Approaches Flashcards
Emergence of psychology as a science
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) is known as the ‘Father of Psychology’ as he moved psychology away from its philosophical roots to controlled research. He set up the first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany, in the 1870s. Wundt also founded the Institute of Experimental Psychology and published one of the first books on psychology, helping to establish the subject as an independent branch of science.
Wundt developed a scientific method to study mental processes, such as the structure of sensation and perception. He called this method introspection, which is a systematic analysis of one’s own conscious experience of a stimulus. An experience was analysed in terms of its components parts e.g. sensations, emotional reaction etc.
Introspection was used in highly controlled studies. The use of controlled environments enabled Wundt to establish general theories about mental processes. His work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes e.g. by cognitive psychologists. However, Wundt later identified higher mental processes (such as learning, language, emotions, etc.) that could not be studied in a strictly controlled manner.
Wundt’s work led to the development of the field of cultural psychology, based on general trends in behaviour of groups of people.
Emergence of psychology as a a science AO3 (3P,1N)
+ Wundt was the first to open a laboratory designated to the scientific study of psychological enquiry under controlled conditions facilitating accurate measurements and replication.
+ Wundt was the first psychologist to focus on understanding the psychological processes of perception etc. rather than philosophical or biological processes.
+ Wundt later recognised that higher mental processes were difficult to study using his procedures and this encouraged others to look for more appropriate methods and techniques, paving the way for approaches such as brain scanning techniques.
- Many modern psychologists argue that early behaviourists (e.g. Pavlov) made a greater contribution to the development of psychology as a science than Wundt did. They produced reliable findings, which Wundt did not, with explanatory principles that were generalisable – much more in keeping with the scientific approach.
Introspection AO1
Introspection is a systematic analysis of our own conscious experiences of a stimuli. An experience is examined in terms of its component parts e.g. sensations, feelings, images etc.
Wundt claimed that with sufficient training an individual’s conscious mental processes, such as perception, could be objectively reported by the individual as they occurred. For example, Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object (such as a metronome) and encourage them to look inwards and reflect on the sensations, feelings and the images that came to mind. This information could then be used to gain insight into the mental processes involved in perception.
Introspection AO3 (2p,1n)
+ Focus on mental processes through introspection can be seen as the forerunner of the cognitive approach.
+ Introspection is still sometimes used in modern scientific psychological research (e.g. Csikszentmihalyi & Hunter, 2003), and in areas such as therapy and studying emotional states. This demonstrates its value as one way mental processes can be investigated.
- Studies using introspection may not be valid. Many psychologists would argue that several aspects of our mind are outside of our conscious awareness (e.g. research by Nisbett & Wilson, 1977) and so cannot be reported by an individual.
Behaviourist approach - classical conditioning key assumptions
Concerned with observable behaviour that can be objectively and scientifically measured.
All behaviour is learned from the environment and can be reduced to a stimulus-response association.
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and non-human animals. Therefore, research can be carried out on animals as well as humans.
Classical conditioning
One way in which behaviour can be learned is via classical conditioning, which is learning through association.
Pavlov (1927) was investigating the salivating reflex in dogs when he noticed that dogs would not only salivate when food was placed in their mouths, but also when certain stimuli appeared, such as their dog bowl or the person who usually fed them. This led Pavlov to explore how the dogs had learnt that these stimuli meant food was on the way. He decided to see if he could teach the dogs to salivate when he rang a bell.
- Before Conditioning - Food was an unconditioned stimulus that produced the reflex of salivating, which is an unconditioned response. The bell was a neutral stimulus that produced no conditioned response.
- During Conditioning – The unconditioned stimulus (food) was repeatedly paired with the neutral stimulus (bell). Eventually the dog associated the bell with food.
- After Conditioning – The bell was a conditioned stimulus that produced salivating in the dogs as a conditioned response.
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is different to classical conditioning. Responses are reinforced in operant conditioning but not in classical conditioning. Classical conditioning explains the acquisition of a response (e.g. a phobia) while operant conditioning explains the maintenance of a response.
Reinforcement and punishment
Reinforcement is something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour (i.e. makes that behaviour more likely to happen). There are two types of reinforcement.
