Approaches Flashcards
what are operationalised variables?
operationalised- means to provide details of how this will be done or measured
who was the father of psychology?
wilhelm wundt
-believed human mind could be studied scientifically
-shifted psych away from philosophy and made it more controlled and objective research
-his approach paved the way for the acceptance of psych as a science
when and where was the first psychology dedicated lab?
1.) Germany
2.) 1879
what was Wundt’s aim?
study structure of mind (structuralism)
what is introspection?
systematic analysis of our own conscious experience of a stimulus
how was introspection conducted?
focus on an everyday object (metronome) and look inwards to analyse in terms of its component parts e.g. noticing SENSATIONS FEELINGS and IMAGES
how do behaviourists think behaviour is learnt?
from the environment. Learn new behaviours through classical or operant conditioning
what approach believe when born the mind is a blank state?
behaviourist
what type of behaviour are behaviourists concerned with.
observable behaviour (external) this can be objectively and scientifically measured
explain how classical conditioning leads to new behaviour.
unconditioned stimulus (which already provokes unconditioned response) is generalised with neutral stimulus which will provoke a conditioned response (same as unconditioned response)
what studies shows classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s dogs
Little Albert
describe the study pavlov’s dogs
- tube placed in dogs mouths to collect saliva
- rung a bell every time they were presented with food
- generalised bell with food so produced saliva when bull was rung regardless of if food was present.
Bell: Neutral stimulus
Food: unconditioned stimulus
Salivation: unconditioned Response
Bell: Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Salivation: Conditioned response (CR)
describe the little albert study
- White rat (NS) → no fear of rats
(before conditioning) - A loud bang (UCS) → causes fear
and anxiety (UCR) (before
conditioning) - White rat (NS) and loud bang
(UCS) → causes fear (UCR)
(during conditioning) - White rat (CS) → fear (CR)
what is timing in classical conditioning?
if the NS is presented after the UCS,
or it is presented before but there is a big time gap between the NS and UCS, conditioning does not take place.
what is extinction in classical conditioning?
a CR is not permanent. If the CS is
presented enough times without the UCS, it loses its ability to produce a CR.
what is spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?
following extinction, if the CS and UCS are paired together again, the association between them is made much quicker.
what is generalisation in classical conditioning?
a CR is produced to stimuli similar to the CS.
what are the type of reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves a reward for the behaviour.
Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves the removal of, or escaping from, unpleasant consequences (e.g. it leads to stopping or avoiding an electric shock)
what are the types of punishment?
Positive punishment = The consequence is receiving something unpleasant which decreases the probability of the behaviour being repeated (e.g.
the behaviour leads to an electric shock or a smack).
• Negative punishment = The consequence is removing something desirable and decreases probability of the behaviour being repeated.
what is operant conditioning?
a type of learning where
behaviour is acquired and maintained based on its consequences.
what is an example of operant conditioning?
skinners box
what did skinners box demonstrate
mechanisms of positive and negative
reinforcement. Positive reinforcement was
shown when the rats pressed down on a lever
to receive food as a reward, and subsequently learnt to repeat this action to increase their
rewards. Negative reinforcement was shown when the rat learnt to press down on the lever
to avoid the unpleasant consequence of an
electric shock
what are strengths of behaviourist approach?
very scientific = objectively and scientifically collect reliable d data using highly scientific research methods such as lab experiments where there are strictly controlled conditions which reduce effects of confounding and extraneous variables which increases both reliability and validity of findings. By focusing on external behaviour that can be measured behaviourist approach is more reliable.
Real Life Applications = an increased understanding of classical and operant
conditioning has led to the development of treatments and therapies for serious mental disorders. For example, token economies have been used as a way of dealing with
offending behaviour: inmates who carry out socially-desirable behaviour (such as
tidying their cell and avoiding conflicts) receive tokens (secondary reinforcers) which can be traded for privileges (primary reinforcers), such as extra TV-time. Therefore,
behaviourist principles have had positive impacts on the lives of many.
what are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?
too deterministic = sees all behaviour as a product of past reinforcement which doesn’t account for emotions, motivations or reasoning skills hence it is a limited explanation
ethical issues = protection from harm.
- skinners box caused physical harm to rats
- little albert study caused psychological harm as well as not offering the right to withdraw
HOWEVER as a result of these breached guidelines it may be worth it for knowledge gained from them
Use of animals rather than humans
