has learned ineffective or self-defeating ways of behaving. Mental disorders can be understood as patterns of maladaptive behaviour. Mental disorders can be treated by behavioural therapist in which maladaptive behaviour is unlearned and replaced with new and more adaptive behaviours. Watson argued that introspection, which involves the examination and observation of one’s own mental process, should not be relied upon.
The psychodynamic approach focuses largely on the role of motivation and past experiences in the development of personality, emotion and behaviour. This approach was started by Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939). Freud assumed that the mind is divided into three parts i.e. the id, ego, and superego. The id is located in the unconscious mind and contains the sexual and aggressive instincts.The id works on the pleasure principle with the emphasis being on immediate satisfaction. The ego is the conscious and rational mind. This develops during the first two years of life. It works on reality principle i.e. taking account of what is happening in the environment. The superego is the part of the mind that deals with moral issues. It develops at about 5 years of age when a child adopts many of the values of the same-sexed parent. It is partly conscious and unconscious. It consists of the conscience and ego-ideal. The conscience is formed as a result of the child being punished as it makes the child feel guilty for behaving badly. The ego-ideal is formed through awarding rewards as it makes child feel proud for behaving well.
Freudian theory assumed there are three levels of the mind i.e. the conscious, preconscious and unconscious. The conscious consists of thoughts that are currently the focus of attention. The preconscious consists of information and ideas that can be retrieved from memory and brought into consciousness. The unconscious consists of information that is difficult or impossible to bring to conscious awareness. Freud’s theory of mind represents the theories of motivation, cognitive theory, and social psychological. The id contains motivational factors, the ego relates to cognitive system and the superego or conscience internalises the values of society and family generally.
In Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, he suggested that all children go through five stages;
Oral stage: This is from 0-18months of age. The infant gets satisfaction from eating, sucking, and other activities using the mouth. Anal stage: This is from 18-36 months of age. Toilet training occurs during this stage. The anal region becomes a source of interest and satisfaction.Phallic stage: This is from 3-6 years old. The genitals become a key source of satisfaction. At about the age of 5 years, boys acquire the Oedipus complex in which they have sexual desired for their mother and fear of their father. This complex is resolved by identifying with their father including adopting many of their father’s attitudes. The Electra complex is a similar process operating in girls whereby they desire their fathers at about the age of 5 years. Latency stage: This occurs from 6 years old to onset of puberty. During this stage, boys and girls spend very little time together. Genital stage; this starts from onset of puberty and continues throughout adult life. During this stage, the main source of sexual pleasure is the genitals.
One the important concepts in Freud’s theory was that there are frequent conflicts among id, ego and superego. This may happen because the id’s demands for instant gratification may clash with the superego’s moral standards. Conflicts cause individuals to experience anxiety and these results in the ego devoting much time to trying to resolve these conflicts. The ego defends itself by using a number of defence mechanisms which are strategies designed to reduce anxiety. These defence mechanisms include;
Repression: This acts to reject and keep troublesome emotions and thoughts out of conscious awareness.
Displacement: This involves unconsciously transferring impulses from a threatening object to a less threatening one. Projection: This involves individuals attributing their undesirable characteristics to others. For example, if someone is impatient, they may accuse other people of also being impatient. Denial: This involves refusing to accept the existence or reality of a threatening event. For example, someone suffering from a life-threatening illness may deny that this is affecting their lives.Intellectualisation: This involves thinking about threatening events in ways which allow emotion to be removed from them. For example, if a plane crashes in the air with many people losing their lives, thinking about ways to improve the design and safety of air travel.
