Behaviourism And The Psychodynamic Approach Psychology Essay

Behaviourism And The Psychodynamic Approach Psychology Essay Behaviourism is mostly about observable behaviours and views how learning is through association, seen in Classical Conditioning and through behaviour reinforcement, as in Operant Conditioning (B F Skinner, 1938). The Psychodynamic Approach (Sigmund Freud, writing between the 1890s and the 1930s) views all behaviours as being controlled by thought processes of the mind. (Cardwell et al. 2004) Behaviourism primarily looks at behaviours that can be seen, and states that we are born with a mind like an empty wipe board (tabula rasa) and all of our behaviours are acquired from what goes on around us in our environment (McLeod. 2007). The following outlines two learning theories. Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs through association. An unconditioned stimulus results in an unconditioned response, and the theory is that the same response can be evoked by a conditioned stimulus. (Learning Theories Knowledgebase. 2012). Operant conditioning is about learning through reinforcement (positive or negative rewards and punishment) from the environment. Learning is a progressive activity that starts by rewarding behaviour that is associated to any wanted outcome (Cardwell et al. 2004). This happens quite naturally without any awareness, for example in praising children for milestone achievements like using the potty. One key research study of learning theories is classical conditioning and Ivan Pavlovs Dog experiment (1927). This involved investigating how the dogs learnt through association. The following stages were used, with the repetition of the unconditioned with the conditioned stimulus being used together. In the first stage, before conditioning, when the dogs are given the unconditioned stimulus (dog food) this results in salivation, the unconditioned response this is a natural response. In the next stage, the conditioned stimulus (the bell) was introduced with the unconditioned stimulus (dog food) and the dogs salivated, the unconditioned response. In the final stage, once the conditioned stimulus (the bell) was introduced without the dog food, the dogs still salivated, the conditioned response not a natural response for a bell being given at meal times instead of food (Atherton. 2011). Generalisation can also be seen in classical conditioning, as the conditioned stimulus, the bell in this case, could be changed to a bell with a different sound and the conditioned response would remain; although it would however weaken over a period of time, if the bell continuously changed (Gross. 1988). An example of everyday classical conditioning would be through the use of advertising. An advertisement comes on the television for a bar of chocolate which you love. This arouses a feeling of hunger and craving for some chocolate. One of psychologys most important contributions of behaviourism was the theory of classical conditioning. Behavioural therapies came about in the 1950s as a result of this and many treatments are used today for mental health; behaviour moderation; phobias, and anxiety related conditions (Cardwell et al. 2004). Positive and negative reinforcement in operant conditioning has also been extremely useful when working with children who have additional needs or autistic spectrum disorders, as it enables maladaptive behaviour to be modified or reshaped. Government guidelines implemented within policies and procedures in childcare settings, have been based around the perspectives of behaviourism (Tassoni et al. 2010). However, as the scientific experiments applied the use of animals in controlled laboratory conditions, this limits findings relevant to the real-life situations of humans, so is reductionist. Behaviourism does not take into account actions of the mind either, so psychology as a science is unable to analyse anything it cannot openly observe. (McLeod. 2007). Other arguments are that some therapies will fail once treatments stop, as in aversion therapy, and in the treatment of flooding the individual needs to be in good health and if they were to be removed from treatment too early, it would lead to further reinforcement of the phobia they went in for in the first place (Cardwell et al. 2004). .The psychodynamic approach (Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939) believes that behaviour is part of unconscious thought processes and is imbedded by our childhood experiences. Stricker and Widiger (2003) talk about layers of the mind; the conscious, imagined as the smallest part the tip of an iceberg, where all present awareness is; the preconscious, a larger part just below the water line of an iceberg, where memories and thoughts can be accessed easily by the conscious, and the unconscious, the largest part of an iceberg that is well immersed below the water, where repressed memories and inappropriate desires are held unavailable to us. Freud describes personality as being structured in to three different parts: Id, present from birth, works on instinct and the principals of pleasure; Ego, at age one three years, keeps in touch with the real world and satisfies the Id in a realistic, appropriate way; and Superego, age three six years, where our morality oversees our personality in relati on to our environment. According to Freud, another key aspect of theory is that of psychosexual development. The stages of this theory are the Oral stage, where the mouth is the first area of pleasure; the Anal stage, where the second area of pleasure is the anus this stage is important around toilet training, and the Phallic stage, where the focus of pleasure is with the genitals. This stage also encounters gender identity development and the Oedipus complex (where boys become attracted to their mothers and fearful of their fathers). If too much or too little satisfaction is received through these stages, we become obsessed and persist with the same demands during the rest of our life, resulting in neurotic behaviours (Cardwell et al. 2004). One key study by Freud (1909) was on Little Hans, the child of a friend of Freud whom he never actually met. He was five years old. He became fearful of horses to the extent that he would no longer go in to the street. White horses, that wore blinkers and had black colouring around the mouth, were feared most. As Hans was in the phallic stage of his development and therefore in the Oedipus Complex, according to Freud, the belief was that he was actually afraid of his father not the horses. This assumption was reached as Hans father wore glasses; these could be associated with the blinkers, and he also had a moustache; this could represent the black around the horses mouth. (Cardwell and Flanagan. 2004) The progression of Psychotherapy has been a substantial contribution of the psychodynamic approach, as Freuds psychoanalytical therapy, which sees mild psychiatric disorders in adults such as anxiety and eating disorders, and some depressions, as deeply hidden childhood problems. Patients are helped by creating an ideal environment in which to draw out these concerns into the conscious mind, where they can then be explored, tackled and resolved. Disadvantages of psychodynamic therapies are that treatment can be over many years and is therefore expensive and unrealistic. Therapies are not suitable for all psychological disorders, mainly just those that come under neuroses. Also, uncovering the past can cause more emotional stress than the current problem holds for the patient. Behaviourism has contributed to therapies that we still use today. One of the therapies based on classical conditioning is Systematic Desensitisation (Wolpe. 1958). This method helps with phobias and anxieties by using deep relaxation and replacing a fearful reaction with a response that is unable to exist with fear. Another therapy is Implosion and Flooding where the individuals phobic object is revealed with no reduction in anxiety and no relaxation. The purpose is that high levels of anxiety cannot be maintained for a long period of time, so start to diminish along with the realisation that nothing bad has happened to them, so the fear should dissipate. A technique called Aversion Therapy is also based on classical conditioning and is used to remove unwanted behaviours like alcoholism, smoking and drug addiction. These behaviours are associated with an unpleasant stimulus in an attempt to remove them. For instance, a cigarette may have a nausea-inducing substance which in turn pai rs the feeling of nausea with tobacco. Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy is widely used and elements of it originate from behaviourism. It looks at the individuals beliefs and rational or irrational thought patterns and then the consequences of these, if desirable or undesirable emotions come about leading to desirable or undesirable behaviour. Once these have been recognised, the therapist and the client work on the issues together. (Gross. 1987) Contributions of the psychodynamic approach include Free Association, in which the individual allows feelings, thoughts and images to free-flow, with the therapist out of sight who will interrupt occasionally to get reflections with the implications of the associations. The theory is that the internal conflict will reveal itself in the associations. Boker (1992) believes psychodynamic therapy is also helpful to patients will schizophrenia, whilst taking phenothiazines, as this medication enables them to be more available (Cardwell et al. 2004). Another contribution is Play Therapy, characterised by Sweeney and Landreth (2003) as child-centred play therapy. The therapists objective is to allow the child to release their inner disturbances by bringing out the experiences through play rather than being the victim (McMonigle. 2008). It can be seen therefore that behaviourists treat existing problems; whereas in contrast, the psychodynamic approach wants to find the route of the problem. Both of these approaches have influenced modern practices.

