Approaches in psychology

  Specification

1. The origins of psychology: Wundt, introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science.

2. The psychodynamic approach: the role of the unconscious, the structure of personality, that
   is ID, ego and superego, defence mechanisms including repression, denial and displacement,
   psychosexual stages.

3. The basic assumptions of learning approaches: the behaviourist approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov’s research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner’s research; social learning theory including imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura’s research.

4. Humanistic psychology: free will, self-actualisation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, focus on the
   self, congruence, the role of conditions of worth. The influence on counselling psychology.

5. The basic assumptions of the cognitive approach: the study of internal mental processes, the role of schema, the use of theoretical and computer models to explain and make inferences about mental processes. The emergence of cognitive neuroscience.

6. The basic assumptions of the biological approach: the influence of genes, biological structures and neurochemistry on behaviour. Genotype and phenotype, genetic basis of behaviour, evolution and behaviour.

7. Comparisons between the approaches.