AS Psychology Summer Task

1. AS Psychology Summer Task Read the case study of ‘Brian’ carefully, then, using information from the following link: Introductory activity1.docand any other reading complete the exercises on slide 3

2. Brian – A case study  Brian is a 65 year old white male, from an affluent middle class background. He is married with two 27 year old twin daughters. Brian’s father was a hugely successful and powerful man who reached the very top of his profession, he is now retired. His mother is a tough, domineering woman, not known for her maternal sensitivity. As a child, Brian was pressured by both parents to be a competitive, high achiever, and was physically punished for failure. Brian claims to adore his parents. At university, he became rebellious and was described by his tutors as a ‘loutish, drink-fuelled, fun seeker’. Brian failed to achieve academically or athletically, to the despair of his parents. Brian was a hard-drinking, alcoholic, womaniser with a death wish, up until his 40th birthday, when he ‘found God’ and became a born-again Christian. Since his religious conversion, Brian lives a strictly regimented life and expects everyone else to do the same. He too has risen to the very top of his profession and credits his success to God. Brian gets up at 5.45 every morning and goes for a 21 minute, 3 mile jog every lunchtime. Prayers precede daily business. Brain’s attitudes to life have become more and more rigid; he sees everything in terms of good or evil. Brian is having problems with many of his contemporaries; he cannot understand why so many people despise him.

3. EXPLANATION 2 EXPLANATION 3 EXPLANATION 1 TASKS: Read each explanation of Brian’s behaviour Click on the approach you feel the explanation was written by Consider your reasons and then compare with the summary offered on the answer page Which explanation you feel is most credible? 5. Brian is a real person who is (at the time of writing) still alive – Who do you think it is? Click here to find out EXPLANATION 4 EXPLANATION 5

4. Explanation 1 Brian’s ability to achieve his potential has been blocked by his parents’ expectations of him. (That are clearly too high) This led him into self destructive behaviours. By turning to religion, he has been able to increase his self esteem and has subsequently found success. However, by removing credit for his achievement from himself and on to God, he is again compelled to raise his self esteem by working for God – Until he realises that he does not need God, he will continue to make attempts to raise his self esteem in this way BIOLOGICAL COGNITIVE HUMANISM BEHAVIOURISM PSYCHODYNAMIC SOCIAL

5. Explanation 2 Brian’s behaviour is explainable by his new social identity as an athlete and a born again Christian. His behaviour is linked to the fact that we all see some types of social identity, such as an athlete and religious devotee, in a positive light and other identities (like a loutish, drunk fuelled fun seeker) less positively. His behaviour is therefore an attempt to adopt an identity that is seen in a positive light BIOLOGICAL COGNITIVE HUMANISM BEHAVIOURISM PSYCHODYNAMIC SOCIAL

6. Explanation 3 Brian’s compulsive behaviour and the need to see things in terms of good and evil simply reflects’ the way his parents reinforced acceptable behaviour. Unfortunately, Brian was not able to live up to the high expectations of his parents. Having such a powerful role model in his father has meant that he has associated success with a narrow range of characteristics. This was reinforced by his domineering and unemotional mother. He only received affection when he displayed these characteristics. His behaviour is therefore a learnt process to gain affection and approval from his parents. BIOLOGICAL COGNITIVE HUMANISM BEHAVIOURISM PSYCHODYNAMIC SOCIAL

7. Explanation 4 Brian’s behaviour reflects irrational and illogical thoughts. It is clear that Brian is attempting to live up to his parent’s high academic and athletic expectations of him. His irrational thoughts are reflected in his connection between athleticism and his jogging. Clearly he has deluded thoughts that maintaining this ‘routine’ means that he is a successful athlete. His devotion to God and rigidity of thinking may reflect an irrational belief that he has attained academic success because he can solve problems more easily by perceiving things he agrees with as good and those he disagrees with as evil. BIOLOGICAL COGNITIVE HUMANISM BEHAVIOURISM PSYCHODYNAMIC SOCIAL

8. Explanation 5 Brian’s behaviour is related to his experiences as a child. His adult behaviour can be described as obsessive compulsive which means that he is obsessed with success (expressed through his devotion to God), and dictated by ritualistic behaviour (expressed through his jogging routine). These behaviours can be explained by investigating his traumatic childhood experiences in which he often suffered abuse at the hands of his parents. He has become attracted to success because it reminds him of his father and to the rigidity of God because it reminds him of his mother. His claim that he adores his parents is very revealing because it shows that this affection is merely a defence mechanism, protecting him from unconscious aggression and resentment about the way they treated him as a child. BIOLOGICAL COGNITIVE HUMANISM BEHAVIOURISM PSYCHODYNAMIC SOCIAL

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14. Go to EXPLANATION 2 CORRECT This is a Humanist explanation because of it’s focus on the self concept and self esteem. Humanist psychology is interested in understanding how the way we view ourselves contributes to our behaviour. Theorists like Maslow and Rogers argued that having a positive and realistic view of ourselves leads to positive beliefs, motivation and happiness. This helps individuals to develop and maintain healthy relationships and achieve their life goals

15. Go to EXPLANATION 3 CORRECT This is a social explanation because of its emphasis on the influence of social pressures. In this case the pressure of cultural norms. Social psychology is interested in how social pressure from individuals, groups and culture influence the way we think, feel and behave.

16. CORRECT Go to EXPLANATION 4 This is a Behaviourist explanation because of it’s focus on the way behaviour was learnt. In this case through the behaviours that are reinforced and punished. Behaviourist psychology is interested in how behaviours develop through consequential learning. Behaviourists like Skinner would argue that a lot of behaviours develop because of associations we make rather than being caused by thoughts or emotions!

17. CORRECT GO TO EXPLANATION 5 This is a Cognitive explanation because of it’s focus on thinking. In this case it considered how the irrational thoughts (beliefs) led to the behaviour. Cognitive psychology is interested in how we process information and therefore would argue that thinking is the greatest influence on our behaviour.

18. Click here to find out who ‘Brian’ is CORRECT This is a Psychodynamic explanation because of it’s focus on traumatic childhood experiences and unconscious conflict. Psychodynamic psychology is interested in how emotion affects our behaviour. Theorists like Freud would argue that how we feel about the experiences we encounter can have powerful influences on the way we behave, often without us realising it!

19. George W Bush You have now completed the summer task – see you in September 