Approaches Flashcards
Who was the first person to call himself a psychologist + what did he believe?
Wilhem Wundt - believed that all aspects of nature (including the mind) could be studied scientifically.
When + where did Wilhem establish the first psychology lab?
1879 - Leipzeg University, Germany.
What was Wundt known as?
The father of psychology.
What did Wundt promote?
The use of introspection as a way of studying mental processes.
What did Wundt’s work do?
It paved the way for later controlled research + the study of mental processes e.g by cognitive psychologists.
What is introspection?
The systematic analysis of one’s own conscious experience, thought processes, feelings, emotions and sensations.
What did introspection involve?
Training people to analyse and report in detail their inner thoughts and then break them down into separate parts.
When/where was introspection used in?
In carefully controlled lab conditions with researchers being presented with standardised tasks or stimuli, such as visual illusion.
What did Wundt claim?
That, with sufficient training, introspection can be used to systematically observe mental processes such as memory + perception.
What is structuralism?
Isolating the structure of consciousness -> breaking down + analysing an experience through its two main components: physical sensations + emotional feelings.
What was Wundt’s method of introspection?
In the lab at Liepzeg - Wundt + his colleagues recorded their own conscious thoughts with the aim of breaking these down into their constituent parts.
What were the researchers presented with in Wundt’s method?
Presented with carefully controlled stimuli (e.g visual images + auditory tones) and were asked to provide a description of the inner processes they were experiencing; they would report what they had experienced + their analysis of that experience.
How were the introspections recorded + what did this allow?
Recorded under strictly controlled conditions using the same stimulus every time (e.g a ticking metronome) + the same instructions were issued to all p.ps = allowed procedures to be repeated every time.
Who was John Watson + what did he criticise and why?
A psychologist -> criticised introspection for not being objective as it varied from person to person = so it became difficult to establish the general principles.
What did Watson propose?
That a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself to being empirical by studying phenomena that can be observed + from this principle stemmed the behaviourist approach.
What is ‘science’?
A means of acquiring knowledge though systematic and objective investigation - the aim is to discover general laws.
What is psychology considered today?
A scientific discipline + as such, uses a variety of methodologies, many of which are empirical + scientific.
What does the legacy of biological + physiological origins mean?
That many psychologists apply the scientific method to their work + use empirical methods to test their hypotheses -> not the case for all psychologists as some argue that there will always be an element of subjectivity.
What is FORE/the features of science?
Falsifiability, Objectivity, Reliability/Replicability, Empiricism.
What is falsifiability + when is it only possible?
When it is possible to prove a statement, hypothesis or theory wrong. Only possible if a study is replicable + the hypothesis is operationalised/testable.
What is objectivity?
If a piece of research is objective it is free from bias; based on observable phenomena; is not influenced by personal opinion, prejudice or emotion; is empirical + is available to other scientists to check and verify.
What is reliability/replicability?
The extent to which a study can be repeated so that the reliability of results can be judged. (Using the same standardised procedures and/or gaining similar results).
What is empiricism?
Empirical evidence is directly observable and is gathered through the senses. It can be verified by measurements + does not go beyond the boundaries of what can be observed.
What is theory construction and hypothesis testing + what does this mean?
In order to make scientific progress it must be possible to test and falsify a theory - therefore the theory needs to be rigid + the hypothesis/variables within studies must be operationalised.
What is a paradigm + what does each psychological approach have?
A paradigm is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns within a specific domain. Each approach has its own paradigm.
What is a paradigm shift?
A paradigm shift happens when a theory is falsified and a new paradigm is created that is based on the newly discovered information.
What does psychology not have?
A paradigm = there is NOT one unified agreed rule.
What do the behaviourist and SLT approaches believe we were born as?
‘Blank slates’ (= ‘Tabula Rasa’)
How does the behaviourist approach believe behaviour is learned (1st assumption)?
Behaviour is learned from experience - we are born a blank slate so there is no genetic influence on behaviour.
What behaviour does the behaviourist approach believe is measurable scientifically (2nd assumption)?
Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically + it is only these behaviours that should be studied as thought processes are subjective and difficult to test.
How does the behaviourist approach believe objectivity is maintained (3rd assumption)?
Psychologists should use lab experiments as it is the best way to maintain objectivity.
What does the behaviourist approach believe the basic processes that govern learning are the same in (4th assumption)?
The basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species = it is therefore valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning as humans.