Comparative Literary Analysis

If you were placed onto a stranded island in the middle of nowhere with no hope of being rescued, even the most civilized person would turn to savagery by the end. This is a fact about human nature, and at one point humans lose their morals and values. In The Crucible and the Lord of the Flies, both authors, Miller and Golding, show the evil in nature, the fight for truth, and mob mentality in certain situations. Abigail Williams and Jack both become very power hungry by the end and show the evil in nature, while John Proctor and Simon are looking for the truth, and Mary Warren and SamnEric follow the mob mentality that is going around.In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is first seen as a child speaking the truth and pointing out the people in the town who are â€Å"witches†. Everyone in the town believes her and her group of friends. But as she realizes that she has the power to condemn anyone as a witch, she overuses that power. Since Abigail desires to be with John Proctor, but he is not willing to be with her due to his wife, Abigail decides to condemn Elizabeth Proctor as a witch, so that she would be able to be with John. This clearly shows how people can use their power that they might have for their own good and use it for evil.This occurs in The Lord of the Flies when Jack slowly becomes more and more power hungry. Throughout the novel, Jack always wants to become chief but Ralph is chosen as chief and this did not please Jack. But as the novel progresses, Jack slowly turns to savagery, and the others follow Jack with his savagery. An example is his wild hunts for pigs, and his crazy dances after killing the pig. He feels much more powerful as more people start to enjoy killings pigs with him and he starts to form a type of mob.â€Å"His mind was crowded with memories: memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink. †(Golding 70) This quote explores Jack’s mental state in the aftermath of killing his first pig. This slightly shows the decline into savage behavior. This quote shows Jack’s feelings of power and superiority he experiences after killing the pig. This power slowly transitions into creating his mob and gaining more power from everyone around him, which causes him to become the chief.With this power he gains, Jack now controls most of the island, which allows him to do almost anything he wants, including to set the island on fire just to kill Ralph. At the same time in both The Crucible and The Lord of the Flies, John Proctor and Simon are looking for the truth for the fear in which everyone was going crazy in the town or island. In The Crucible, John Proctor looks for the truth as he questions the honesty of the girls calling out the witches in the town. John carefully looks for evidence to prove that the girls aren’t telling the truth.Fortunately Mary Warren admits to John that they are all playing along only because of Abigail. But at the courthouse, no one believes Mary Warren, and she is also called a witch, so to save herself, she blames John Proctor in threatening Mary to lie. As much as John tries to fight for the truth, he fails at showing everyone because of the power everyone else has over him. Simon in The Lord of the Flies also fails to show the truth over the â€Å"beast† that everyone feared. â€Å"‘As if’, said Simon, ‘the beastie, the beastie or snake thing, was real. Remember?’† (Golding 50)From the beginning Simon doubts the truth about this beast in the island and tries to assure the younger kids that there is no beast. Simon is the only character who truly looks out to find the truth about the beast. But in the end, he is seen as the beast and is killed by the boys who change into savages. When Simon returns to the campfire to tell ever yone what the beast that everyone has feared of, he is mistaken as the beast and never gets to explain the truth. This is just like John Proctor in which he is also killed before the truth gets out.This comparison is similar because both Simon and John were the only people to reveal the truth to the public but no one listens to them, and they end up dead before they say anything. During all of this in The Crucible and The Lord of the Flies, there are the leaders, Abigail and Jack, and then there are the followers, Mary Warren and SamnEric. In The Crucible, Mary Warren follows the mob mentality because of Abigail, and the fear of getting caught. If Mary did not follow what Abigail had said in the beginning to play along with her, Abigail threaten to kill them all, or at least hurt them.Due to this Mary went along with the mob. Although Mary tries to confess in the courtroom, in the end she still retreats back to the mob mentality and blames John Proctor. This also happens in The Lord of the Flies when SamnEric join Jack’s mob. â€Å"Now the painted group felt the otherness of SamnEric, felt the power in their own hands. They felled the twins clumsily and excitedly. Jack was inspired. †(Golding 191) This quote shows how Jack becomes happy with the increasing number to his group and it shows that SamnEric join due to the mob mentality and the power that Jack has compared to Ralph.They try to follow their conscience but end up joining the mob and go along with the savages. Throughout the movie and novel, people end up losing their morals either due to having too much power or not having enough and going out of their way to gain that power. The evil in nature is clearly shown by both authors and depict how far people would go for ambitions that they want such as power. Both authors also show that the truth never gets out, which is unfortunate, but life doesn’t always have happy endings either. And last but not least, the mob mentality is a driv ing force for all the madness in the town of Salem and the Island.

