PSYCHOLOGICAL
OVERVIEW
Seligman, Martin [Learned helplessness]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.Learned helplessness, a term initially used in experimental psychology, is a description of the effect of inescapable positive punishment (such as electrical shock) on animal (and by extension, human) behaviour.
It is also evoked as an explanation for a human condition in which apathy and submission prevail, causing the individual to rely fully on others for help. This can result when life circumstances cause the individual to experience life choices as irrelevant. Chemical dependence may also foster such a condition.
Extremely predictable environments such as a total institution and extremely unpredictable environments such as war, famine and drought may tend to foster learned helplessness. An example involves concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust, when some prisoners, called Mussulmen, refused to care or fend for themselves. Present-day examples can be found in state-run mental institutions, orphanages or long-term care facilities. People in a state of learned helplessness view problems as personal, pervasive, or permanent. That is:
- Personal - They may see themselves as the problem; that is, they have internalized the problem.
- Pervasive - They may see the problem affecting all aspects of life.
- Permanent - They may see the problem as unchangeable.
Questioning these so-called "3 Ps" usually helps individuals to break out of a mindset of learned helplessness.1 A tremendous crisis may, however, also rouse a person from learned helplessness, a fictional example portrayed in the novel Titus Groan, as the aristocrat Gertrude wakes from a state of childlike apathy into the role of leadership as disaster threatens her home. Once the crisis passes, she returns to her previous placid state.
Early work
The early work on learned helplessness was done by Martin Seligman2 at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. His experiment involved three dogs affixed in harnesses. The first dog was simply put in the harness for a period of time and later released. The second dog was put in the harness, and given painful electric shocks, which he could end by pressing a lever. The third dog was wired in parallel with the second dog, receiving shocks of identical intensity and duration, but his lever didn't do anything. The first and second dogs quickly recovered from the experience, but the third dog suffered chronic symptoms of clinical depression.
A slightly different experiment was conducted where 2 groups of dogs were put in hammocks. One group was given shocks and were able to make them stop, the other group was unable to stop them. Later they were put in a room that was divided in half by a low barrier. One group of dogs were given electric shocks and jumped over the barrier to escape. The other group were given shocks, but as they had "learned helplessness" from the previous experiment, they just lay down and whined, and even though they could have escaped the shocks, they didn't try. Other experiments were performed with different animals with similar results. In all cases, the strongest predictor of a depressive response was lack of control over the negative stimulus.
A similar experiment was done with people performing mental tasks in the presence of distracting noise. If the person had a switch that would turn off the noise, his performance improved, even though he rarely bothered to turn off the noise. Simply being aware of the ability to do so was enough to substantially counteract its distracting effect.
Maslow, Abraham [Hierarchy of Needs]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that Abraham Maslow proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which he subsequently extended. His theory contends that as humans meet their basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy. Maslow studied exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglas rather than mentally ill or neurotic people, writing that "the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy" (Motivation and Personality, 1987).
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the four lower levels are grouped together as deficiency needs, while the top level is termed being needs. While our deficiency needs must be met, our being needs are continually shaping our behaviour. The basic concept is that the higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus once all the needs that are lower down in the pyramid are mainly or entirely satisfied. Growth forces create upward movement in the hierarchy, whereas regressive forces push prepotent needs further down the hierarchy.
Deficiency needs
The deficiency needs (also termed D-needs by Maslow) are:Physiological needs
The first need for the body is to achieve homeostasis. This is obtained through the consumption of food, drink and air, achieving adequate sleep, a comfortable temperature, and so on. When some needs are unmet, a human's physiological needs take the highest priority. For instance, if one simultaneously experiences the desire for love and the hunger for food, a human is more likely to seek to satisfy the latter need first. As a result of the prepotency of physiological needs, an individual will deprioritise all other desires and capacities. Physiological needs can control thoughts and behaviours, and can cause people to feel sickness, pain, and discomfort.
