• in the 17th century, Descartes suggested that the mind and the body represented a dualism, and that the two interact in different ways to produce different behaviours and thoughts, this was the basis for the nature versus nurture debate
• psychology = "the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes and how these are affected by internal and external factors"
• science = "the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world, following a systematic methodology based on evidence"
• therefore, the features of science are as follows: a universal paradigm, theory construction, hypothesis testing, deduction, falsification, replicability, objectivity and the empirical method

• skinner disagreed with the subjective nature of introspection, in which the findings differed greatly from individual to individual, making it difficult to establish general laws and unifying principles of behaviour and cognition
• therefore, in the 1930s, skinner's idea of radical behaviourism (that private events could be measured and quantified in the same way as observable behaviour) was tested using the laboratory experiment method of research
• this allowed for the objective measurement of observable behaviour, providing reliable data through controlling and eliminating the effects of extraneous and confounding variables, by using controlled conditions
• this marked the beginning of psychology as a scientific discipline

• the cognitive approach = with the invention of the computer in the 1960s, cognitive psychology flourished as psychologists had a metaphor for the functions and workings of the mind
• social learning theory = Bandura also agreed with behaviourist principles (i.e that behaviour is learnt through experience) but argued that these principles are better applied to a social context
• the biological approach = advances in technology, particularly with brain scanning techniques in the 1970s, allowed psychologists to objectively observe and measure the biological basis of behaviour

✅ scientific rigour
✅ real-life applications
⛔ environmental determinism
⛔ cost-benefit analyses wiht the use of animals in experimental research

• social learning theory (SLT) suggests that learning occurs both directly, through CC and OC, and indirectly, through vicarious reinforcement
• assumes that learning occurs through the following stages: an observer identifies themselves with a desirable role model, this role model displays or models a specific behaviour, which is imitated by the observer, the likelihood that there observed behaviour will be imitated is increased if the role model is seen to be 'vicarious reinforced' or rewarded, therefore, the consequences of the observed behaviour are more important than observing the behaviour alone

• role model = a person with whom the observer identifies with, the role model is usually attractive, has high social status, is of similar age and the same gender to the observer, this model can exert influence indirectly by not being physically present in the environment but, for example, seen in the media
  

• identification = the process by which an observer relates to/ associates themselves with a role model and aspires to become more like that role model

• vicarious reinforcement = a type of indirect learning which occurs when an observer sees their role model being rewarded for displaying a certain behaviour, the observer is then motivated to imitate this behaviour, in an effort to receive the same reward

• the first two mediational processes are involved with the observation and understanding of the behaviour, whilst the latter two are involved in the actual imitation of the behaviour, this separation means that observed behaviours do not always need to be reproduced at the same time

• assumes that the scientific and objective study of internal mental processes is possible
• however as these private processes cannot be directly observed, cognitive psychologists formulate conclusions of their workings, through making inferences, based upon observable behaviours
• therefore, much of the work of cognitive psychologists is the indirect measurement of cognition
• the cognitive approach sees mental processes as being separate from the brain
• cognitive psychologists use computer models and theoretical models to better understand and model cognitive processes, through the use of analogies

• an example of a theoretical model would be the working memory model, which is diagrammatic representation of short-term memory, made up of the following cognitive components, through which info flows: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer
• analogies can also be made between the workings of a computer and the functions of the human brain, for example, both contain a series of 3 processes: input, the use of a processor (e.g. the brain) and the production of a comprehensible output (e.g. computer code or human language)
• the invention of the computer in the 1960s was crucial in the development of cognitive psychology, as psychologists now had a metaphor for the mind

• schemas are 'packages' of ideas and knowledge about a certain person, place, object or time, they are generated through experience, becoming more sophisticated through time
• they also act as mental frameworks, providing us with 'mental shortcuts' so we can process large volumes of data quickly and efficiently, thus avoiding sensory overload
• however, since schema are 'pre-conceived', they may lead to perceptual distortions due to having an already established mental framework

• cognitive neuroscience is defined as 'the scientific field concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes
• a brief history of the emergence of cognitive neuroscience is detailed below:

1. Brain Mapping in the 1870s = Carl Wernicke, based on case studies of patients who all had damage to a specific area of the brain and all suffered from the same type of aphasia (Wernicke's), inferred that Broddman's area 22 must be involved in language comprehension
2. Objectively Investigating Brain Localisation Theory in the 1970s = advances in technology meant that it was possible to systematically measure and observe the neural processes which coincide with specific brain functions, for example, using PET scans, Petersen et al (1988) found evidence of Wernicke's area being activated during a listening task and Broca's area being activated during a reading task
3. Current Focuses of Cognitive Neuroscience = current research focuses on the neural basis of model-based planning (including the role of the dorsel hippocampus), the neurological basis of autism, and also the neural basis of moral reasoning (involving the ventral striatum)

✅ scientific methods and rigour
⛔ overly-abstract concepts
✅ practical applications of cognitive neuroscience

• rogerian therapy aims to reduce the gap between the self and the ideal self, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving congruence and subsequently, self-actualisation
• according to Rogers and Maslow, conditions such as low self-esteem and low self-worth originate in childhood, where adults restrict the love they show towards their children, by imposing conditions of worth e.g. "i will be proud of you only if you achieve top grades at school", this represents a lack of unconditional positive regard which the patient most likely lacked during childhood
• these therapies view patients as 'experts' of their conditions, and so they are encouraged to arrive at their own solutions to these problems, with the help of a therapist

• Freud viewed the personality as made up of three components i.e. 'tripartite', these are the Id, ego and superego

1. Id = this is the innate part of the personality, and operates on the pleasure principle, therefore, this Id constantly demands instants gratification (e.g. to fulfill innate, biological instincts, such as hunger and thirst) and so is in conflict with the superego
2. ego = formed during the first 3 years of life, and operates on the reality principle, the ego helps to resolve the conflict between the id and the superego through the use of defence mechanisms (repression, denial and displacement), the strenght of the unconscious depends upon how efficiently the ego resolves this conflict
3. superego = formed at the end of the phallic stage, and operates on the morality principle, this contains the child's internalised sense of right and wrong, based upon their same-sex parent, the superego is in constant conflict with the Id.

• Freud adopted a nomothetic approach by suggesting that there is a series of developmental stages through which all children progress, and in the same order
• each stage is characterised by a conflict, which must be resolved to pass to the next stage, apart from latency
• failure to do so results in 'fixation' at that stage, where dysfunctional behaviours associated with the stage are carried forwards to adulthood
• the ideas of the oedipus and electra complexes were developed on the basis of case studies conducted on Little Hans, where Freud suggested that Little Hans' phobia of horses stemmed from a fear towards his father, due to having sexual desires for his mother
• this is an example of the idiographic approach to research (i.e. the use of case studied), but with a nomothetic application (i.e. all boys experience the Oedipus Complex, whilst all girls experience the Electra Complex)

• oral stage = ages 0 to 1/focus on mouth, tongue, lips/major development: weaning off of breast feeding or formula/ adult fixation example: smoking, overeating, nail biting
• anal stage = ages 1 to 3/focus on anus/major development: toilet training/adult fixation: thoughtlessness, messiness
• phallic = ages 3 to 6/focus on genitals/major development: resolving oedipus, electra complex/deviancy, sexual dysfunction
• latency = 6 to 12/no focus/major development: developing defense mechanisms/no adult fixations
• genital = ages 12+/focus of genitals/major development: reaching full sexual maturity/adult fixation: if all stages were completed, then the person should be sexually matured and mentally healthy