Key Psychological Concepts

Key Psychological Concepts

• Analytical Psychology (Jung): Focuses on the unconscious mind and archetypes, suggesting a collective unconscious shared by all humans.

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Learning through association. A neutral stimulus becomes linked to a meaningful one, triggering a learned response. Example: Pavlov's dogs salivating at bell sound.

• Cognition: Mental processes like thinking, remembering, learning, and problem-solving.

• Conditioned Stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, evokes a conditioned response. Example: The bell after being paired with food.

• Defense Mechanisms: Unconscious strategies to cope with anxiety (e.g., denial, repression).

• Displacement: A defense mechanism where emotions are transferred to a less threatening target. Example: Yelling at a pet when angry with your boss.

• Fixation: Stuck in a developmental stage, potentially leading to unresolved conflicts and affect adult behavior.

• ID: Part of the mind seeking instant gratification based on the pleasure principle (e.g., hunger, sex drive).

• Superego: Part of the mind representing moral standards and ideals, similar to a conscience.

• Ego: Balances the id and superego, mediating between desires and societal expectations.

• Neurotic Disorder: Mental disorders featuring anxiety, fear, or irrational behavior, but maintaining a connection to reality.

• Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud): Argues unconscious drives and early experiences shape personality and behavior.

Comparing Psychological Theories

• Behaviorism vs. Psychodynamic Psychology: Behaviorism focuses on observable behavior and learning through environmental factors (like reinforcement and punishment), while psychodynamic concentrates on unconscious drives and childhood experiences.

• Cognitive vs. Humanism: Cognitive theory focuses on mental processes (thinking, remembering), and humanism emphasizes self-actualization and personal growth.

• Psychodynamic vs. Humanism: Psychodynamic emphasizes unconscious conflicts, while humanism stresses personal growth and free will.

• Humanism vs. Behaviorism: Humanism champions free will, personal growth, and self-actualization, contrasting with behaviorism's focus on behavior shaped by reinforcement/punishment.

Conditioning Concepts

• Operant Conditioning (Skinner): Learning based on consequences (reinforcement or punishment).

• Reinforcement increases behavior (positive: adding reward; negative: removing unpleasant).

• Punishment decreases behavior (positive: adding unpleasant; negative: removing pleasant).

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Learning through association between stimuli.

• Difference Between Classical & Operant Conditioning: Classical conditioning involves associations, while operant conditioning is about consequences shaping behavior.

• Applications: Classical conditioning is used in advertising (associating product with positive emotions). Operant conditioning is used in schools and parenting to shape behavior.

Dreams and Nature-Nurture

• Why Do We Dream? (Psychoanalytic, Activation-Synthesis, Cognitive, Evolutionary theories).

• Nature vs. Nurture Debate: Nature emphasizes genetics, nurture emphasizes environment. Modern view: A combination of both.

Developmental Psychology

• Psychosexual Stages of Development (Freud): Stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) that suggest unresolved conflicts can affect later personality.

• Karen Horney's Neurosis: Horney's theory emphasizes interpersonal relationships and social factors in neurosis development, contrasting with Freud’s focus on biological instincts.

• Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology: Stresses social interest, personal growth, and inferiority/superiority complexes during personality development.

• Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development: Stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational) which highlight how cognitive abilities change over childhood.

• Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development: Eight stages (Trust vs. Mistrust to Integrity vs. Despair) detailing how social interactions shape psychosocial development across life.

• Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment: Demonstrated social learning theory and observational learning: children imitate observed behavior.

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Five levels of needs (physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization) which must be fulfilled in ascending order.

• Harlow's Monkey Experiments: Demonstrated the importance of emotional attachment in early development, particularly attachment over basic needs.

• Ainsworth's Strange Situation: Identifies different attachment styles in infants (secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent).

• Birth Order: Adler's theory proposes birth order impacts personality - firstborn, middle, lastborn, and only child.

• Sex and Gender Differences: Biological sex versus social roles and expectations.

• Mental Health vs. Mental Illness: Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental illness affects thinking, feeling, behavior, and mood.

Study Tips

• Focus on key definitions and examples.
• Compare and contrast different theories.
• Apply concepts to real-world situations (advertising, parenting).
• Understand different dream theories and the nature vs. nurture debate.

Explore fundamental ideas in psychology including analytical psychology, classical conditioning, and cognitive processes. This quiz will test your understanding of concepts like defense mechanisms and fixation. Delve into the theories of Jung and Pavlov to enhance your comprehension of the human mind.