Positive Reinforcement – Occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism. For example, praising a child for doing their homework.
Negative Reinforcement – Occurs when behaviour removes something aversive (unpleasant) and returns the organism to the pre-aversive state. For example, turning off the alarm clock allows a person to escape from the unpleasant noise.
Punishment occurs when a behaviour leads to an unpleasant consequence. This decreases the likelihood that the behaviour will occur again.
Positive Punishment – This is when something unpleasant is added to a person’s life that was not there before. For example, such as giving a student detention.
Negative Punishment – This is when something pleasant is removed from a person’s life. For example, confiscating a student’s mobile phone.
Skimmer 1953 study
Skinner conducted a study on rats in a device called the Skinner Box. The Skinner box was a cage which had speakers, lights, a lever, a door and a floor which could be electrified. One hungry rat at a time would be placed in the Skinner box and allowed to freely run round. The rat might accidentally press the lever and be rewarded by a food pellet which would drop into the Skinner box (positive reinforcement). The rat would then continue to press the lever in order to receive a food pellet in the future, as the rat soon learned that pressing the lever led to a reward. The rat could also learn that by pressing the lever they could avoid something unpleasant, by pressing the lever the rat could avoid receiving an electric shock (via the electrified floor). This is an example of negative reinforcement
Behaviourist approach AO3 (3p, 2n)
+ The behaviourist approach enhanced the scientific status of Psychology by using strict scientific methods, being objective, and producing verifiable findings.
+ The behaviourist approach has developed laws and principles that have enabled psychologists to predict and control behaviour. However, it also raises ethical concerns because the approach could be used to control people against their wishes.
+ The behaviourist approach has led to several useful treatments such as systematic desensitisation (classical conditioning) and token economy (operant conditioning). However, focusing solely on behaviour neglects the whole person. Treatments using conditioning do not get to the root cause of a patient’s problem, and so it is likely that when the therapy has ended the patient will return to their original behaviour.
- The behaviourist approach is environmentally reductionist because it focuses on a lower level of explanation than other approaches. Stimulus-response associations lack meaning when attempting to explain complex human behaviours, such as attachment. The behaviourist approach is also environmentally deterministic. According to behaviourism, human behaviour is entirely determined by the environment, there is no account taken of a person’s free will to decide how to behave.
- The behaviourist approach has been criticised because it uses non-human animals. Critics claim this tells us little about human behaviour because humans have cognitive factors and emotional states that influence their behaviour.
Social learning theory
Behaviour is learned through experience, specifically through observation and imitation within a social context.
Modelling – In order for social learning to take place models must carry out the behaviour to be learnt. A live model could be a parent, teacher or peer. A symbolic model could be someone in the media
Imitation – A lot of the behaviour people acquire is learnt though copying (imitating) the behaviour that is modelled by others.
Identification – We are more likely to imitate the behaviour of a model who we admire or who is similar to us in some way (e.g. same age and gender). In order to identify with the model, observers must feel that they are similar enough to the model that if they performed the same behaviour, the consequence would be the same for them as it was for the model
Vicarious Reinforcement – Individuals learn by observing the behaviour of others and the reward and punishment they receive. People to not need to experience rewards or punishments directly in order to learn from them. People may learn behaviours, but not perform them because they have also learned that the behaviour is likely to be punished if displayed.
Mediational Processes – Cognitive factors occur between the stimulus (observing the behaviour) and the response (imitating the behaviour). First the observer must pay attention to the model (attend to their actions), secondly the observer must be capable of retention (remember the behaviour that has been modelled), thirdly the observer must be motivated to imitate the behaviour (because they want the same reward the model received, finally the observer must consider themselves to be physically and psychologically capable of reproducing the behaviour. People can learn a behaviour but still not reproduce it because they are not motivated to, or they are not capable of that behaviour.
Bandura 1961 SLT study
Bandura conducted a study involving 36 male and 36 female children aged 3-7 years of age. The children had to observe a model acting either aggressively or non aggressively with a bobo doll. Some of the children saw a same-sex model, others saw a different sex model. In the experimental conditions the model displayed aggressive acts towards the bobo doll such as striking it with a mallet and shouting “POW!”.