Safety needs
When the physiological needs are met, the need for safety will emerge. Safety or security ranks above all other desires; a properly-functioning society tends to provide security to its members. Recent examples of failure in this area include the cases of societal breakdown in Somalia, Afghanistan and New Orleans. Sometimes the desire for safety outweighs the requirement to satisfy physiological needs; for example, during the Kosovo War many residents of Kosovo chose to occupy a secure area rather than an insecure area, even though the latter provided better access to food.
Love/Belonging needs
Once a person's physiological and safety needs are largely met, the third layer of human needs starts to become apparent. This involves emotionally-based relationships in general, which includes the perceived need for companionship (both sexual and non-sexual), or having a family, or both. There is the sense of community or affiliation; in other words, humans want to belong to groups, whether it be clubs, work groups, religious groups, family, gangs, etc. They need to feel loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others, and to be accepted by them. People also have a constant desire to feel needed. In the absence of these elements, people become increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties.
Esteem needs
There are two versions of esteem needs - the need for the respect of and recognition by others, and the need for self-respect.
Being needs
Though the deficiency needs may be seen as "basic", and can be met and neutralized (i.e. they stop being motivators in one's life), self-actualization and transcendence are "being" or "growth needs" (also termed "B-needs"), i.e. they are enduring motivations or drivers of behaviour.
Self-actualization
Self-actualization (a term originated by Kurt Goldstein) is the instinctual need of a human to make the most of their unique abilities. Maslow described it as follows:
A musician must make music, the artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualisation. (Motivation and Personality, 1954.)
Maslow writes of self-actualizing people who:
- They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
- They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
- They are creative.
- They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
- They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
- They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
- They judge others without prejudice, in a way that can be termed objective.
Self-transcendenceSelf-transcendence refers to connecting to something beyond the ego or to help others find self-fulfilment and realize their potential.
Although Maslow tentatively placed transcendence at the top of his hierarchy, this element has been discounted by most modern psychologists because they feel it really belongs in the domain of religious belief.Counterpositions
While Maslow's theory may be regarded as an improvement over previous theories of personality and motivation, it has its detractors. For example, in their extensive review of research that is dependent on Maslow's theory, Wabha and Bridwell (1976) found little evidence for the ranking of needs that Maslow described, or even for the existence of a definite hierarchy at all.
The concept of self-actualization is considered vague and psycho-babble by some behaviourist psychologists. The concept is based on an aristotelian notion of human nature that assumes we have an optimum role or purpose. Self actualization is a difficult construct for researchers to operationalise, and this in turn makes it difficult to test Maslow's theory. Even if self-actualization is a useful concept, there is no proof that every individual has this capacity or even the desire to achieve it.
Other counterpositions suggest that not everyone ultimately seeks the self-actualization that a strict (and possibly naive) reading of Maslow's hierarchy of needs appears to imply:
- Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning describes his psychotherapeutic method (logotherapy) of finding purpose in life.
- Albert Einstein was actually drawn toward the sense of mystery in life. See Abraham Pais' Subtle is the Lord.
- Others seek to perform good works.
- Others are drawn toward the dark side of the human condition.
One could counter this argument by citing these as examples of ways people self-actualize. Hence, the ambiguity of the term.Rogers, Carl [Theory of Self]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.Person centred psychotherapy was developed by Carl Rogers. He referred to it as counselling rather than psychotherapy. He also believed that the relationship between the client and the therapist is not a patient-doctor relationship in which the patient passively submits to something that is done to him/her by the healer. On the contrary, it should be a person-to-person relationship in which the therapists talks with the client. By using the word "client" instead of "patient," Rogers wanted to indicate that the client is not sick in any organic sense.
