approaches Flashcards
Wundt’s 1879
- known as the ‘father of psychology’ initiated the move of psychology from a philosophical root to a more scientific and controlled method of research
- opened the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany 1875 and as a result psychology began to emerge as its own discipline
- approach became known as structuralism as he used scientific methods to study human consciousness by breaking its structures down into smaller components such as sensations and perceptions
- developed introspection
- used controlled environments
introspection
the process in which a person examines their inner world, by consciously observing their thoughts and emotions.
the emergence of psychology as a science
- Behaviourist Watson and skinner (1913) had a problem with introspection being subjective as it varied greatly from person to person, so became difficult to establish general principles and the focus was on ‘private’ mental processes
- behaviourist approach emerged arguing that true scientific psychology should restrict itself to studying what can be directly observed and is measurable
- cognitive psychologist believe that internal mental processes are an important area of study and they attempt to make inferences based on human behaviour drawing conclusions based on human behaviour in scientific lab investigations.
- the biological approach makes use of sophisticated technology including brain scanning techniques, fMRI and PET scans, to understand the functions of the human brain.
limitation of introspection
-methodology is unreliable because it can not be replicated in the same condition, subjective. The results generated from it cannot be generalised to the wider population.
assumptions the behaviourist approach made
psychologist should only study observable, quantifiable behaviour
- all behaviour is learnt
- research on animal behaviour is directly relevant to humans
Pavlov classical conditioning
- Pavlov developed the theory of classical conditioning which is learning by association. learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we associate another.
- tested theory on dogs who were conditioned to associate the sound of the bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus) resulting in the dogs producing a salvation response (conditioned response) at the sound of a bell (conditioned stimulus), even when no food was present.
skinner operant conditioning
-operant conditioning is a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences.
3 different types of consequences of behaviour:
-positive reinforcement receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
-negative reinforcement avoid something unpleasant
- punishment an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
skinner created a box with a lever in which any time the rat pressed the lever by accident it would receive food so through positive reinforcement the rat repeats the behaviour of pressing the lever.
strengths of the behaviourist approach
- has greater scientific credibility and status as it emphasises the importance of scientific processes such as objectivity and replication which is influential in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline.
- real-life application e.g. many phobias are thought to be a result of unpleasant learning experiences which has help psychologist develop treatments for this= systematic desensitisation = counterconditioning
limitations of the behaviourist approach
- unethical as animals are used. less concern over the protection of animals
- findings from animal experiments may not be generalisable to human behaviour.
- ignores alternative explanations including the role of cognition and emotional factors in influencing behaviour and the role of freewill. skinner counterargues this stating for behaviour to be investigated scientifically it has to be directly measurable and observable and says even the most complex of human interactions can be explained using operant conditioning principles
- environmental deterministic = all behaviour determined by past experiences that have been conditioned + skinner= everything is a result of our reinforcing history. Therefore ignore free will that may have influenced our behaviour= any sense of free will is simply an illusion
the social learning theory
a way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining the learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
vicarious reinforcement
- reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
the 4 mediational processes
focuses on the role of our cognitive factors which intervene in the learning process to determine whether a new behaviour is learned
- attention. how well we notice certain behaviours
- retention. how well we remember the behaviour.
- motor reproduction. the ability to perform same behaviour
- motivation. The will to perform the behaviour often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.
what does identification suggests about the learning theory?\
- people (especially children) are much more likely to imitate the behaviour of people whom they identify with, called role models. known as modelling.
Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)- the bobo doll experiment (1961)
aim - to investigate whether aggression can be learned through social learning theory principles.
method - 72 children (36 male and 36 female) aged 3-6 were put into one of 3 groups for 10 minutes. with an aggressive model where the child played in the room while the adult hit and group was shouted at a “Boho doll”. the group was further subdivided by gender of the child and the adult model. The non-aggressive model where the adult played with a construction set. group was subdivided as well and a control group where the child had no model.
children were taken into a room alone with a range of aggressive toys (mallets and guns), non aggressive toys and the bobo doll for 20 minutes while being observed.
findings of the Bobo doll experiment (1961)
- children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts than those in either of the other two groups.
- boys imitated same-sex models more than girls. Girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models, and more verbal aggression if the saw female models.
concluded aggressive behaviour can be learned, in children, through observation and imitation of model
strengths of the Boho doll experiment
- has real-life application. e.g. it has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising: Andsager et al.(2006) found that “identification with a character or example may increase the likelihood that audiences will model behaviour presented in a anti-alcohol message.” consequently, the principles of SLT can be used to provide a positive impact on promotional health campaigns.
- explains cultural differences in behaviour. can account for how well children learn from other individuals around them, as well as through media. this has ben proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours
limitations of SLT
- over-reliance of lab studies as most of Banduras ideas were developed through observations of young children in la settings. may be demand characteristics. children may have been simply behaving in a way they though was expected.
- underestimates the influence of biological factors. one consistent finding in the Bobo doll experiment was that boys were more aggressive than girls regardless of the model. this may be explained through hormonal factors, such as differences in levels of testosterone. means important influence on behaviour is not accounted for in SLT.
cognitive approach
- the examination of internal mental processes such as perception, memory, attention and consciousness,
- developed as a response to behaviourism ignoring the influence of mental processes on our behaviour
- processes are private so cannot be studied directly so are studied indirectly looking at inferences from the observation and measurements of visible human behaviour.
inference
reaching a logical conclusion on the basis of evidence and reasoning
the theoretical model
- visual representation of internal mental processes used to help researchers simplify and study complex process.
- typically diagrams or flowcharts showing how information is passes between the different systems that manipulate it,
- e.g. multi-store memory model. also an example of the information processing approach which suggest information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval
