Approaches Flashcards
Approach
a perspective in psychology
Social learning theory
an explanation of behaviours that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with cognitive factors
Biological approach
a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance
Behaviourist approach
explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable in terms of learning
Psychodynamic approach
a perspective that describes different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour
Introspection
the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking conscious awareness up into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
Stages of introspection
stimulus exposure, internal examination, analysis
Structuralism
the way introspection isolates the structures of consciousness
Wundt
he opened the first ever lab dedicated to psychological enquiry, to document and describe the nature of human consciousness
When did Wundt open his psychology lab?
1879
Watson
he was critical of introspection as it produced subjective (biased) data and could not establish general laws, he was also critical of it’s focus on private thoughts, and believed that as a science, psychology should focus on what can be observed and measured
What led to the actual emergence of psychology as a science?
Watson’s introduction of the behaviourist approach
Behaviourist Approach
a way of explaining our actions in terms of what is observable, in terms of learning.
a results of the rejection of introspection by Watson
assumed that both animals and humans have the same basic processes.
Classical Conditioning
learning through association
Pavlov 1927- dogs can be conditioned to salivate to a bell.
a neural stimulus can elicit a new learned response (conditioned) through association
Operant Conditioning
learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment
Skinner 1953
reinforcement. Skinner’s Box- rats and pigeons.
