Appraoches Flashcards
Wundt’s
P-Can be recognized as scientific today
E-All introspection was recorded under strictly controlled condition using lab experiment - using the same stimulus such as ticking metronome
E-So same standardized unstructions were issued to all p’s= allowed procedure to be replicated
Means the result is reliable
L- therefore Wundt shows how science can be applied in o study of human mind= sets a foundation for later scientific approaches in psychology e.g. cognitive approach
P—Wundt experiment not completely scientific as it lacks objectivity and reliability
E– data produced from introspection is subjective= based on personal experience which vary greatly between people even when experiencing same stimulus
E— difficult to draw general conclusion about mental processes involved in perception when everyone reporting difference
Also use of self reporting = hard to validate or dispute them
Challenged by behaviourism
- behaviorist Watson main problem with introspection was that it was not measurable or observable
E— introspection focus on private mental processes
He propose that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself only studying phenomena that could be measurable and observable
e- suggest Wund study on introspection is subjective, shouldnt be used to establish a general cause
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The behaviorist approach
- CC has allowed psychologists develop successful therapies in reduction of anxiety disorders like phobias
E.g. used SD to replace learned response from neutral stimulus( anxiety) with another learned response (relaxation) - SD found to be effective— therefore behaviorist principles have have positive impacts on lives of many
Reductionist
attempt to reduce all aspect of human behaviour down to one level of explanation
E—behaviorist approach reduce complex behaviour down to just learning through association and rewards and punishment
E— weakness as it ignore other explanation such as our genes or evolutionary experience
l— theory is a oversimplification of complex human behavior = can’t base human behavior to just 1 error
Principle of operant conditioning has led to real world applications
- OC is the basis of token economy system that has been used successfully in institutions- prisons and psych wards
- work by rewarding appropriate behavior with token= exchange for privileges
- helps treat many problematic behaviour in prisoners
Ethical and practical issues in animal experiment
-many critics questions the ethics of conducting such investigations
- Skinner box caused physical harm to rats= breaching BPS ethical guidelines of protection from harm
- exposed to stressful conditions from the electric shocks
- therefore much behaviorist research work be viewed as unethical
- however cost benefit analysis may show benefit of increased understanding of different types of learning outweigh ethical cost
Social learning theory
- research evidence support how we learned through observation- bandits Bibi study
- bandura bobo doll experiment ignored the biological difference between boys and girls
- SLT suggest that we learn from experience so they make little to no reference to the impact of biological factors in social learning
- bandits ignore the findings that boys in relation to girls exhibited significantly more imitative and non imitative aggressive behavior
- may be explained due to boys having higher level of the hormone testosterone which can be linked to increased aggressiveness
Therefore suggest- SLT may not be a complete explanation for the gender difference in behavior, due to not accounting for my for the biological difference between sexes
Over reliance on evidence form lab studies
Many of bandits ideas was developed through observation of young children in LAB setting
Lab studies often criticized for their controlled nature where p’s may respond to demand characteristics
It’s been suggested in relation to the bobo doll research, main purpose was to strike it so children were simply behaving a way they thought was expected
- therefore p may have deliberately acted more aggressive towards doll in order to please experimenter
- reduces generalizability of the findings
Less deterministic than behavioirsim
- bandura emphasized reciprocal determinism= in the sense that we are influenced by our environment and also exert influence on it through the behavior of the choose to perform
This element of choice suggest that there’s some free will in the way we behave
A more realistic and flexible position than what is suggested by behaviorism
It recognize role we play in shaping our own environment
It explains cultural differences in behaviour
- can account for how children learn from other individuals around them, as well as through media= explains how cultural norms were transmitted through particular society’s
Cognitive approach
- highly scientific due of the use of highly controlled methods in the study of mind
- involved use of lab experiments to produce reliable, objective data
In addition the emergence of cognitive neuroscience enable biology and cognitive psychology to come together
Means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis
Criticized for having machine reductionism
- approach focus on similarities between human mind/ computer however it ignore the influence of human emotions in our cognitive system= may affect our ability to process into
- Johnson and Scott found that anxiety has a negative impact on recall of eyewitness
Suggest emotions affect ability to process info.
Therefore fails to consider the differences between human mind and computer
May not be applicable in every day life
- cognitive psychologists only able to infer mental process form the behaviour they observe in their research
- consequence— cognitive psychology suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature
Similarly experimental studies of mental process= use artificial stimuli e.g test of memory usiiing word list= don’t represent everyday memory experience
- therefore research on cognitive processes may lack external validity
However the cognitive approach has been applied to wider range of practical and theoretical context
Such as cognitive psychology has made and important contribution in field of articulation intelligence and development of thinking machines
Therefore impact of cognitive neuroscience is increasingly seen in real world
Cognitive psychology can be proven to be useful in many areas
The biological approach
Doesn’t take into account the influence of the environment on behaviour
- the result in twin studies on if they have a higher concordance rate= means there’s a genetic basis , could also be due to the social learning since there hey are more likely occupying in the same environment
- this can therefore lead to similar personalities and behaviour
Can act as an important CV therefore can lead to lack of internal validity as biological approach looks purely at nature, ignore nurture as influence
Makes use of precise scientific methods
Such as includes scanning techniques- FMRI and EEG, family and twin studies and drug trials
Shows how with advance tech= there’s a high chance the biological process can be accurately measured in a way that’s not open to bias
Therefore is based on reliable data, can find the causes and effect on the relationship of both psychology and behaviour
Has real life application
Development of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental illneee such as depression
- although these drugs not effective for all p’s= have help treatment for many
Straight as suffered are able to manage it hero condition and live a relatively normal life
- show studies can be applied to real life issues and can create and impact
Biological determinism
- suggest all behaviour is caused by internal biological factors which we have no control such as genes and hormones
This is a serious implication for the judicial system and economy
Current judicial system expects individuals to take moral responsibility for their actions= but it there’s a crime gene discoverd= could lead to diminished responsibility
Also shorter life sentence
Economic impact- if such info about genes coding for mental health disorder or criminality made public= such individual may be denied health insurances jobs
So there’s real life consequences
