5. Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
Who was Wilhelm Wundt?
- First psychologist (looking at science not just the soul)
- Believed the human mind can be explained by science
- He wanted to break things down into basic parts - called structuralism
- thought introspection would uncover our minds inner working
What did Wilhelm Wundt do?
asked people how they felt after a stimulus like a loud noise or dropping a ball.
compare different participants - general theories about perception
What is introspection?
The process by which a person gains knowledge about him or her own mental and emotional states enables us to observe our inner world.
What did Wilhelm Wundt do?
- Separated psychology from philosophy
studying the mind more structured and scientific way
What approaches did Wundt use?
- Structuralist
- Reductionist
What method did Wundt use?
Introspection
What are the problems with introspection?
- Doesn’t explain how the mid works but relies on people describing their thoughts and feelings, which usually isn’t objective
- Doesn’t provide data that can be used reliably as people are reporting on their experiences, their accounts can’t be confirmed
What is reductionism?
The idea that things can be reduced to simple cause and effect processes.
State the features that make something a science
- Objectivity
- Control
- Predictability
- Hypothesis testing
- Replication
What is objectivity in science?
Scientific observations should be recorded without bias and not influenced by any other factors or any other people.
What is control in science?
Scientific observations should take place under controlled conditions
What is predictability in science?
Scientists should be able to use the results and knowledge gained from experiments to predict future behaviour
What is hypothesis testing in science?
Theories generate predictions which can be tested to either strengthen the support for the theory or else disproves it
What is replication in science?
Each experiment should be able to be replicated exactly so people can have confidence in the results.
What are the arguments for psychology as a science?
- Allport (1947) said psychology has the same aims as science
- to predict, understand and control
- Behaviourist, cognitive and biological approaches to psychology all use scientific procedures to investigate theories. They are usually controlled and unbiased.
What are the arguments against psychology?
- unreliable - can be subjective
- hard to generalise
- demand characteristics
Define - Empiricism
The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience.
It is generally characterised by the use of the scientific method in psychology
Define - Scientific method
investigative methods
- objective
- systematic
- replicable
testing and modification of hypotheses based on these methods
Who argued the behaviourism (learning theory)?
John Watson
State the three main assumptions of behaviourism
- Nearly all behaviour is learnt
- Animals and humans learn in the same ways
- The ‘mind’ is irrelevant
Explain why nearly all behaviour is learnt
The only exceptions are a few inborn reflexes and instincts But evidence shows that genetics can influence psychological features. Behaviourism still claims, though, that learning, and not genetics is the cause of the majority of behaviours , even if some vague genetic causes can be found
Explain why animals and humans learn in the same way
- the principles by which we learn are the same.
- stimulus-response associations between stimuli and our actions.
- both use conditioning
- humans can be said to use other forms of learning as well such as social learning.
Why can the mind be seen as irrelevant?
- We can’t directly observe and measure a person’s thinking.
- Can only obtain measurable data by studying behaviour.
- cognitive abilities cannot be directly, scientifically measured,
- may give a more complete explanation of behaviour as known by social learning theory.
State the two types of conditioning
- Classical
- Operant
What did Freud do in approaches?
- Freud established the psychodynamic approach.
- highlighted the importance of the unconscious mind on behaviour and developed his own therapy called psychoanalysis.
What did Ivan Pavlov develop?
Theory of classical conditioning.
What is classical conditioning?
A type of learning where an existing involuntary reflex is associated with a new stimulus.
What was skinners experiments used for?
Used to explain the acquisition of phobias and the development of attachment.
Explain how Pavlov used classical conditioning
- dogs
- conditioned sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus).
- producing salivation response (conditioned response) at the sound of a bell (conditioned stimulus), even when no food was present.
- repeated exposure to event leads to learned and uncontrollable behaviour.
- Used to explain the acquisition of phobias and the development of attachment.
What did Skinner suggest?
Behaviour is the result of learning through the consequences of our actions.
What did skinner use in his testing?
