Year 12 A-Level psychology: Approaches
Approach AO1 AO3
Psychodynamic - 5 psychosexual stages marked by - Explains human behaviour +
(1900s) different conflict that child must makes connections between
resolve in order to progress childhood + our later
successfully to next stage development
- Unconscious: vast storehouse of - Introduced idea of
biological drives + instincts that has psychotherapy that helps people
significant influence on our to deal with their mental health
behaviour + personality + contains problems to present day → may
threatening + disturbing memories not apply to all mental disorders
that were repressed + forgotten - Untestable because many of
- Structure of personality: tripartite Freud’s concepts are said to
composed of 3 parts→ id, ego + occur at unconscious level
superego making them impossible to test
- Defence mechanisms: repression
(forcing distressing memory out of
conscious mind), denial (refusing to
acknowledge some aspect of reality) +
displacement (transferring feelings
from true source of distressing
emotion onto substitute target)
Behaviorist - Classical conditioning: learning - Based on well controlled research
(1913 onwards) through association → Pavlov → behaviourist experiments
conditioned dogs to salivate to the have scientific credibility
sound of the bell (neutral stimuli) - Ignored human thought →
- Operant conditioning: behaviour is private mental processes are
shaped by its consequences essential
- Positive reinforcement: receiving - Real world application e.g. basis
reward + increases likelihood that of token economy systems in
behaviour will be repeated prisons + psychiatric wards →
- Negative reinforcement: avoiding increases value
something unpleasant + increases - Sees all behaviour as conditioned
likelihood that behaviour will be by past conditioning experiences
repeated → ignores influence of free will
- Punishment: unpleasant + it is a
consequence of certain behaviour +
decreases the likelihood that the
behaviour will be repeated
Humanistic - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: self - Rejects attempts to break up
(1950s) actualization, self esteem, love + behaviour into smaller
Approach AO1 AO3
Psychodynamic - 5 psychosexual stages marked by - Explains human behaviour +
(1900s) different conflict that child must makes connections between
resolve in order to progress childhood + our later
successfully to next stage development
- Unconscious: vast storehouse of - Introduced idea of
biological drives + instincts that has psychotherapy that helps people
significant influence on our to deal with their mental health
behaviour + personality + contains problems to present day → may
threatening + disturbing memories not apply to all mental disorders
that were repressed + forgotten - Untestable because many of
- Structure of personality: tripartite Freud’s concepts are said to
composed of 3 parts→ id, ego + occur at unconscious level
superego making them impossible to test
- Defence mechanisms: repression
(forcing distressing memory out of
conscious mind), denial (refusing to
acknowledge some aspect of reality) +
displacement (transferring feelings
from true source of distressing
emotion onto substitute target)
Behaviorist - Classical conditioning: learning - Based on well controlled research
(1913 onwards) through association → Pavlov → behaviourist experiments
conditioned dogs to salivate to the have scientific credibility
sound of the bell (neutral stimuli) - Ignored human thought →
- Operant conditioning: behaviour is private mental processes are
shaped by its consequences essential
- Positive reinforcement: receiving - Real world application e.g. basis
reward + increases likelihood that of token economy systems in
behaviour will be repeated prisons + psychiatric wards →
- Negative reinforcement: avoiding increases value
something unpleasant + increases - Sees all behaviour as conditioned
likelihood that behaviour will be by past conditioning experiences
repeated → ignores influence of free will
- Punishment: unpleasant + it is a
consequence of certain behaviour +
decreases the likelihood that the
behaviour will be repeated
Humanistic - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: self - Rejects attempts to break up
(1950s) actualization, self esteem, love + behaviour into smaller
