Psychology GCSE - Different Approaches to Psychology PDF

Psychology GCSE Introductory Module Lesson Different Approaches Two to Psychology Aims The aims of this lesson are to enable you to: distinguish between different areas of psycholog...

Psychology GCSE Introductory Module Lesson Different Approaches Two to Psychology Aims The aims of this lesson are to enable you to: distinguish between different areas of psychology see which of these you will need to focus on understand the concept of psychology as a science The study of Psychology involves many different concepts. In recent years, there has been a shift towards understanding how people behave from a biological and Context scientific point of view; however, certain topics are studied from other points of view. For instance, we examine the social context of behaviour to see how others influence our behaviour. Oxford Open Learning 1 Lesson Two Different Approaches to Psychology Areas of Psychology Psychology, as an academic subject, has been split into a number of different areas. At different times, different areas have seemed more important, as if they took us closer to the core of human experience. Each area or approach has its own supporters or specialists, its own techniques, its own history, etc. These different areas overlap and yet they can also be considered separately. The first two are probably the most essential for this course: 1. Cognitive Psychology Definition: cognitive psychology is the study of how we take in information and make sense of it – the processes of perception and cognition. Information generally reaches us by way of one of the five senses. For human beings, the two most important senses are probably sight and hearing, so cognitive psychology looks at the way we see things, e.g. colours and distances, and how we understand the things we hear, etc. But cognitive psychology goes further than this. It asks how we remember things, how we recognise them, how we interpret them. These are the mental processes of cognition, or simply thinking. In our course, we have several modules devoted to cognitive psychology – Memory, Perception, Language, Thought and Communication. 2. Social Psychology Definition: social psychology is concerned with understanding how people act when they are with other people. This is one of the most popular and interesting areas of psychology – indeed, we all know a little bit about this subject, without opening a textbook. Some social psychologists, like Desmond Morris, have focused on body language, others on dress codes, or why people obey those in authority. This is the area of psychology that overlaps most with sociology, but the psychologist’s attention usually stays on the way social 2 Psychology GCSE Introductory Module interaction reveals something about the workings of the mind. In particular, social psychologists are interested in how we make sense of our social experience. This side of psychology is known as social cognition. Our course has one module specifically allocated to Social Influence. 3. Physiological Psychology and Neurology Definition: physiological psychology is concerned with the way what we do or think is linked to physical states. There is a growing emphasis on the way the brain deals with information as modern technology allows us to monitor our brainwaves and to understand the fine detail of how the structures in our brain govern our thinking and behaviour. We will examine how the brain develops, how it functions and how we measure what is going on inside our heads! For instance, what are the effects of tiredness or stress on our ability to make decisions? Others might look at the way new drugs affect the brain or at different kinds of brain damage. We have two modules that are linked to physiology and neurology. These are Brain and Neuropsychology and Psychological Problems. 4. Developmental Psychology Definition: developmental psychology is concerned with the way people change and grow through their lifetimes. Our lives can be divided into different phases and each is associated with a different set of experiences, changes and learning processes. Four of the most commonly studied phases are: childhood adolescence adulthood old age Child development psychology is an important subject for a number of professionals, including nurses, nannies and teachers. Parents can often benefit from studying it. 3 Lesson Two Different Approaches to Psychology There are a number of overlaps with cognitive psychology, but developmental psychology is concerned with the following issues: early socialisation cognitive development moral and gender development the development of the self concept developing responses to health problems and stress In our course, we shall only be looking at brain development early in life and how we learn and adapt to our environment as young children. This is part of our Development module. 5. Individual Psychology Our module entitled Psychological Problems fits into this category. Every person manages their physical and mental health in different ways. There is no ‘one size fits all’. We are all different. Psychology attempts to find patterns in behaviour that may be destructive and help the client to replace them with more constructive behaviours. We shall be exploring the current trends in mental illness with specific reference to depression, one of the most disabling mental illnesses that affects a large number of people. We shall also be looking at how addictions develop. 6. Comparative (Animal) Psychology Definition: comparative psychology is concerned with how human beings differ from other species of animals. We might say that this branch of psychology is ‘comparative’ when the real subject is humanity and animals are being examined in order to shed light on human beings, while it is animal psychology if they are being studied in their own right, e.g. what makes some horses keen to win races while others are not interested – a topic of keen interest to racehorse trainers. In our Language, Thought and Communication module, we examine how animals communicate and what that might teach us about human communication. This includes non-verbal behaviour. 4 Psychology GCSE Introductory Module 7. Psychology as a science Whenever we carry out research on humans or animals, we are trying to find new facts that can tell us more about human behaviour; these facts tell us about all human behaviour, not necessarily individual behaviour. Having new information that has been tested over time means we can make predictions which allow us to make changes to people’s lives. For instance, we can create new drugs, or a new education system that means everyone can make the most of their potential. This is the goal of all research. We want to improve our understanding and quality of life. Research has to be objective, reliable and valid. To achieve objectivity, a researcher has to be unbiased, and not allow their personal opinion to have an effect. This is why we have peer reviews of published work, to make sure that other professionals agree with the way the research has been carried out. Researchers often work in a team which helps to eliminate subjectivity. The requirement for reliability means that we don’t rely on just one piece of research or evidence. One swallow does not make a summer. We need more evidence, using the same ideas and different people. If we get similar results time after time, then we can say our research is reliable. We hope reliability goes some way to telling us that our research is true. Validity measurements test the accuracy of what we are trying to do. If we are measuring depression, for instance, we need to make sure that our test works for depression and not for some other mental health issue. So, if you were to ask the patient if he or she has earache, that would be totally irrelevant or invalid. It would not contribute to our understanding