Core concepts
Congruence
Rogers thought there were three selves in us: the self-concept, the real self, and the ideal self. The self-concept is the way a person sees him- or herself. The ideal self is who one would like to be or ought to be. The real self is who one actually is. Congruence is the amount of agreement between the self-concept, the real self and the ideal self. The more congruence, the more psychological health there is within the client. If a person’s idea of who she/he is bears a great similarity to what she/he wants to be, that person will be relatively self-accepting. It’s the aim of Person Centred Counselling to increase the client’s congruence.
Unconditional positive regard
To create an atmosphere of psychological safety within the counselling relationship, Rogers believed the therapist should have unconditional positive regard for the client – that is, not judge the client’s character. If the client feels that his/her character is being evaluated, he/she will put on a false front or perhaps leave therapy altogether. Low self-regard, or low congruence, is the result of the client’s having been judged in the past. Parents, teachers, and other authority figures often act as if the child has no intrinsic value as a person unless he/she behaves the way they say he/she ought to behave. Thus, their regard is conditional. The Person-Centred therapist gives unconditional positive regard as a partial antidote for the client’s earlier experiences.
Empathetic understanding
The person-centred therapist should sense the client’s world as if it were her/his own. However, the therapist must sense the client’s emotions without getting bound up in them. Two processes foster empathetic understanding: reflection and clarification. Reflection occurs when the therapist repeats fragments of what the client has said with little change, conveying to the client a non-judgemental understanding of his/her statements. Clarification occurs when the therapist abstracts the core or the essence of a set of remarks by the client.
Self-actualization
Rogers took the approach that every individual has the resources for personal development and growth and that it is the role of the counsellor to develop favourable conditions for the natural phenomenon of personal development to occur. He often saw personal development as the process of a person becoming more fully themselves.
Bandura, Albert [Observational learning]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Observational learning or social learning is learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicating behaviour observed in others. It is most associated with the work of psychologist Albert Bandura, who implemented some of the seminal studies in the area and initiated social learning theory.
Although observational learning can take place at any stage in life, it is thought to be particularly important during childhood, particularly as authority becomes important.
Because of this, social learning theory has influenced debates on the effect of television violence and parental role models. Bandura's Bobo doll experiment is widely cited in psychology as a demonstration of observational learning and demonstrated that children are more likely to engage in violent play with a life size rebounding doll after watching an adult do the same.
Observational learning allows for learning without any change in behaviour and has therefore been used as an argument against strict behaviourism which argued that behaviour change must occur for new behaviours to be acquired.
Required conditions
Bandura called the process of social learning modelling and gave four conditions required for a person to successfully model the behaviour of someone else:
- Attention to the model
A person must first pay attention to a person engaging in a certain behaviour (the model).- Retention of details
Once attending to the observed behaviour, the observer must be able to effectively remember what the model has done.- Motor reproduction
The observer must be able to replicate the behaviour being observed. For example, juggling cannot be effectively learned by observing a model juggler if the observer does not already have the ability to perform the component actions (throwing and catching a ball).- Motivation and Opportunity
The observer must be motivated to carry out the action they have observed and remembered, and must have the opportunity to do so. For example, a suitably skilled person must want to replicate the behaviour of a model juggler, and needs to have an appropriate number of items to juggle to hand.
Effect on behaviour
Social learning may effect behaviour in the follow ways:
- Teaches new behaviours
- Increases or decreases the frequency of which previously learnt behaviours are carried out
- Can encourage previously forbidden behaviours
- Can increase or decrease similar behaviours. For example, observing a model excelling in piano playing may encourage an observer to excel in playing the saxophone.
Kelly, George [Personal Constructs Theory]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.Personal constructs theory (PCT) is a psychological theory of human cognition. Eddington said, "Science is the attempt to set in order the facts of experience." George Kelly, the psychologist and creator of personal construct theory pushed this idea two steps further. He inferred that psychology as a science was an attempt to set in order the facts of human experience so that the psychologist could make good predictions about what people will do when confronted by new situations. He explicitly stated that each individual's psychological task is to put in order the facts of his or her own experience. Then each of us, like the scientist, is to test the accuracy of that constructed knowledge by performing those actions the constructs suggest. If the results of our actions are in line with what the knowledge predicted then we have done a good job of finding the order in our personal experience. If not, then we must be willing to change something: our interpretations or our predictions or both. This method of discovering and correcting our constructs is simply the scientific method used by all modern sciences to discover the truths about the universe we live in.
