Approaches Flashcards
What are the named psychologists for approaches?
Wundt, Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Maslow
Why is Wundt regarded as the ‘father of experimental psychology’?
He set up the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology.
He published one of the first books on psychology
What did Wundt’s work represent?
The point at which psychology became separated from philosophy and biology
Wundt initially wanted to only study certain aspects of behaviour, which aspects?
Those that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions
What was Wundt’s aim?
To study the structure of mental processes
What did Wundt call the study of the structure of mental processes?
Structuralism
What did Wundt think the best way of studying the structure of mental processes is?
Break down processes into constituent parts (like an anatomist)
What process did Wundt develop?
Introspection
What was the aim of introspection?
To learn more about the nature of the mental processes involved in conscious awareness
What did Wundt eventually realise about higher mental processes?
They could not be studied in a highly controlled manner
What does ‘higher mental processes’ include? (Wundt)
Emotions, language, learning
What does introspection mean?
‘Looking inside’ the self
What do people learn from performing the process of introspection?
Gain knowledge about their inner mind
What is the process of introspection?
Examining conscious thoughts and sensations
How did Wundt study perception?
Participants presented with different sounds, images, objects and asked to report how they were perceiving it and any inner processes they were experiencing.
Responses divided into 3 categories: thoughts, sensations, images
How were Wundt’s procedures scientific?
Participants trained on ‘mental set’, controlled, same instructions, stimuli, time. This was repeated many times - replicable
Who used introspection? (apart from Wundt)
Griffiths
What was Griffiths’ study?
The thought processes of gamblers vs non-gamblers, asked to ‘think aloud’ playing a fruit machine, gamblers thought more irrationally
How was Wundt’s work not scientific?
Based on inferences, unobservable, the responses varied - unreliable, early behaviourists made greater contributions
What are 2 strengths of Wundt’s work?
Established psychology, inspired new approaches
What is a strength of introspection?
Useful to collect data on topics that would otherwise be difficult to study
What is a weakness of introspection?
Unconscious thoughts, not aware of every mental process
What is a tabula rasa?
A blank slate
Which approach says children are tabula rasa?
Behaviourist