Case studies:
Little Hans:
Little Hans was a five year old boy with a phobia of horses. The aim was to establish what factors led to the development of the phobia and what would lead to its remission. Freud’s input revealed that his fear was of horses biting him. Freud found that this may be related to the fact that the family lived outside a busy coaching inn where many houses were found. Little Hans had an early interest in penises but would deny this. Freud found that Little Hans was especially fearful of horses that had black bits around their mouths. Freud believed that the horse was a symbol for his father and that the black bits around the mouth signified a moustache. Freud concluded that the boy was afraid that his father would castrate him for desiring his mother. Little Hans feared that the horse (father) would bite (castrate) him as punishment for the incestuous desires towards his mother. Little Hans was also fearful of horses with things over their eyes i.e. a symbol for the spectacles his father was wearing. Little Hans was especially fearful of white horses i.e. those that resembled the colour of his father’s skin.
The end of Little Hans’ phobia of horses was accompanied by two significant fantasies, which he told to his father. In the first, little Hans had several imaginary children. When asked who their mother was, Little Hans replied ‘Why, mummy, and you’re their Granddaddy’. In the second fantasy, which occurred the next day, Little Hans imagined that a plumber had come and first removed his bottom and widdler and then gave him another one of each, but larger.
The Little Albert case study aim was to investigate whether a conditioned response could be created in a young infant and whether the conditioned response would be generalised to other similar objects. When Albert was 9 months, they tested his response to white fluffy objects e.g. a white rabbit, a white rate, and cotton wool. The infant did not show any fear to these objects however he was afraid of loud noises. The experiment then created a conditioned fear response to a previously neutral object i.e. white rat by striking a steel bar with a hammer behind his head to startle him. They repeated this a week later.
After this, when they showed the rat to Albert, he began to cry. They had conditioned a fear response in Little Albert. Five days later, he showed generalisation by reacting to a dog, a fur coat, Watson’s hair and cotton wool. The experiment showed that a fear response could be conditioned in a young child and that this response could become generalised to other similar objects.
However, the ethics of this is of concern because when Albert was taken from the hospital the day the last tests were made, the experimenters could not recondition the child. Little Albert was left with a conditioned fear response to white fluffy objects. The experiment today would be considered unethical especially because of his young age.
The strengths of Little Alert experiment include it demonstrated classical conditioning in humans. This created a conditioned response (fear) to a previously neutral stimulus (white rat). It shows how a conditioned response can be generalised to other similar objects. In addition, the experiment was well controlled i.e. the study is easy to replicate and is reliable. The application also informs us how to undo learning of phobias.
There are some weaknesses to this type of experiment. The biggest is that it would be considered unethical today. The people conducting the experiment i.e. Watson and Rayners were unable to undo the conditioning as the child was removed from the hospital and he was left with a fear response. The infant was also clearly distressed during the procedure. That means that it can be argued that he was not protected from psychological harm. In addition, the lab setting is artificial and not like everyday life so it lacks ecological validity.
On balance therefore, it appears that although there are some advantages to this method, there are also some crucial disadvantages. The biggest is that such a study now would be considered unethical and therefore cannot be done.
Overal thepsychodynamic and behavioural approaches both have
Similarities and weaknesses, the similarities between both theories are deterministic i.e. based on the premise that something other than the organism is responsible for its behaviour. In behaviour theories, it is the consequence of previous behaviours i.e. reinforcements, punishments, conditioning. In psychodynamic theories, it is as a result of the tension between conflicting forces i.e. the id, ego, and superego.
In both theories, childhood experiences are very important in influencing learning and affect us throughout our lives. For example, learning theories are important to behaviour approaches whereas the psychosexual development and defence mechanisms are very important to the psychodynamic approach.Both theories affect not only personality development but also emotional and cognitive development. Therefore, they both cover a wide spectrum.
The difference inPsychodynamic approach is that it focuses on the inner and invisible items such as id, ego, and superego whereas the behaviour theories look at what is observable. Where behaviour theories focus on discrete, physical stimuli, measurable responses and the relationships among them (i.e. are more scientific) whereas psychodynamic approaches are based on suppositions and speculation. The psychodynamic theories are more theoretical in nature and less practical whereas the behaviour approach is more practically oriented.