of depression. Most researchers have an expectation of what they might find in their studies having studied theory. Published studies and ideas by other professionals allow researchers to develop their own theories, which they can test through research studies. There are always a lot of questions when carrying out research. What method should I use? Who will be in my sample? What do I want to know? How am I going to analyse it? The list goes on. The choices the research makes are very important. The first thing we have to do is to simplify the task, so we write an 5 Lesson Two Different Approaches to Psychology aim – what do I want to find out. Then the next stage is to write a prediction, which in psychology is called a Hypothesis. The hypothesis usually indicates what we expect to find from the situation that we are investigating, so for instance: “People will run faster round a racing track if they are chased by a policeman than if chased by their best friend”. This is a testable statement, and is assumes cause and effect. How fast they run entirely depends on who is chasing them. Science likes to find answers, so finding a cause and effect is perfect. Most research follows this format, but not all research. We will look at other types of research later. Another aspect of science is control of variables. In the hypothesis above, the researcher has decided to examine the effect on being chased by either (a) a policeman, or (b) a best friend. No other types of people will be allowed to take part in the study, so no classmates or firemen, for example. The chasing will take place on a racing track, and all participants will have that same experience. That is to prevent any other factors from influencing the study. Most experimental research provides numerical data, which is called quantitative data. This means the results of the study can be analysed effectively, without bias, most likely by a computer. It can tell the mean, the range, standard deviation, and various other sophisticated statistical analyses and tell us whether the differences in our two groups are really meaningful and not due to chance. In psychology we usually only allow a maximum of 5% probability that our results are due to chance. Science likes certainty. Other research may generate qualitative data, which is information collected not using numbers, such as recording the words someone speaks in an interview, e.g. a police interview. This may appear to be less scientific but the analysis is still carried out in an objective way. Often, it less easy to analyse than numerical data and it is time-consuming. The method of research described above is called experimental research, and a study looking for cause and effect is called an experiment. Not all research is experimental. Sometimes, the researcher conducts a study to see if there is a relationship between two variables. This is called a correlation. There may be a relationship between two variables but one does not cause an effect on the other. It is more like a preliminary examination of a theme. An example might be “There will be a relationship 6 Psychology GCSE Introductory Module between the number of carrots people eat and good eyesight”. Correlational studies are still scientific and carried out objectively with as much control as possible. In such a study, a numerical link (correlation) might be discovered between carrot-eating and good eyesight, but it does not prove that carrot-eating causes good eyesight. It might be that carrot-eaters also happen to take more exercise than average and it is the exercise-taking that contributes to good eyesight. Further research may be needed to establish the true cause. (It might even be that good eyesight persuades us to eat more carrots, a reversal of cause and effect.) There are many other aspects to psychology as a science, and we will be looking at this in detail in our Research Methods module. We would not have psychology without research, so it is an important component of our course. Psychologists use different methods to investigate behaviour. This is necessary because different situations require a different approach. In addition to experiments and correlations, we might observe behaviour, e.g. crowd behaviour at a football match; we might do a case study e.g. a one-to-one study of an adult with a rare illness; or carry out a survey, e.g. of attitudes to Brexit. Whichever method is used, the aim is always to remain objective and to follow the scientific approach. The decision as to which method is used is in the hands of the researcher. You will get some practice in making these kinds of decisions and designing some research later on in the course. Self-Assessment Fill in the missing words: Test 1  ___________ psychology is concerned with how human beings differ from other species of animals. ___________ psychology is concerned with the way people change and grow through their lifetimes. ___________ psychology is concerned with understanding how people act when they are with other people. 7 Lesson Two Different Approaches to Psychology ___________ psychology is the study of how we take in information and make sense of it – the processes of perception and cognition. ___________ psychology is concerned with what makes people different from one another. ___________ psychology is concerned with the way what we do or think is linked to physical states. Cognitive Psychology As we have seen, cognitive psychology is the central figure in the family of psychological studies, and a key area of your studies, but it overlaps with all the other areas and is difficult to define precisely. Here are some of the major topics of cognitive psychology: sensory processes and cognition perception (including the ‘nature–nurture’ debate) attention memory learning language and thought artificial intelligence This course concentrates on the key areas of perception, memory and learning. But it is important to point out that all these topics can be approached through the other perspectives. All can be considered in comparative terms, or as aspects of child development, for instance. Social Psychology The study of how the individual makes sense of (and relates to) the society in which they live is also extremely broad. Very few of us live in isolation from society and all of us are closely involved with the people around us, so a large part of our experience can be described as ‘social’. We will see how inextricably linked the self and society are later in the lesson. 8 Psychology GCSE Introductory Module Amongst the areas of social psychology that have attracted most attention are the following: pro- and anti-social behaviour evolutionary theory interpersonal attraction (love, marriage, etc.) attitude change and prejudice influence and obedience religious observance and other rituals But from our point of view, social psychology can be split into three broad areas that cover most of these topics and many others: 1. the development of social behaviour 2. social perception 3. social influence These correspond to the last three modules of this course. Self-Assessment Without looking back, name four of the major topics of cognitive Test 2 psychology.  9 Lesson Two Different Approaches to Psychology Summary Approaches to Psychology Cognitive Social Physiological Developmental Individual Comparative psychology psychology psychology psychology psychology psychology attention development physical childhood intelligence animal perception perception states adolescence personality behaviour memory influence chemical adulthood learning changes old age adulthood old age Suggested Answers to Self-Assessment Tests SAT 1 comparative developmental social cognitive individual physiological SAT 2 You should have selected four of the following: artificial intelligence attention language and thought learning memory perception sensory processes and cognition 10