Approaches Flashcards
What is the behaviourist approach?
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
What is classical conditioning?
Learning by association.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequences.
5 assumptions of the behaviourist approach.
- Only interested in studying observable behaviour
- Controlled research using lab studies (usually animals as behaviour can be observed)
- All behaviour is learned.
- We are born as a blank slate- tabula rasa
- There are two main forms of learning (classical and operant conditioning).
Classical conditioning- Pavlov 1927
Unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response
Unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus -> unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus -> conditioned response.
Operant conditioning- Skinner 1953
Positive reinforcement- behaviour is rewarded
Negative reinforcement- avoiding something unpleasant
Punishment- unpleasant consequence of behaviour.
Reinforcement increases likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
Real world application of the behaviourist approach.
- Operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems which can be used in places such as prisons.
- Rewarding behaviour with tokens which can be used for privileges increases likelihood of repeating behaviour.
Ethical issues and the behaviourist approach.
Skinner’s rat research allowed behaviourists to maintain a high degree of control over their experimental ‘subjects’.
Ethical issues as animals were kept below natural weight to make sure they were always hungry and kept in harsh cramped conditions.
Environmental determinism and the behaviourist approach.
Limitation as it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past experiences.
Skinner suggested everything we do is a sum total of our reinforcement history, this ignores any possible influence of free will may have on our behaviour as our past conditioning history decides the outcome.
This is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious decision making process on behaviour- as suggested by the cognitive approach.
Well controlled research and the behaviourist approach.
+ Focues on the measuring of observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings and broke down behaviour into stimulus-response units which removed extraneous variables and allowing causality to be established.
- This may have oversimplified the learning process and ignores human thoughts (such as social learning theory and cognitive approach). This suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone.
What is social learning theory?
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory (classical and operant conditioning) with the role of cognitive factors.
Who proposed social learning theory?
Bandura
What is imitation?
Copying the behaviour of others.
What is identification?
A desire to be associated with a particular person or group because they possess certain desirable characteristics.
What is modelling?
From an observer’s perspective modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model. From the role model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstartion of a specific behaviour that may then be imitated by an observer.
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
This is a key factor in imitation.
What are mediational processes?
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response.
What are the assumptions of SLT?
- Agrees with the behaviouist approach that behaviour is learned from experience.
- People learn through observation and imitation of others.
- Learning occurs both directly and indirectly through classical and operant conditioning.
The role of vicarious reinforcement in SLT.
- Imitation usually only occurs if the behaviour is reinforced, not punished (vicarious reinforcement).
- Observes behaviour but will also see consequences of a behaviour.
The role of mediational processes in SLT.
Four mediational processes were identified by bandura-
- Attention- the extent to which we notice behaviours
- Retention- how well the behaviour is remembered
- Reproduction- the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
- Motivation- the will to perform the behaviour
- The first two relate to learning and the other two relate to performance.
The role of identification in SLT.
- People (especially children) are more likely to imitate people they identify with (identifcation).
- They will indentify with a role model and imitate the role model (modelling- this is what the role models behaviour is also called)
- Role models may not necessarily be physically present in the environment and a person becomes a role model if they possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have high status.
Describe Bandura’s study A.
Bandura et al (1961)
- Original belief was that watching violence was cathartic.
- Lab study with two conditions
1. Watch a violent role model -> child agressive
2. Watch a non-violent role model -> child calm - This shows they imitate the role model
- However this lacks motivation (vicarious reinforcement)
Describe Bandura’s study B.
Bandura and Walters 1963
Three conditions-
1. Role model rewarded -> agression highest
2. Role model punished -> agression lowest
3. ‘Control’ no reinforcement -> somewhere between
IV- condition
DV- how child acted
Determinism and SLT.
Reciprocal determinism!!!
- Influenced by external environment but exert an influence upon it, through the behaviours we choose to perform.
- This suggests there is some free will in the way we behave.
- This contrasts with the behaviourist approach which denies free will.
Real-world application and SLT.
- Can explain cultural differences in behaviour.
- SLT principles such as modelling, imitation and reinforcement, can account for how children learn from others around them including the media and this can explain how social/cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies.
- Can help understand behaviours such as children coming to understand their gender role.
- This increases the value of the approach.
Limitation of SLT.
- Evidence was gathered through lab studies (scientific)
- Contrived nature where participants may respond to demand characteristics
- The main prupose of the doll was to hit it and so children may have performed how they throught they were expected to
- Research may tell us little about how children naturally learn agression in everyday life (lacks mundane realism).
Strength of SLT.
+ Recognises importance of cognitive factors as neither classical not operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning of their own.
+ SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes.
HOWEVER
- Ignores biological approach but Bandura claimed natural biological differences influenced our learning potential, he thought that learning itself was determined by the environment.
- Recent research shows that observational learning Bandura was talking about may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain which allow us to empathisw with and imitate other people.
What is the cognitive approach?
Focuses on how our mental processes affect behaviour.
What are internal mental processes?
‘Private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
What is schema?
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed from experience.
What is inference?
The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes.
What are assumptions of the cognitive approach?
- Internal mental processes can, and should be, studied scientifically.
- Processes such as memory, perception and thinking and studies indirectly by making inferences based off people’s behaviour.
The role of schema and the cognitive approach.
- Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as moving a hand towards an object
- As we get older, our schema becomes more detailed and sophisticated. Adults have developed mentak representations for everything.
- Schema enable 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.
Models and the cognitive approach.
- Cognitive psychologists use theoretical (abstract) and computer (concrete) models to understand internal mental processes.
- One important theoretical model is the information processing model which suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages and these include input, storage and retrieval.
- The above model is based on the way computers function.
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience.
- Brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans can be used to describe the neurological basis of mental processes.
- E.g. the link between the parahippocampal gyrus and OCD.
- The focus of cognitive neuroscience has recently expanded to include the use of computer generated models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain.
Determinism and the cognitive approach.
Soft determinism!!!
Human behaviour may be determined by internal and external factors but we can exert our free will at times.
On the other hand, hard determinism says all our behaviour is determined by factors other than our will, such as conditioning (behaviourist) and genes (biological).
Limitation of the cognitive approach.
Machine reductionism
- Compares the similarities between the human mind and a computer.
- Ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system.
- Research has found human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as the influence of anxiety on eyewitness testimony.
- This may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach.
Real world application of the cognitive approach.
- Cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of AI.
- These may revolutionise how we live in the future.
- Cognitive principles have also been applied to the treatment of depression (CBT) and have improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony (CI).
Strength of the cognitive approach.
+ Uses highly controlled and rigorous methods of study so researchers are able to infer cognitive processes at work. This has involved the use of lab studies to produce reliable, objective data.
+ Scientific
- Relies on inference instead of direct observation, it could be too abstract and theoretical in nature.
- Many studies lack mundane realism.
- Research on cognitive processes may lack external validity.
What is the biological approach?
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
What are genes?
Genes make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism and psychological features. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring (inherited).
