2.1 approaches Flashcards
emergence of psychology as a science
wilhelm wundt (1832-1920) is known as the father of psychology as he moved the subject on from its philosophical roots to more controlled research.
he opened the first experimental psychology lab in leipzig, germany in 1879.
introspection: structuralism
wundt developed the theory of ‘introspection’ as a way of studying internal mental events scientifically.
more specifically, he focused on structuralism, which is documenting and describing human consciousness by breaking it down into its component parts (eg. sensations, perception and emotional reactions).
wundt’s case study
introspection was used in highly controlled studies, which enabled wundt to establish general theories about mental processes.
wundt claimed that with sufficient training, conscious mental processes (like perception) could be objectively reported by the individual as they occurred.
for example, wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object (such as a metronome) and encourage them to look inwards to reflect on the sensations, feelings and images that came to mind. this would be through talking in a ‘stream of consciousness’ without hesitating even if their ideas were not clear/justified.
this information could then be used to gain insight into the mental processes involved.
strengths of wundt’s work: scientific
+ wundt was the first to open a laboratory designated for the scientific study of psychological enquiry under controlled conditions. his lab facilitated accurate measurements and replication.
he supported the reductionist point of view, as he believed consciousness could be broken down into measurable units such as perception, senses and experiences. this means that psychology could be seen as a science by breaking down our complex thoughts into simple ones.
strengths of wundt’s work: other approaches
+ wundt later recognised that higher mental processes (such as learning, language, emotions, etc.) could not be studied in a strictly controlled manner. this encouraged psychologists to look for alternative methods, and paved the way for things like the cognitive approach, cultural psychology and brain scanning techniques.
weaknesses of wundt’s work: other psychologists
- many modern psychologists argue that early behaviourists (e.g. pavlov) made a greater contribution to the development of psychology as a science than wundt did.
they produced reliable findings, which wundt did not, with explanatory principles that were generalisable - much more in keeping with the scientific approach.
strengths of wundt’s work, introspection: hunter (2003)
+ hunter (2003) used introspection to measure happiness. they gave a group of adolescents beepers that went off at random times of the day and asked them to write down their thoughts and feelings just as it did.
they found that teenagers were generally more unhappy, but whilst they were doing a challenging task they were happier.
therefore the study proves that introspection is a useful tool to masure peoples thoughts and feelings and can help improve quality of life.
weaknesses of wundt’s work, introspection: nisbett & wilson (1977)
- they stated that studies using introspection might not be valid.
many psychologists suggest that several aspects of our minds are outside conscious awareness, meaning they cannot be reported by an individual.
introspection only touches the surface of our thoughts but not why or how we have those thoughts.
key assumptions of the behaviourist approach
- concerned with observable behaviours that can be objectively and scientifically measured
- all behaviour is learned from environment, can be reduced to a stimulus-response association
- little difference between learning that takes part in humans/non-humans (for research)
classical conditioning
the behaviourist approach suggests that all behaviour is learnt rather than being innate or inherited from parents.
one way in which behaviour can be learnt is via classical conditioning, which is learning through association. a stimulus produces the same response as another stimulus because they’ve been presented consistently at the same time
pavlov (1927)
ivan pavlov was credited with discovering the process of classical conditioning.
he was investigating the salivating reflex in dogs when he noticed that dogs would not only salivate when food was placed in their mouths, but also when certain stimuli appeared, such as their dog bowl or the person who usually fed them.
this led pavlov to explore how the dogs had learnt that these stimuli meant food was on the way. he decided to see if he could teach the dogs to salivate when he rang a bell.
conditioning stages
before conditioning, food was a UCS that produced the reflex of salivating, which was a UCR. the bell was a NS that produced no conditioned response.
during conditioning, the UCS (food) was repeatedly paired with the NS (bell). eventually, the dog associated the bell with food.
after conditioning, the bell was a CS that produced salivation in the dogs as a CR.
operant conditioning
skinner, 1938 suggested operant conditioning was when behaviour is maintained through understanding the consequences of it (positive or negative).
if the consequence of a behaviour is positive then the behaviour is likely to be repeated, but if it is negative then the behaviour is much less likely to be repeated.
difference between classical/operant
classical conditioning explains the acquisition of a response (e.g. a phobia) while operant conditioning explains the maintenance of a response.
responses are reinforced in operant conditioning but not in classical conditioning.
reinforcement
reinforcement is a consequence that makes a behaviour more likely to happen. there are two types:
positive reinforcement occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant. for example, praising a child for doing their homework means they will keep doing their homework.
negative reinforcement occurs when behaviour is carried out to avoid unpleasant consequences. for example, turning off the alarm clock allows a person to escape from the unpleasant noise.
punishment
punishment is a consequence that makes a behaviour less likely to occur. there are two types:
positive punishment is when something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that was not there before. for example, giving a student detention for missing homework.
negative punishment is when something pleasant is removed from a person’s life. for example, confiscating a student’s mobile phone.
skinner (1953)
skinner conducted a study on rats in a device called the ‘skinner box’. it was a cage which had speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified. one hungry rat at a time would be placed in the box and be allowed to freely run around.
if the rat accidentally pressed the lever it was rewarded by a food pellet which would drop into the box (positive reinforcement). the rat would then continue to press the lever in order to receive a food pellet in the future, as it learned that pressing the lever led to a reward.
the rat could also learn that by pressing the lever they could avoid something unpleasant, (like an electric shock via the electrified floor). this is an example of negative reinforcement.
strength of the behaviourist approach: practical application
+ the behaviourist approach has led to several useful treatments. for example systematic desensitisation has been used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders (classical conditioning). token economies are used in prisons and psychiatric institutions (operant conditioning).
however, focusing solely on behaviour neglects the whole person. treatments using conditioning do not get to the root cause of a patient’s problem, and so it is likely that when the therapy has ended the patient will return to their original behaviour
strength of behaviourist approach: scientific status
+ the behaviourist approach enhanced the scientific status of psychology by using strict scientific methods, being objective, and producing verifiable findings.
it has developed laws and principles that have enabled psychologists to predict and control behaviour. however, it also raises ethical concerns because the approach could be used to control people against their wishes
weakness of behaviourist approach: flawed evidence
- the behaviourist approach has been criticised because it uses non-human animals.
critics claim this tells us little about human behaviour because humans have cognitive factors and emotional states that influence their behaviour.
skinners box also put animals under stressful conditions, which may be considered unethical and affected how they reacted to the situation (causing harm and being unrealistic).
weakness of behaviourist approach: reductionist/deterministic
- the behaviourist approach is environmentally reductionist because it focuses on a lower level of explanation than other approaches.
stimulus-response associations lack meaning when attempting to explain complex human behaviours, like attachment.
its also environmentally deterministic - according to behaviourism, human behaviour is entirely determined by the environment. there is no account taken of a person’s free will to decide how to behave.
bandura’s social learning theory (1977)
the theory suggests that behaviour is learned through experience, specifically through observation and imitation within a social context
he suggested there were 5 key ideas: modelling, imitation, identification, vicarious reinforcement, mediational processes
modelling
for social learning to take place models must carry out the behaviour to be learnt.
a live model could be a parent, teacher or peer, and a symbolic model could be someone in the media.
imitation
a lot of the behaviour people acquire is learnt though copying the behaviour that is modelled by others. this is more rapid than using classical or operant conditioning.
identification
we are more likely to imitate the behaviour of a model who we admire or who is similar to us in some way (e.g. same age and gender).
in order to identify with the model, observers must feel that they are similar enough to the model that if they performed the same behaviour, the consequence would be the same for them as it was for the model.
vicarious reinforcement
individuals learn by observing the behaviour of others and the rewards and punishments they receive.
people do not need to experience rewards or punishments directly to learn from them.
people may learn behaviours, but not perform them because they have also learned that the behaviour is likely to be punished if displayed.
mediational processes
cognitive factors occur between the stimulus (observing the behaviour) and the response (imitating the behaviour).
- attention - the observer must pay attention and notice the behaviour of the model
- retention - the observer must remember the behaviour of the model
- motivation - the observer must be willing to imitate the behaviour in light of receiving the same rewards that the model received (vicarious reinforcement)
- motor reproduction - the observer must be able and motivated to reproduce the behaviour
bandura’s study (1961): procedure
bandura conducted a study involving 36 male and 36 female children aged 3-7.
they were asked to observe a model acting either aggressively or non-aggressively with a bobo doll. some of the children saw a same-sex model and others saw a different sex model.
bandura’s study (1961): experiment
in the experimental conditions, the model displayed aggressive acts towards the bobo doll such as striking it with a mallet and shouting “POW!”.
after the children observed these aggressive acts, they were made to feel frustrated by being shown attractive toys and told not to play with them.
the children (one by one) were then taken to a room which had some toys including a bobo doll, and were observed for 20 minutes.
bandura’s study (1961): findings
results found that the children who observed the aggressive model reproduced the same aggressive behaviour towards the bobo doll, whereas the children who observed the non-aggressive model, showed no aggression towards the bobo doll.
33% of children who observed and heard verbal aggression repeated what they had seen and heard. 0% of children in the non-aggressive group displayed verbal aggression.
boys were more aggressive than girls and imitation of aggression was greatest when the model was the same gender as the observer (identification)
strength of social learning theory: comprehensive
+ SLT recognises the importance of both behavioural and cognitive factors (mediational processes) when examining how people learn new behaviours, unlike the behaviourist approach (classical and operant conditioning).
weakness of social learning theory: cause and effect
- SLT can be criticised because it does not take into account cause and effect.
studies have found that young people who have deviant attitudes seek out peers with similar attitudes, rather than becoming deviant because of their peers.
strength of social learning theory: akers (1998)
+ SLT provides evidence for how criminal behaviour is learnt.
akers (1998) found that criminals seem to engage in more criminal behaviour when they are exposed to a model that they can highly identify with e.g. same gender/age range.
if the model receives a positive outcome for committing crime (rewards like praise, money), then this increases the likelihood that the observer will also commit a crime (via vicarious reinforcement).
weakness of social learning theory: biology
- SLT sees behaviour as environmentally determined and so ignores the role of biology in behaviour.
bandura (1961) found in his experiment that boys were more aggressive than girls, regardless of the experimental situation they were in.
this may be because of the hormone testosterone which means it is biologically determined.
key assumptions of the cognitive approach
suggests that internal mental processes can be studied scientifically like memory, perception and thinking
importance of the role of schema and models of explanation like theoretical/computer
possible to combine cognitive and biological structures in cognitive neuroscience
its appropriate to make inferences about cognitive processes
inferences
the cognitive model makes assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed, and this goes beyond immediate research evidence (it is hard to get evidence for assumptions).
results must be inferred from behaviour/data which might be mistaken or incorrect (invalid).
theoretical models
theoretical models in cognitive psychology (like the MSM of memory) are simplified representations based on current research evidence.
models are often pictorial, represented by boxes and arrows that indicate cause and effect in mental processes.
models are often incomplete and are frequently updated., eg. the WMM was first proposed in 1974, but a fourth component was added in 2000.
computer models
cognitive psychologists have also made use of computer models to explain mental processes.
using computers as an analogy, information is input through the senses, coded into memory, and then combined with previously stored information.
long-term memory is like a hard disk and RAM is like working memory. RAM/working memory is both cleared and reset when a task has been carried out.
schema
schema are mental packets of ideas and information developed through experience, knowledge and understanding. they help organise and interpret information in the brain.
a schema for a specific event is based on expectations of how to behave in a different situation (eg. a restaurant or a classroom) or different roles (eg. as a prison guard or a student).
schema in context
schema enables us to process lots of information quickly and this prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
however, schema may also distort our interpretations of sensory information leading to perceptual errors. a negative or faulty schema may harm mental health (eg. the negative triad).
