approaches Flashcards
What was Wundts introspection method?
Wundt described introspection as an objective analytic process that involves training people to self-reflect so that, when presented with external stimuli, they can explain their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and sensations. In this research, conditions were very controlled.
What is a weakness to introspection?
-unreliable…subjects well trained in introspection varied in their responses to the same stimulus from trial to trial making introspection not very useful
-limited study sample…introspection could not be used to study children or animals , due to childrens limited vocab and inability to accurately express their emotions
-complex topics such as learning , mental disorders and personality disorders could not be investigated using introspection which seriously questions the validity for introspection as a way to study human behaviour and experience as it is subjective (open to personal opinion ) - only an individual can report on ones own thoughts and feelings and even then may not be accurate
what are the 3 features of science?
-objectivity: based on facts, rather than opinion.
-subjectivity: basing findings on opinion, rather than fact.
-replicability: ability to repeat a study and find same results.
What is the behaviourist approach?
-the behaviourist approach is only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured. it is not concerned with investigating internal processes of the mind.
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is that learning occurs when an association is made between a previously neutral stimulus and reflex response.
Key study: Pavlov
His work initially focused on the digestive system of dogs but he noticed that when the sound of the door to the lab opened the dogs would salivate. When the dogs hear a bell there is no reflex response so Pavlov rang a bell whenever the dogs were given food. The sound of the bell then became associated with the food so that eventually whenever he rang the bell the dogs would salivate even when no food was present. Pavlov showed that a neutral stimulus (a bell) can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association.
Pavlov’s diagram:
1)before conditioning:
food (unconditioned stimulus)
—->salivation (unconditioned response)
2) before conditioning:
bell (neutral stimulus)—-> no salivation (no conditioned response)
3) during conditioning:
bell + food —> (unconditioned response) salivation
4) after conditioning:
bell (conditioned stimulus)—-> salivation (conditioned response)
Key study: Watson and Rayner
Little Albert was presented with a series of objects on order to find one he did not respond to. They chose a white rat. Then they investigated what they could use to provoke a fear/anxiety response in the boy. They found that the sound of a hammer hitting a steel bar made him upset. They paired the two things snd found that Albert became upset/ anxious even when the metal bar wasn’t strict.
Albert also response with anxiety to a rabbit a fur coat and some cotton wool.
Operant conditioning
is learning through consequences.
Positive reinforcement:
This is receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed which makes this behaviour more likely to reoccur because there is positive consequences.
Negative reinforcement:
Increases the likelihood of certain behaviour occurring because it involves the removal of, or escaping from unpleasant consequences.
Punishment:
is an unpleasant consequence for behaviour which makes this behaviour less likely to reoccur.
Positive punishment:
something being added ie: detention
Negative punishment:
something taken away ie: your phone
Key Study: Skinner’s box
a rat was placed in the box inside the ox was a lever that when pressed pellet of food would be delivered. Skinner observed that as a consequence of its actions (receiving the pellet) the rat continued to display that learned behaviour. It has been positively reinforced.
Evaluation of behaviourism:
strengths:
-replicable: it can be repeated due to High control so has reliability.
-mainly quantitive data: easy to analyse.
weaknesses:
-reductionists: only takes into nurture.
-deterministic: ignores free will
-lack of ecological validity due to high control
The learning theory
way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement.
key concept 1: imitation
observes behaviour from a role model and copies it.
key concept 2: identification
imitate the behaviour of people with whom they identify.
key concept 3: modelling
when someone is influential they are referred to as a model if someone imitates that behaviour they are modelling that behaviour
key concept 4: vicarious reinforcement
They do not receive the reward themselves they see someone else get it and then learns by observing the consequences of another persons behaviour
Key concept 5: the role of meditational process
Attention: something has to grab our attention
Retention: the memory of the behaviour is formed to be performed later by the observer
Reproduction: we are limited by our physical ability and for that reason, even if we wish to reproduce the behaviour we cannot.
Motivation: The rewards and punishment that follow a behaviour will be considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweighs the perceived costs.
Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment
Aim:
Bandura (1961) conducted a controlled experiment study to investigate if social behaviors (i.e aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.
-Bandura used a matched pair design when dividing the participants into the three experimental groups. Children were first assessed for their aggression levels by two observers and divided into groups in a way that ensured similar levels of aggression across groups. Each group consisted of 12 girls and 12 boys.
Evaluation of SLT
Research support for the prediction of SLT comes from a series of studies carried out by Bandura et al (1961). This involved children observing aggressive and non-aggressive adult models and then being tested for imitative learning in the absence of the model. Children in the aggression condition reproduced a good deal of physically and verbally aggressive behaviour while none of the children in the non-aggressive group made such remarks.
There is support from the applicability of the SLT to adults. Phillips (1986) found that daily homicide rates in the US almost always increased in the week following a major boxing match. This suggests that viewers were imitating behaviour they watched and so social learning is evident in adults as well as children.
Unlike operant conditioning theory, it can explain aggressive behaviour in the absence of direct reinforcement. Although Bandura et al.’s (1963) participants behaved more aggressively after observing an aggressive model, at no point were the children directly rewarded for any action, either aggressive or non-aggressive. Consequently, the concept of vicarious learning is necessary to explain these findings.
This theory can explain differences in aggressive and non-aggressive behaviour both between and within individuals. The ‘culture of violence’ theory (Wolfgang and Ferracuti 1967) proposes that people respond differently in different situations because they have observed that aggression is rewarded in some situations and not others and so they learn behaviours that are appropriate to particular contexts.
The SLT can be used to explain on cultural differences in aggression. For instance, among the !Kung San of the Kalahari Desert, aggression is comparatively rare. This is because there is an absence of direct reinforcement of aggressive behaviour as well as the absence of aggressive models. This means that there is little opportunity or motivation for !Kung San children to acquire behaviours.
The theory does not tell us why a child would be motivated to perform the same behaviours in the absence of the model. In a later study, Bandura and Walters’ (1963) found that those in the no-reward no-punishment control group were somewhere in between high/low levels of aggression. Bandura called this type of learning vicarious learning – the children were learning about the likely consequences of actions and then adjusting their subsequent behaviour accordingly.
Ethical issues make it difficult to test SLT experimentally. This is because exposing children to aggressive behaviour with the knowledge that they may reproduce it in their own behaviour raises ethical issues concerning the need to protect participants from psychological and physical harm. As a result, experimental studies such as the Bobo doll studies would no longer be allowed to take place. This means that it is difficult to test experimental hypotheses about the social learning of aggressive behaviour in children and consequently difficult to establish the scientific credibility of the theory by this means.
Cognitive approach
The cognitive approach thinks that internal mental processes should be studied scientifically.
What are schemas?
Schemas are “packages” of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental shortcut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
Computer Analogy:
input->processing->output
Evaluation of Cognitive Approach:
The computer analogy is reductionist as it ignores influence of human emotions and motivation.
It has led to inform treatments ie: cognitive theory of depression and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Most of the research is conducted I lab settings so lacks ecological validity and presents demand characteristics.
Cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of AI and the development of thinking machines.
Biological approach
Views humans as biological organisms and so provides biological explanations for all aspects of psychological functioning.
Twin studies
An identical twin is found to have a higher concordance rate than a nn-identical twin for music ability,schizophrenia, love of romance films etc. (suggesting a genetic basis)
This is because identical twins share 100% of each others genes while non identical twins share only 50%.
Family Studies
Individuals who possess a certain trait or mental disorder are identified and their family members are assessed to see if they possess the same trait or are at risk for developing the same mental disorder.
Adoption studies
These studies involve comparing a trait or characteristic between adopted children and their biological or adoptive parents.