Rats
State the three types of reinforcement
- Positive reinforcement
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
Define - Positive reinforcement
When a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated.
Define - Negative reinforcement
When a behaviour is followed by the removal of an adverse consequence and is more likely to be repeated
Define - Punishment
When a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence and is less likely to be repeated.
Explain Skinner’s test
- Skinner box to examine operant conditioning in rats and pigeons.
- animal move cage
- pressed the lever (by accident) rewarded with a food pellet.
- Learn, through positive reinforcement, when the lever is pressed, its rewarded with food.
- learnt a new voluntary behaviour which is repeated to receive the reward again.
State the strengths to the behaviourist approach
- Contributed to the still-developing recognition of psychology as a science.
- The behaviourists were influential in encouraging the use of animals as research subjects.
- Made important contributions to our modern understanding of human mental illness.
State the limitations of the behaviourist approach
- Limited view regarding the origins of behaviour.
- Using animals is unethical as there is less concern about protection from harm for non-human subjects.
Explain why the behaviourist approach contributed to the still-developing recognition of psychology as a science.
- Pavlov and Skinner - rejected earlier emphasis in psychology on introspection
- encouraging research focused on objective dimensions of behaviour.
- led to an increasingly valid and reliable understanding of human behaviour.
- helped psychology gain credibility and status as a scientific discipline
- attracts more funding and research opportunities.
Explain how the behaviourists were influential in encouraging the use of animals as research subjects.
- learning processes in humans and animals are very similar
- Pavlov - dogs
- Skinner - rats and pigeons.
- non-human animals gives experimenters more control over the process
- without demand characteristics or individual differences influencing findings.
Explain the issues and debates of the behaviourist approach
- Suggests all behaviour are learned - nurture side of the nature-nurture debate - experiences and surroundings shape behaviour - directly
- Behaviour is controlled by something as simple as a stimulus-response association - environmental determinism. - behaviour product of environmental learning.
What does the Social learning theory rest on?
The idea of observational learning
Explain the Social Learning theory
- Learning through observation and imitation of behaviour preformed
- role models
- importance of cognitive processes
- mediational processes
- rejects notion - learning purely the outcome of a stimulus-response loop.
State the four distinct mediations in the SLT
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
What are the sections of the SLT?
- Modeling
- Imitation
- Identification
- Vicarious Reinforcement
What experiment did Bandura, Ross and Ross do?
The Bobo Doll Experiment - 1961
Who did the Bobo Doll Experiment?
Bandura, Ross and Ross
What was the aim of the Bobo Doll Experiment?
To investigate whether aggression can be learned through social learning theory principles.
What is the method of the Bobo Doll Experiment?
- 72 children (36 male and 36 female)
- aged 3-6 years old
- one of three groups for 10 minutes:
- sub-divided by gender of the child and the adult model
- Aggressive model – the child played in a room while an adult hit and shouted at a “Bobo doll”
- Non-aggressive model – the child played in a room while an adult played quietly with a construction set.
- Control group - The child did not see a model. Placed alone in a room with a range of aggressive toys and non aggressive toys and the Bobo doll for twenty minutes whilst being observed.
What were the results of Bandura’s study?
- Children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts
- Boys imitated same-sex models more than girls.
- Girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models
- More verbal aggression if they saw female models.
What is the conclusion of Bandura’s study?
Aggressive behaviour can be learned, in children, through observation and imitation of a model.
Explain the issues and debates of the Social Learning Theory
- Recognise behaviour is controlled by outside forces - But cognitions also have a role to play - soft determinism.
- Bandura - Bobo doll - later work investigated role of vicarious learning in shaping behaviour - nomothetic approach - generate general laws of behaviour - widely applied. - generalised
What does the cognitive approach focus on?
- Examination of internal mental processes such as perception, memory, attention and consciousness.
- internal and not studied directly
- operation must be inferred from the observation and measurement of visible human behaviour.
What two ways do cognitive psychologists make inferences?
- Theoretical models
- Computer models
What do theoretical models enable?
The visual representation of complex conceptual processes.