Gestalt Psychology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.Gestalt psychology (also Gestalt theory of the Berlin School) is a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. The classic Gestalt example is a soap bubble, whose spherical shape is not defined by a rigid template, or a mathematical formula, but rather it emerges spontaneously by the parallel action of surface tension acting at all points in the surface simultaneously. This is in contrast to the "atomistic" principle of operation of the digital computer, where every computation is broken down into a sequence of simple steps, each of which is computed independently of the problem as a whole.
The key properties of Gestalt systems are emergence, reification, multi stability, and invariance.
EmergenceEmergence is seen in the perception of the Dog Picture, that depicts a Dalmatian dog sniffing the ground in the shade of overhanging trees. The dog is not recognized by first identifying its parts, (feet, ears, nose, tail, etc.) and then inferring the dog from those component parts, but rather, the dog is perceived as a whole, all at once.
ReificationReification is the constructive or generative aspect of perception whereby the experienced percept contains more explicit spatial information than the sensory stimulus on which it is based.
Multi stabilityMulti stability (or Multi stable perception) is the tendency of ambiguous perceptual experiences to pop back and forth unstably between two or more alternative interpretations. This is seen for example in the Necker cube, and in Rubin's Figure / Vase illusion shown to the right.
InvarianceInvariance is the property of perception whereby simple geometrical objects are recognized independent of rotation, translation, and scale, as well as several other variations such as elastic deformations, different lighting, and different component features. For example the objects in A in the figure are all immediately recognized as the same basic shape, which are immediately distinguishable from the forms in B. They are even recognized despite perspective and elastic deformations as in C, and when depicted using different graphic elements as in D.
Emergence, reification, multi stability, and invariance, are not separable modules to be modelled individually, but they are different aspects of a single unified dynamic mechanism.
For a mathematical example of such a mechanism using the cubes of psychologists' block design tests, see Block Designs in Art and Mathematics and The Kaleidoscope Puzzle.Origins
Although Max Wertheimer is credited as the founder of the movement, the concept of Gestalt was first introduced in contemporary philosophy and psychology by Christian von Ehrenfels (a member of the School of Brentano). The idea of Gestalt has its roots in theories by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant, and Ernst Mach.
Both von Ehrenfels and Edmund Husserl seem to have been inspired by Mach's work Beiträge zur Analyse der Empfindungen (Contributions to the Analysis of the Sensations, 1886), in formulating their very similar concepts of Gestalt and Figural Moment, respectively.Early 20th century theorists, such as Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang Köhler (students of Carl Stumpf) saw objects as perceived within an environment according to all of their elements taken together as a global construct. This 'gestalt' or 'whole form' approach sought to isolate principles of perception; seemingly innate mental 'laws', which determined the way in which objects were perceived.
These laws took several forms, such as the grouping of similar, or proximate objects together, within this global process. Although it has been criticised for being merely descriptive, it has formed the basis of much further research into the perception of patterns and objects (ref: Carlson, Buskist & Martin, 2000) and of research into behaviour, thinking, problem solving and psychopathology.
Theoretical framework and methodology
The investigations developed at the beginning of the 20th century, based on traditional scientific methodology, divided the object of study into a set of elements that could be analyzed separately with the objective of reducing the complexity of this object. Contrary to this methodology, the school of Gestalt practiced a series of theoretical and methodological principles that attempted to redefine the approach to psychological research.
The theoretical principles are the following:
- Principle of Totality - The conscious experience must be considered globally (by taking into account all the physical and mental aspects of the individual simultaneously) because the nature of the mind demands that each component be considered as part of a system of dynamic relationships.