Different types of Research methods, case studies and data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using several different methods (e.g. observations & interviews). The patient talks to an analyst about their current problems and past experiences. The analyst then interprets what the patient tells them in order to identify how past experiences may be related to their current problems. The client can then use this information to overcome mental health problems. For example, they may understand the root cause of a phobia.
Case studies are highly detailed and descriptive investigations involving individuals with mental health problems. Therapy may be done on a single person, family, group, community or at an event. The type of data collected is qualitative i.e. views, opinions, or experiences.
Strengths of this can include; collecting lots of rich and detailed data about an individual that could not be gathered through experiments. They identify how complex factors e.g. family dynamics, early trauma etc. can influence behaviour. Analysts can gain access to the unconscious by identifying areas of resistance to particular questions. Gathering data from a variety of sources means increased reliability. As well as gathering data, interviews may be therapeutic for the client.
Weaknesses include subjectivity as a single person often carries out data collection. Case studies also rely on the subjective interpretations of the analyst, which may be biased. In addition, it is difficult to generalise the data to a wider population and memories of past events may be inaccurate. They are difficult to replicate and are time consuming. Examples of case studies include those carried out by Sigmund Freud. For example, Little Hans and The Rat Man (both 1909). Other examples of case studies include those by Josef Breuer (1880).
Field experiments
An independent variable is manipulated to see how it affects a dependent variable. Settings include work, school, the streets (i.e. is more natural). Advantages include greater ecological validity as settings are more natural so people behave more naturally. There are fewer chances of demand characteristics and investigator effects affecting the results because the participants often do not know they are in an experiment. Disadvantages include confounding variables may get in the way i.e. there is less control of these variables (e.g. weather, interruptions).They are difficult to replicate and have less control of samples i.e. cannot always select the most fitting participants. In addition, if participants are unaware that they are involved in an experiment, they have not given their consent to be studied and this raises issues surrounding ethical practices. Examples include the field experiment carried out at Robber’s Cave State Park, Oklahoma, America involving two groups of 12-year-old boys.
Ethical Issues raised within Psychological Researchare important to ensure that work is carried out with the greatest possible scientific integrity. They guide conduct in research and professional practice for instance, to ensure that integrity, impartiality and respect for individuals are valued. Every effort should be made to ensure that participants do not experience pain, stress or distress. Investigations should be considered from the viewpoints of all participants i.e. foreseeable threats to their well-being, health, values, and dignity should be eliminated.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) has published guidelines such as the BPS Code of Conduct, vEthical Principles and Guidelines (1998) and Code of Human Research Ethics to help explain ethics and define proper conduct. They cover the elements of informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, right to withdraw, debriefing, and respect for autonomy and dignity of persons.
Confidentiality is important because it is essential that the privacy of individuals and organisations and confidentiality of any information obtained from them is upheld. If this was not the case, there would be a lack of trust and not all information would be forthcoming from participants for fear of disclosure. The identity of participants should not be revealed except with their expressed permission. Psychologists should;
Communicate information without identifying individuals or organisations.
Safeguard the security of records including those on computer. Take steps to ensure that other people with whom they work also respect the need for confidentiality,
maintain records, which can be personally identifiable only as long as in necessary rendering them anonymous once this is no longer essential, convey personally identifiable information to others only with the expressed permission of participants except where this would either be contrary to the best interests of the individual, in contravention with the law, or when information is shared within a team when this has been made clear to the participants. In exceptional circumstances, when the safety or interests of recipients are at risk or when others may be at risk, inform appropriate third parties without prior consent after having first consulted an experienced or senior colleague unless the delay in doing so would result in significant risk to life or health.
In practice, this requires use of participant numbers rather than names, ensuring that data from research is kept securely, and other identifiable characteristics e.g. handwriting are disguised. The importance of confidentiality is to maintain trust and to protect the participants’ dignity. Therefore, confidentiality is very important to all psychological research.
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