Psychological Perspectives Essay

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Sarah Wilkinson Unit 8; Psychological Perspectives Assessment and grading criteria P1: Explain the principal psychological perspectives. P2: Explain different psychological approaches to health practice. P3: Explain different psychological approaches to social care practice. M1: Assess different psychological approaches to study. M2: Compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision. D1: Evaluate two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision. Definition:- Psychology is an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviours. It is the study of the mind. What is Psychology? ‘Psychology’ originated from the Greek language ‘Psyche’ meaning the mind or soul then ‘Logos’ meaning ‘the study of the mind’. The study has been around for about 150 Years. Behaviourism Behaviourism is simply the study of behaviour, this includes humans and animals. The theory is that people/animals are taught to be the way they are and react e.g. exceptionally emotional or overly aggressive. Classical conditioning. The classical conditioning theory was made known by Ivan Pavlov (see photo on right). He studied the behaviour of dogs using a machine installed in a special room as shown in the picture below. Pavlov asked an assistant to enter the room with a bowl of dog food. He noticed that the dog started to saliva before it had even touched the food. Saliva is a reflexive response which is a reaction that comes naturally. After the dog was used to the routine of the assistant entering the room with food, Pavlov asked the assistant to enter without food. He then discovered that the dog still salivated even though the assistant didn’t have food with him. The dog had started to associate the arrival of the assistant with his food. After this event,
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