Approaches Flashcards
Who is labelled the ‘father of psychology?’
Wilhelm Wundt
Where was Wundt’s lab?
Leipzig, Germany.
How did Wundt change psychology?
- Separated it from it’s philosophical roots.
- First to use experimental methods
What were the two techniques introduced by Wundt?
- Standardized procedures
- Structuralism
What was Wundt’s pioneering method of studying psychology?
Introspection.
What is meant by introspection?
Introspection was the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind through breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations.
What is meant by structuralism?
Structuralism is isolating the structure of consciousness.
The stimuli Wundt et al. experienced were always presented in the same order and the same instructions were issued to all participants.
Evaluate the origins of psychology.
- Scientific
(Wundt conducted systematic and well controlled methods in a lab setting, reducing extraneous variables and standardizing these.
This set the basis for future scientific psychological approaches) - Subjective data
(Wundt’s data collection methods could be subjective as he relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes possibly even leading to a social desirability response or response to demand characteristics. This means methodology was flawed and would not be considered in scientific criteria)
Why is Wundt significant in the study of psychology?
Wundt
What is the behaviourist approach?
The behaviourist approach is a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association.
Outline Pavlov’s experiment into classical conditioning.
- Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time they were given food (the UCS)
- Pavlovs dog learned to associate the sound of the bell (NS) with the food (UCS) and would produce the salivation response upon the sound of a bell.
- Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (the bell), can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association.
What is the process of classical conditioning?
- Unconditioned stimulus → unconditioned response
- Neutral stimulus → no response
- UCS + NS → unconditioned response
- Conditioned stimulus (once NS) → conditioned response.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequence, proposed to be an active process.
What are the three categories of operant conditioning?
- Positive reinforcement
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
What is positive reinforcement?
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, increasing the likelihood for the behaviour to be repeated.
What is negative reinforcement?
- The avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus, with the outcome being a positive experience.
- This increases the likelihood of this behaviour being repeated due to reinforcement.
What is punishment in behaviourism?
- An unpleasant consequence of behaviour.
- Punishment decreases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated.
Who demonstrated operant conditioning and what did they do?
- Skinner
- Skinner conducted experiments with rats and pigeons, with them being placed in a specially designed “skinners box”
- Every time the animal activated a level within the box it was rewarded with a good pellet, the animal would continue to perform this behaviour (positive reinforcement)
- Skinner also modelled negative reinforcement through conditioning the animals to perform the same behaviour to avoid an unpleasant stimulus, in this case, an electric shock.
Evaluate behaviourism
- Well controlled research
(Lab setting that measures observable behaviour to remove extraneous variables, cause and conflict relationships can be established, this gives it scientific credibility) - Oversimplification
(Disregards human thought as an influence on learning and ignores the mental processes involved in learning. Learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone) - Real-world application.
(Principles of conditioning can be applied to real-world situations. Token economy used in institutions reward appropriate behaviour with tokens exchanged for privileges. This is valuable for rehabilitation application) - Environmental determinism
(It sees all behaviour determined by past conditioning experiences alone, disregarding the influence of free will and conscious decision making processes.)
Who contributed to social learning theory?
Bandura
What does social learning theory suggest?
Behaviour is learned from experience - through observation and imitation of others.
It also suggests that learning theory occurs with both direct and indirect classical and operant conditioning.
What is vicarious reinforcement
(social learning theory)
Vicarious reinforcement is reinforcement that is not directly experienced, occurring through someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
What are the four mediational processes according to Bandura?
- Attention: the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
- Retention: how well the behaviour is remembered
- Motor reproduction: the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
- Motivation: the will to perform the behaviour, according to whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.
(First 2 relate to learning, second 2 relate to performance)
What is the definition of mediational process?
Cognitive factors (such as thinking) that influence learning, becoming between stimulus and response.
What is identification in SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY.
People (especially children) are more likely to imitate people they identify with, this process being identification.
- The person they identify with is called the role model and the process of imitation is called modelling. (NOTE: the behavior of the role model is also known as modelling)
- This occurs when the role model is seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer and/or are attractive and have a high status.
- Role models are not always physically present in the environment, having important implications for medias influence.
Outline the Bobo doll experiment.
- Bandura observed children aged between 3-6 in a controlled experiment. In the experiment, children witnessed adults behave aggressively towards a bobo doll (for example hitting it with a toy hammer).
- The children were later observed playing with toys, including the bobo doll. They were seen to be more likely to imitate the aggression watched to these toys compared to a group who did not witness aggression. In addition, this was more prevalent in those who watched the same-sex adult enact these actions.
- Another study variant had three groups of children observed. The first group witnessed the adult be praised and rewarded for their behavior, such as being praised. The second group saw the adult be punished for their action, such as being told off. The third control group witnessed no repercussion for the adults aggression towards the bobo doll.
- The outcomes showed that the first group were more likely to imitate/replicate the actions, followed by the control group, followed by the second group. This shows how vicarious reinforcement plays a role in learning.
Evaluate Social Learning theory
- Recognizes cognitive factors
Neither classical nor operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own, SLT recognizes the importance of cognitive factors, looking at how animals store information about the behaviors of others and judge when appropriate to perform this. This suggests SLT is more comprehensive in explaining human learning through identifying mediational processes. - Contrived lab studies
A common way SLT was demonstrated was through lab studies on children, leading to potential for demand characteristics. This is seen in the Bobo doll experiment where the children may have felt incentivized to behave the way that they believed was expected. - Real-world application
SLT principles can explain cultural differences in behavior with modelling, imitation and reinforcement accounting for how children learn from others around them. This has also proved useful in understanding a range of behaviors, especially how children come to understand their gender role. IT ACCOUNTS FOR REAL WORLD BEHAVIOUR. - Reciprocal determinism
Bandura acknowledged reciprocal determinism, where we are not merely influenced by our external environment, but we also exert an influence on it through the behaviors we choose to perform.
This suggests there are elements of free will in how we behave, making it more comprehensive than behaviorism.
What does the cognitive approach focus on?
How our mental processes (thoughts, perception and attention) affects behavior.
What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?
- Internal mental processes, can, and should be studied scientifically.
- The cognitive approach investigates areas of behavior that are neglected by behaviorists, such as memory, perception and thinking.
- As these processes are private, cognitive psychologists study them indirectly, making inferences about the processes in peoples minds on the basis of behavior.
What is meant by the schema in cognitive psychology?
- Schemas are ‘packages’ of ideas and information formed through experience.
- They act as mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system.
- The schema enables us to process lots of information quickly, acting as a mental shortcut to prevent us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
However, the schema may distort interpretations of sensory information, leading to processing errors.
What do cognitive psychologists use to help them understand internal mental processes?
Theoretical and computer models.
What is the difference between theoretical and computer models?
Theoretical models are abstract.
Computer models are concrete things.
What is an example of a theoretical model in cognitive psychology and what does it mean?
- The information processing approach.
- It suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a series of stages.
These include: input, storage and retrieval, as in the multi-store model (IN THE MEMORY TOPIC)