Culture Shock Essay - 2172 Words

One of the biggest hindrances to people living in a new culture is the initial culture-shock that people experience, as well as the culture-stress that occurs as time progresses. When a person enters a new culture, there are many noticeable differences from his/her own culture. These differences have been labelled culture-shock and culture-stress. It is the initial differences, which is called culture-shock, that often cause worry, fear, and sometimes withdrawl. However, these can be easily overcome through preparation and changes in attitude. As time progresses, there will be other issues that will start to appear that can become even more troublesome; these are called culture-stresses. The problem with culture-stress is that it is a lot†¦show more content†¦These initial cultural differences that a person sees and experiences have been labelled Culture-shock. The dictionary defines culture-shock as â€Å"a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxi ety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation †. What this means is that the person will feel out of place due to the differences in culture. Culture-shock normally starts in earnest at about six months after arrival , however its effects can be felt right away. Culture-shock is an issue that occurs individually, can last longer, and can reoccur or the situations change . After the issue of culture shock has been overcome, a person will still come up against form of culture-shock called culture-stress. Culture-stress is a feeling of anxiety or annoyance at the small cultural differences in the local culture; these differences are often because a person does not understand the smaller nuances and how they differ from the home culture. The dictionary has no formal definition of culture-stress, however it does define stress as â€Å"one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibri um, † which is simply to say that stress is a tension that will knock you off balance. The dangers that culture-shock and culture-stress cause are mostly related to the attitude of the person trying to adapt to the new local culture . However, the fear or anger that culture-shockShow MoreRelatedEssay on Culture Shock1163 Words   |  5 Pagesanswered with a smile â€Å"the heat is running aunty† whatever she meant I did not understand, although she spoke in English she had an American accent which took me long to adapt and decipher. My brother knowing that I will definitely experience culture shock, started giving me tidbits of what I would expect. I remember him saying â€Å"This is America my sister, they speak different here, many things have different names from home†. 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The Non-Existence of Race Courtney Weeks Bethune-Cookman...

According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, race is â€Å"A group of people identified as distinct from other groups because of supposed physical or genetic traits shared by the group. Appiah says that there are various aspects of racism which include racialism, intrinsic racism and extrinsic racism. â€Å"Racialism is the view that there are inherent traits and tendencies of each race that are not shared with members of other races, and that allow us to divide people into distinct races† (Appiah 393). Extrinsic racism is view that the races inherently have different essences that entail different morally relative traits (Appiah 393). Intrinsic racism is the view that moral differentiation between races is justified because each race has†¦show more content†¦In the nineteenth century biologist attempted to create a science of racial differences that would support the view of racialism. â€Å"These traits and tendencies characteristic of a race constitute, on the racialist view, a sort of racial essence; and it is part of the content of racialism that the essential heritable characteristics of what the nineteenth century called the â€Å"Races of Man† account for more than the visible morphological characteristics—skin color, hair type, facial features—on the basis of which we make our informal classification (Appiah 394). As of today, most scientists working in these fields continue to reject racialism. The claims of racialism are not supported by science. Plausibly, Appiah states that racialism doesn’t necessarily have to be an ethical issue. An individual may possibly acknowledge racialism but still believe that constructive moral characteristics are equally disseminated across the different races. But, what is logically possible and what usually occurs are two different things. â€Å"I believe—and I have argued elsewhere—that racialism is false; but by itself it seems to be a cognitive rather than a moral problem† (Appiah 394). Extrinsic racism is the view that the races inherently have different essences that entail different morally relative traits (Appiah 393). â€Å"Extrensic racist make moral distinctions between members of different races because they believe that the racial essence entails certain morally