1. Approaches

2. Q1
Wundt, known as ‘the father of psychology’ was the first to move psychology from philosophical roots to controlled research. He set up the first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany in 1870s. He promoted the use of introspection meaning ‘looking in to’ as a way of studying mental processes. Introspection is an objective method where participants are highly trained observers of their own experiences. Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object such as a metronome and ask them to look inwards noticing their feelings, sensations and perceptions of the object. Participants would be asked to break down the elements of the object into separate parts and report on their individual experiences of the object, conducting a systematic analysis of their own conscious experience of a stimulus. Wundt’s work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes e.g. by cognitive psychologists.

3. Q2 Interpretation of content of dreams open to bias and subjectivity;
no verifiable evidence; small sample;
opportunity sample of friends and implications for generalizability; qualitative data collected and implications for statistical analysis; retrospective data / memory distortions – reports written on waking;
dreams are private experience and covert; problem of replicability.
Psychodynamic psychologists have been criticized for neglecting the rules of the scientific approach as they focus on the unconscious which is not directly observable. The interpretation of dreams is very subjective and is open to bias from the researcher and also the subjective description from the participant. Science should objective not subjective. Also the use of only five participants is a very small sample which mean the results would be difficult to generalize to the greater population. Scientific exploration aims to develop laws about human behavior and this is difficult to do with such as small sample.

4. Q3
Denial. This is when a person refuses to accept something that is causing them distress. Emily is refusing to accept failing her ballet exam as a way of coping with the disappointment.

5. Q4 A

6. Q5
SD is useful to inform about the spread of scores. For example it tells us about participant variables and tells us that as a group, the people in condition 1 are more different than those in condition 2.

7. Q5b
Direct observation of memory is not possible and must be inferred from the results. It is therefore possible that this inference could be mistaken.
The task given is rarely how normal memory functioning occurs because it is specifically designed to make measurement possible – the researcher therefore collects data that is only related to memory processing under experimental conditions.

8. Q6
Make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed/going beyond the immediate research evidence.

9. Q7 (A01)
Behaviour is influenced by thoughts that can be both conscious and non- conscious – internal mental processes.
• Schema are the mental representation of experience and knowledge and understanding.
• Mental processes are information processing and the processing can be compared to that of a computer.
• Models can be used to provide testable theories about mental processing and these can be studied scientifically and inferences made.
• Cognition and biological processes can be integrated leading to cognitive neuroscience as a way forward to understanding human behaviour.
• Methodology - use of controlled experimentation – inference about mental processes on the basis of observed behaviour.

10. Q7: (A03)
The approach can be seen as mechanical in regarding human thinking as processing like the computer leaving little room for the irrationality seen in emotional behaviours.
The focus on detail of exactly what can be recalled by participants in controlled environments means an understanding of everyday use of memory, for example, is missing from explanations. This leads to issues of generalisation.
The process of inference may be a 'leap too far' in explaining thinking.
 Issue of soft determinism and little room for processes other than internal mental events affecting behaviour such as biology.
Research findings indicate factors other than internal mental events as cause of behaviour.
Use of self-report as a method of data collection and the subsequent issues of reliability.
The focus on individual mental processes such as attention, leaves little room for how these mental events work together.

11. Q8
•detail of procedures of Skinner’s research using the Skinner box and the conditioning of lever pressing in rats. Credit alternative research such as conditioning of pigeons to play ping pong
• knowledge of Skinnerian concepts in the context of operant conditioning experiments: reinforcement (positive and negative), extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalisation, discrimination, schedules of reinforcement and behaviour-shaping
•detail of operant conditioning theory – voluntary responses, consequences of actions.

12. Q8 example
Skinner used a Skinner box to research reinforcement. He studied rats and pigeons in different scenarios to see what consequences led to repetition of behaviour and cessation of behaviour. For example, Skinner would present a rat with a food pellet after they pressed a lever. This led to the rat continuing to press the lever in order to get the reward. This is known as positive reinforcement. If the rat was punished for lever pressing it would stop (punishment) and if the lever pressing resulted in something unpleasant being taken away (such as an electric shock) then the rat would repeat the lever pressing. This is known as negative reinforcement.

13. Q9
congruence is the consistency between the perceived self (how you see yourself) and the ideal self (the self you would like to be). Dominic needs to close the gap between his perceived and his ideal self. Dominic can close the gap if he develops a more healthy view of himself, or, has a more achievable and realistic ideal self – unconditional positive regard from the therapist is an example of a specific strategy here.

14. Q10 D

15. Q11
Each person can exercise free will – explanation might focus on principle of determinism in science.
Each person is a rational and conscious being and not dominated by unconscious primitive instincts – explanation might focus on the principles of determinism and reductionism in science.
A person’s subjective experience and understanding of the world is of greater importance to understanding the person than objective reality – explanation might focus on empiricism in science.
Humans should be viewed as a whole and not reduced to component parts – explanation might focus on reductionism in science.
Humans strive towards achieving self-actualisation- explanation might focus on the need for objectivity in science eg operational definition vs. subjectively defined; hypothetical construct; no objective measure.
Each person is unique – explanation might focus on general laws of behaviour / nomothetic approach.

16. Q12
Personality is made up of 3 parts; the id, ego and superego. The id, focuses on the self and is selfish, irrational and emotional. It deals with feelings and needs, seeks pleasure/hedonistic. It is referred to as the pleasure principle. The id is formed from birth-18months and is the unconscious part of the mind. The ego is rational, balancing the id and superego and is often referred to as the ‘reality principle’. The ego is formed between 18mo-3yrs and is the conscious part of the mind. The superego is the morality principle’. It acts as the conscience or moral guide and is based on parental and societal values. It is formed between 3-6yrs and is the unconscious part of the mind. Experience in childhood shape the development of the 3 parts affecting how a person behaves