APPROACHES 1.0 Flashcards
what are the 5 key approaches in psychology?
cognitive approach
learning approach
biological approach
psychodynamic approach
Humanistic
explain wundts contribution to psychology
Wundt is known as the father of psychology
opened first psych lab in germany leipzig 1879
published first book on psychology
promoted the use of introspection as a way of studying internal mental processes
hiswork later paved way for later controlled research + study of mental processes -> cognitive psychologists
what technique did wundt use to inv human mind?
introspection
-> process in which a person gains knowledge about smones mental or emotional state
-> e.g by asking
each p given carefully controlled stimuli + standardised instructions to ensure repl
-> asked p to notice sensations, feelings + images
-> his aim was to break thoughts about an object into sep elements + help him develop a systematic reporting of an experience of an object
-> called structuralism
+ of introspection
easy + simple method.. provides direct observation of mental processes. introspec only method by which p can be directly aware of own exps to analyse thoughts
relatively quick-> no lab specialist or complex machinery req
… take place anywhere at any time
- of introspec
- p expected to perform 2 activities simultaneously-> must exp own mental processes+analyse what these exp r like. -> p acting as “observed” then “observer” which the distorts their mental exp… introspec may not refl the true nature of mental activities
- findings of 1 p cannot be generalised to understanding the mental activity of another.. overall theory about mental processes cannot be devised as MP differ from 1 p to another
- introspec lacks empirical evidence … method lacks scientific validity and scientific credibility -> less useful when constructing theories
explain how psychology emerged as a science
later psycholgists rejected introspec arguiing that it did not provide empirical eidence .. was not scientifically robust
psych from behavourist approach argued it should be more scientifically rigourous .. focusing only on observable behvrs -> skinner box -> rat pulling lever
what are the 2 types of learning approaches
the behavourist approach
the social learning theory approach
what are the behavourist approahes (2)
classical conditioning
opperant conditioning
what was pavlovs r on classical conditioning?
pavlov inv salivatory responses in dogs
d salivated (ucr) when food presented (ucs)
when bell (NS) repeatedly presented at time food was given to d -> dog assoc bell w food .. bell becomes CS
.. when only bell is rang and food not present the d will still salivate
-> now CR
what is CC?
learning through association-> determined by Pavlov
what are the assumptions in behavourist apporach
beha learned thru interactions w environment
behavourists rejected introspec as lacked emp evid
behavourists focused on obs behavours
what other things did pavlov find out?
CR is not permanent -> if CS not present with UCS for a few times, the CR will go away
CR can be generalised where there will still be CR if the CS changed bell to a doorbell
stregnths of pavlov r?
high reliability.. study based in lab w standardised procedures use of metronome as NS
.. exp easily repl + tested for reliability to show how humans + animals learn thru association
Empirical evidence … Scientific … Valid
limitations to pavlov?
pavlov r low generalisation as he used d -> less complex than humans
-> have diff cognitive abilities + orders of processing
… inapprop to extrapolate findings on animals onto humans
what is OC?
learning thru the conseq of behaviour
a pleasant outcome or conseq will stengthen a behaviour… more liekly for human/animal to repeat
if beh has unpleasant outcome -> less likely to repeat beh
what was skinners r? pos reinforcement
developed specially designed cages-> skinner boxes
-> inorder inv conditionong in rats + pigeons
when animal acc pressed/pecked lever a food pellet would fall into cage… rats press lever more to gain more pellets
-> pos reinforcement
if the food pellets stop, rats pressed lever a few more times then gave up
waht was skinners r? neg reinforcement
skinner also set up skinner boxes w electrified flooring
.. pressing lever would enable the electric current to switch off
-> rats pressed the lever many times
-> taking away smth unpleasant -> pleasant outcome
… more liekly to repeat behaviour
-> neg reinforcement
what were skinners findings?
pos reinforcement -> involves receiving a reward.. pleasant outcome… beh more liekly to be repeated
neg reinforcement-> involves removing smth unpleasant -> pleasanst outcome … more liekly to repeat beh
neg punishment -> inv taking away smth pleasant.. unpleasant outcome .. less likely to repeat beh
pos puishment -> receive smth unpleasant.. unpleasant outcome.. less liekly to repeat beh
give e.g of pos + neg punsihment
receiving a detention for being late
confiscating phone when being on it whne not supposed to
stregnths for skinners r?
poss to achieve extremely high lvls of control when exp w rats
rats can be kept in identical cond w same food, light etc. … less liekly to be affected by extraneous v .. high internal validity
- skinner focused on observable beh -> pressing lever
.. using empirical, highly scientific app unlike introspec
.. beh can be measured accurately + reliably
-> incr scientific credibility of the findings
weakenesses for skinners r?
ethical problems-> exposed rats to electric shocks
-> psychological harm stress + physical harm
could be argued that using animals in r means no humans harmed … knowledge gained from r outweighs costs as no longterm damage in rats
strengths of behavioural approach
has scientific credibiltiy -> beh focused on observations.. rich in empirical evidence and objectivity
- another strength Beh app many useful real life applications. Token economy systems ues .. rewards appropriate beh w tokens that are exchanged for privilages (OC) successfully used in prisons + psychiatric wards
-> treatment likes these usefu; for those who lack insight into their condition + not capable of talking about their problems
weakesses of beh app?
criticised for having overly simplified view of beh
animals + humans seen as passive and machine like responders to envi.. other app such as SLT +
cognitive app place more emphasis on mental events that occ during learning-> SLT + CA h play much more active role in own learning
- findings cannot be generalised onto humans
pavol r -> dogs skinner done on rats
cannot be extrapolated onto humans
huams have free will which animals do not + higher cognitive functions
what is the social learning theory?
people learn thru observation and imitation of others (modelling)
in order for SL to take place there needs to be an attitude or behaviour carried out by smone
-> that p is the model
imitation-> models provide examples of the beh that can be observed .. reproduced. Childen do not reproduce all behaviour model does but more likely to reproduce beh from models who they identify with
identification -> extent to which smone relates to a model that they observe, C may identify w those who are same gender
vicarious reinforcemnt -> an indiv more likely to imitate beh if model receives an award … indiv learning thru model
the mediational processes
waht are the two types of models?
live model - parent, sibling, teacher
symbolic model - smone portrayed in media or tv
what are the mediatoinal processes?
SL differs from traditional learning app .. SLT focuses on how mental factors mediate… the cognitive processes that happen along side learning
ARMM
what is attention?retention?motor reproduction?motivation?
the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
how well the behaviour is remembered
the ability of obs to reproduce behaviour
the will to perform behaviour which is often determined by whether the beh awarded or punished
who made the SLT popular?
albert Bandura
wat was bandura’s research? procedure
conducted lab exp to inv whether social + antisocial behaviours ie agg can acquired by observation adn imitation
procedure- tested 36b 36g from stanford uni nuursery school aged 3-6 yr old
r pre tested the childrens agg levels by obs in the nursey … poss to match c that had similar agg levels
-> mathced pair design … reducing p variablett
-> c placed in room for 20mins
beh obs thru one way mirror
-> made obs at 5 sec intervals(time sampling)
waht was the IV in banduras research?
type of model
c1- c shown a vid of an agg model who attacked the bobo doll (24 children)
c2- c watched non-agg model who played in a quiet way
c3- used as a control grp and were not exposed to any model
what were the findings opf banuras r? (4)
c who obs agg model -> made far more agg resp than those who were shown in non-agg grps
boys imitated more physically agg acts than girls, little diff in verbal agg between b + g
the g in agg model cond also showed more phsyical agg resp if model male, but if female -> more verbal agg resp
boys more liekly to imitate same sex models than g
-> the evid for g immitating same sex models not strong
… can conclude that c learn thr u social beh such as agg thru the process of observational learning
stenghts of baduras r? (2)
high cont over variables -> lang used + toys.. less infl of extr v .. higher internal v
-> can be more confident to conclude that c agg was due to obs an agg model
- matched pairs design
c matgched on sim agg lvls .. less p var… incr internal v
limitations of banduras r? (2)
lab setting may have led to DC .. c may have behaved like they shoudl behave .. striking bobo doll
-> invalid results
low external validity -> just bc c strikes bobo doll in lab env does not mean c strike smone in real life … limits the generalisation of findings
strenths of SLT?
emphasizes improtance of cognitive gactors in learning
-> mediational processes.. CC + OC are v simple forms of learning and do not acknowledge complex cognitive processing which occurs during learning
- SLT supported by Banduras research -> c acted more agg if shown agg model than c who shown non agg model
-> shows c learn thru observation + imitation of role models + boys more likely to imitate same sex models but girls less likely to imitate same sex r models … providing evid for mediational factors -> g did not identify w agg female model -> g thought beh wrong
weakenss of SLT?
over reliance of evid from lab studies-> b r critiised for controlled nature .. leading to DC -> c in r only attacked bobo doll bc thats what they thought they were expected to do… reducing the validity of SLT
- SLT understimates the infl of biological factors
b findings that b consistently more agg than g could sugg biological contribution to agg
-> hormonal factors .. diff lvls testostrone
greater quantities in boys than girsl .. SLT too simplistic + ignores biological factors
what is the cognitive app?
argues that human beh is result of internal mental processes e.g memory, perception, thought and emotions
in direct contrast to beh app, the cog app argues that internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically. however these IMP private .. cant be observed directly .. inferneces about IMP that have caused the beh seen
in cog app what are humans seen as?
humans seen as data processing systems
-> the workings of a computer + humans mind are alike -> they encode + store info and they have outputs
define inference
the process whereby cognitive psychologists draw assumptions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed beh
what are schemas?
packages of information developed thru experience, they can infl cog processing
-> act as the framework for the interpretation of incoming info
.. enable us to process lots of info quickly
what is the disadv of schemas
can distrort our perceptions in order to maek things fit our epectations leading to perceptual errors
-> e.g during eye witness testomonies
name a study which shows that we have schemas
the rat man study
aim: to see if schemas affect our interpretation of an ambiguous figure
method: 2 grps of p shown seq of pictures
c1- shown pictures of diff faces
c2- shown pictures of diff animals
then both grps shown ambiguous pic of ratman
result: those in c1- shown pics of faces saw a man, and those in c2 who shown animals saw a rat
explain your findings on the ratman study?
those in c1 saw a man bc your mind opened schema on faces -> c2 saw animals bc mind opened schema on animals first … enabled us to make sense that the amb fig was a rat
what are theoretical models of cog app?
simplified rep based on current evid usually are pictorial in nature
-> rep by arrows and boxes .. indicate cause and effect or stages of a particular mental process
->e.g is multi-store model of memory by Atkinson and Shiffrin
what is multi-store model of memory by Atkinson and Shiffrin
a eg of theoretical model
-> explains why ppl have dep
-> due to faulty schemas .. make ppl w dep process info differently
what are computer models?
sensory info is coded as it passes thru system
the information processing model describes the mind as a computer
-> has incoming information to be encoded (from our senses)
-> manipulating this mentally (storage, a decision)
-> and consequently a direct output (a beh, or emotion)
e.g dog sees p holding food-> dog then thinks the food looks yummy -> dog runs to that person
stengths of theoretical and computer model?
models present useful means to help expl internal mental processes
-> e.g the multistore and working memory models
- beh app do notconsider mental processing but cog app does
weakness of theoreticla and comoutermodels?
cog models over-simplify explanations for complex mental processes
comparing human mind to a machine or computers is argubaly an unsoph analogy
what is cognitive neuroscience?
cognitive + biological app joined forces
the scientific study of the infl of brain structures (neuro) on mental processes(cognition)
in last 20 yrs, brain imaging techn such as fMRIand PET scans .. enable scientists to sytematically observe + describe neurological basis of mental processes
what are the stregnths of cog app?
uses highly controlled methods… allow r infer cog processes at work
-> involve use of lab exp to provide rel + objective data
emergence of cogneurosiece aslo allowed the fields of behaviourism + cognitive psych to come togeth … study of mind more scientific
- cog is dominant app in psych today .. has been applied in a wide range of practical
+ theoretical contexts
-> cog behavioural theraphy useful in treatment of dep as it treats the fualty thought processes due to schemas
weakneses of cog app?
use of cog models criticised -> they ignore infl of human emotions + motivation on cog system + how it may affect our ability to process info
->e.g human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as agg… may niot eplain all behaviours
- cog phych only able to infer mental processes from beh they obs in r.. diff to provide empirical evid for thought processes
-> exp studies of mental proc norm done using artificial stimuli e.g list of words to test memory.. low ecological v as they dont rep everyday memory exp
