Approaches

Question 1

Who is referred to as the father of modern psychology and what did he do?

Answer 1

Wilhelm Wundt, 1875 established the first psychological laboratory and founded the Institute for experimental psychology in 1879.

Question 2

What is introspection?

Answer 2

A technique pioneered by Wundt to gain insight to how mental processes work, people were trained to report in detail their inner experiences, thoughts, and feelings when presented with a stimulus such as a problem to solve or something to be memorised.

Question 3

What is the biological approach?

Answer 3

This approach sees behaviour as rooted in the physiology and biology of the body.

Question 4

What are the main assumptions of the Biological appraoch?

Answer 4

1. Genetics
   2.The central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord
2. The chemistry of the body

Question 5

What is the genotype?

Answer 5

An individuals genetic make up

Question 6

What is the phenotype?

Answer 6

Products of what happens when the genotype interacts with the environment.

Question 7

What is the central nervous system?

Answer 7

Consists of the brain and the spinal cord which are pivotal in transferring messages to and from the environment

Question 8

What is the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 8

This system is the accompanying system running throughout the body which acts with the central nervous system.

Question 9

What is the endocrine system?

Answer 9

System which affects the transfer and secretion of hormones within the body.

Question 10

What are neurotransmitters?

Answer 10

Chemicals within the cerebral or brain fluid that transmit signals.

Question 11

What is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 11

States that we are a product of our learning.

Question 12

What are the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 12

• Behaviour is learned from experience
• Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically and it is only these behaviours that should be studied
• It is valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning
• We are born a blank slate

Question 13

What is Classical conditioning?

Answer 13

One of the key principles of learning is learning through association. The key idea is that learning occurs when an association is made between a previously neutral stimulus and a reflex response.

Question 14

What is stimulus generalisation?

Answer 14

When a stimulus becomes generalised to other related stimuli which are also associated with the conditioned response.

Question 15

What is stimulus discrimination?

Answer 15

When a stimulus is not associated with the conditioned response as it is too different from the original stimulus.

Question 16

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 16

Operant conditioning is another learning principle of the behaviour approach, it works on the principle of learning by consequence.

Question 17

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 17

A behaviour is more likely to reoccur because of positive consequences.

Question 18

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 18

A behaviour is more likely to reoccur because of avoidance of negative consequence.

Question 19

What is punishment?

Answer 19

A behaviour is less likely to reoccur because of negative consequences.

Question 20

What are the basic assumptions of the social learning approach?

Answer 20

• Behaviour is learned from the environment, so therefore does not regard genetics as an influence on behaviour
• Behaviour is learned from observing others the reinforcement or punishment they receive.

Question 21

What are the key concepts in SLT?

Answer 21

• Imitation
• Identification
• Modelling
• Vicarious reinforcement

Question 22

What are the mediational process in SLT?

Answer 22

• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation

Question 23

What are the main assumptions of the Cognitive approach?

Answer 23

• Thought processes can be, and should be studied scientifically
• The mind works like a computer in that it has input from our senses and produces an output
• Stimulus and response is appropriate

Question 24

What is a schema in relation to the cognitive approach?

Answer 24

A collection of ideas about a person or situation formed through experience which helps the individual to understand and predict the world around them.

Question 25

What is the information processing model

Answer 25

Input—-.> Processing——> Output

Question 26

What does the emergence of cognitive neuroscience refer to?

Answer 26

Is a discipline that is a combination of several other disciplines. Its main focus is to look for a biological basis for thought processes, specifically at how the neurons explain those processes.