- Principle of psychophysical isomorphism - A correlation exists between conscious experience and cerebral activity.
Based on the principles above the following methodological principles are defined:- Phenomenon Experimental Analysis - In relation to the Totality Principle any psychological research should take as a starting point phenomena and not be solely focused on sensory qualities.
- Biotic Experiment - The School of Gestalt established a need to conduct real experiments which sharply contrasted with and opposed classic laboratory experiments. This signified experimenting in natural situations, developed in real conditions, in which it would be possible to reproduce, with higher fidelity, what would be habitual for a subject.
Prägnanz
Law of Proximity:- The most basic rule of gestalt is the law of prägnanz. This law says that we try to experience things in as good a gestalt way as possible. In this sense, "good" can mean several things, such as regular, orderly, simplistic, symmetrical, etc. The other gestalt laws are:
Law of Closure - Our mind adds missing elements to complete a figure.
Law of Similarity - Our mind groups similar elements to an entity. The similarity depends on form, colour, size and brightness of the elements.
- Law of Proximity - Regional or chronological closeness of elements are grouped by our mind and seen as belonging together.
- Law of Symmetry - Symmetrical images are seen as belonging together regardless of their distance.
- Law of Continuity - The mind continues a pattern, even after it stops.
- Law of Common Fate - Elements with the same moving direction are seen as a unit.
Figure-ground minds have an innate tendency to perceive one aspect of an event as the figure or foreground and the other as the ground or the background.
Under the gestalt theory, these laws not only apply to images, but to thought processes, memories, and our understanding of time.
Examples of the Gestalt experience include the perception of an incomplete circle as a whole or a pattern of dots as a shape - the mind completes the missing pieces through extrapolation. Studies also indicate that simple elements/compositions where the meaning is directly perceived do not offer as much a challenge to the mind as complex ones and hence the latter are preferred over the former.Festinger, Leon [Cognitive Dissonance Theory]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.Cognitive dissonance is a condition first proposed by the psychologist Leon Festinger in 1956, relating to his hypothesis of cognitive consistency.
Cognitive dissonance is a state of opposition between cognitions. For the purpose of cognitive consistency theory, cognitions are defined as being an attitude, emotion, belief or value, although more recent theories, such as ecological cognition suggest that they can also be a goal, plan, or an interest. In brief, the theory of cognitive dissonance holds that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the human mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to minimize the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions.
The main criticism of the cognitive consistency hypothesis is that it is impossible to verify or falsify by experiment. Even so, experiments have attempted to quantify this hypothetical drive. Opponents of this hypothesis contend that relations between cognitions can be irrelevant or not present, and cite the apparent ability of many human beings to reconcile mutually exclusive or contradictory beliefs with no apparent stress.
In economics this term is also called buyer's remorse. This post-purchase behaviour is more likely to happen when the purchase is a more expensive one. The consumer may experience some regrets or questioning as to whether the purchase was a good one. This is the fifth step in the decision making process. Marketers can help eliminate this by properly selling the product and doing a follow-up to help reinforce the buyer's "good" decision.
Origins and the experiment
In Festinger and Carlsmith's classic 1957 experiment, students were made to perform tedious and meaningless tasks, consisting of turning pegs quarter-turns, then removing them from a board, then putting them back in, and so forth. Subjects rated these tasks very negatively. After a long period of doing this, students were told the experiment was over and they could leave.However, the experimenter then asked the subject for a small favour. They were told that a needed research assistant was not able to make it to the experiment, and the subject was asked to fill in and try to persuade another subject (who was actually a confederate) that the dull, boring tasks the subject had just completed were actually interesting and engaging. Some subjects were paid $20 for the favour, another group was paid $1, and a control group was not requested to perform the favour.
When asked to rate the peg-turning tasks, those in the $1 group showed a much greater propensity to embellish in favour of the experiment when asked to lie about the tasks. Experimenters theorized that when paid only $1, students were forced to internalize the attitude they were induced to express, because they had no other justification. Those in the $20 condition, it is argued, had an obvious external justification for their behaviour, which the experimenters claim explains their lesser willingness to lie favouring the tasks in the experiment.
The researchers further speculated that with only $1, subjects faced insufficient justification and therefore "cognitive dissonance", so when they were asked to lie about the tasks, they sought to relieve this hypothetical stress by literally changing their attitude in a process akin to auto brainwashing in order really to believe that they found the tasks enjoyable.
Put simply, the experimenters concluded that human beings, when asked to lie without being given sufficient justification, will convince themselves that the lie they are asked to tell is the truth. Only when sufficient justification is given, researchers speculated, are human beings able to resist having their mind instantly reprogrammed by any request that they lie.
Festinger further tested his theory on observations of counterintuitive belief persistence of most members of a UFO doomsday cult and their increased proselytization after the leader's prophecy failed.
Conflicting cognitions: cognitive dissonance
Once two competing cognitions are held simultaneously, the individual can be said to be in a state of "cognitive dissonance". For example: The individual purchases a given brand of washing machine, having been advised by a trusted co-worker that said machine is the best. Subsequent to this purchase, the buyer is exposed to another cognition, but one which informs her that there is a higher quality, less expensive washing machine on the market. Moreover, the new source is even more trustworthy than the well-meaning co-worker, e.g. "Consumer Reports" or "Good Housekeeping". Instantly, this conflicting cognition creates an imbalance between itself and the original cognition. This conflicted state of mind will, necessarily, seek to attain psychological consonance, i.e. a balance between competing cognitions.Two kinds of dissonance
Theorists have identified two different kinds of cognitive dissonance that are relevant to decision making: pre-decisional dissonance and post-decisional dissonance.Pre-decisional dissonance might be analogous to what Freud called "compensation." When a test showed that subjects had latent sexist attitudes, they later awarded a female a larger reward than a male in what they were told was a different study. Researchers hypothesized that the larger reward reduced dissonance by attempting to show that they were not sexist in the later decision. An alternate explanation, suggested by critics of the cognitive consistency hypothesis, is that the subjects may simply have been trying to influence the attitudes of the testers.
The more well-known form of dissonance, however, is post-decisional dissonance. Many studies have shown that people with compulsive disorders like gambling will subjectively reinforce decisions or commitments they have already made. In one simple experiment, experimenters found that bettors at a horse track believed bets were more likely to succeed immediately after being placed. According to the hypothesis, the possibility of being wrong is dissonance-arousing, so people will change their perceptions to make their decisions seem better.
This ignores the fundamental principle in decision making, that a decision is to be made if it will produce a better outcome than the alternatives. It also ignores the known potential of afterthought to produce novel thinking that dispels impulse behaviour. This is the basis of the foot-in-the-door technique in sales, and possibly confirmation bias.
Post-decisional dissonance may be increased by the importance of the issue, the length of time the subject takes to make or avoid the decision, and the extent to which the decision could be reversed.
Further propositions by Festinger
Festinger proposed that cognitive dissonance is a "negative drive state", a similar psychological tension to hunger and thirst and that people will seek to resolve this tension.Reduction of cognitive dissonance, Festinger believed, is good because one feels better, and because one can come closer to consonance by eliminating contradictions. On the other hand some of the ways of reduction of cognitive dissonance involve a distortion of the truth, which may cause wrong decisions. The harder way of changing favourable cognitions may in the longer run be better.
When confronted with two belief cognitions that contradict each other, Festinger suggests the dissonance can be resolved by finding and adding a third piece of information relevant to the two beliefs. For example, if Sam believes that elected officials are trustworthy, but also believes that elected officials have broken his trust, then the cognitive dissonance can be resolved by discovering that all elected officials lie. This enables Sam to (it is to be hoped) still hold that elected officials are still largely trustworthy, but that they also all lie.