After the children observed these aggressive acts, they were made to feel frustrated. They were shown attractive toys but told they were not allowed to play with them. The children (one by one) were then taken to a room which had some toys including a bobo doll. The children were observed for 20 minutes.
The results found that the children who observed the aggressive model reproduced the same aggressive behaviour towards the bobo doll, whereas the children who observed the non-aggressive model, showed no aggression to the bobo doll. 33% of children who observed and heard verbal aggression repeated what they had seen and heard. However 0% of children in the non aggressive group displayed verbal aggression. Boys were more aggressive than girls, and imitation of aggression was greatest when the model was the same gender as the observer (identification).
Social learning theory AO3 (1p, 4n)
+ Social learning theory recognises the importance of both behavioural and cognitive factors (mediational processes) when examining how people learn new behaviours, unlike the behaviourist approach (classical and operant conditioning).
- Social learning theory can be criticised because it does not take into account cause and effect. Studies have found that young people who have deviant attitudes seek out peers with similar attitudes, rather than becoming deviant because of their peers.
- Mediational factors have to be inferred so we cannot measure the extent of their influence. SLT does not try to explain mediational processes, it leaves this to cognitive psychologists.
- Social learning theory sees behaviour as environmentally determined and so ignores the role of biology in behaviour. However, Bandura (1961) found in his experiment that boys were more aggressive than girls, regardless of the experimental situation they were in. Boys might be more aggressive because of the hormone testosterone which means it is biologically determined
- Social learning theory is able to explain behaviours such as aggression, but not so able to explain the learning of abstract notions, e.g. fairness, justice etc. which cannot be observed directly
Key assumptions of the cognitive approach
Psychology should be the study of internal mental processes, e.g. memory, perception etc.
The importance of the role of schema.
It is appropriate to make inferences about cognitive processes
The use of models of explanation – theoretical and computer models.
Possibility of combining cognitive processes and biological structures
(cognitive neuroscience).
The role of models
Making inferences means going beyond the immediate evidence to make
assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed.
Theoretical models in cognitive psychology (such as the multi-store model of memory) are simplified representations based on current research evidence. Models are often pictorial in nature, represented by boxes and arrows that indicate cause and effect in mental processes. Models are often incomplete and are frequently updated. For example, the Working Memory Model was first proposed in 1974, but a fourth component was added in 2000.
Cognitive psychologists have also made use of computer models to explain mental processes. Using computers as an analogy, information is inputted through the senses, coded into memory and then combined with previously stored information. Computer models are often used to explain memory, long- term memory is like a hard-disk and RAM is like working memory. Like working memory, RAM, is cleared and reset when a task has been carried out.
Role of schema
Schema are mental representations of experience, knowledge and understanding. They help organise and interpret information in the brain. For example, schema for specific events are based on expectations of how to behave in a different situation (e.g. a restaurant or a classroom) or in different roles (e.g. as a prison guard or a student). Schema are useful because they help us predict what will happen in our world based on our previous experiences. Schema also enable us to process vast amounts of information rapidly. Finally, schema prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
However, schema can distort our interpretation of sensory information. Schema could also lead to perceptual errors or inaccurate memories. They can cause biased recall as we see what we expect. Negative or faulty sc
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive and biological processes can be integrated, leading to a discipline known as cognitive neuroscience. This is the scientific study of the neurological structures, mechanisms, processes and chemistry which are responsible for our thinking processes.
There are practical applications of cognitive neuroscience. Brain imaging techniques such as Position Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have been used to locate different types of memory in different areas of the brain, for instance episodic memories are in the hippocampus, semantic memories are in the temporal lobe, and procedural memories are in the cerebellum. This has led to more effective treatments for memory disorders.
Cognitive approach AO3 (3p,2n)
+ The cognitive approach emphasises scientific methods such as laboratory experiments when collecting data. This means that high levels of control can be exercised in these settings and cause and effects relationships can be identified. However, laboratory experiments can be criticised for lacking ecological validity.
+ Cognitive psychology has also been used to explain the development of negative schema which can aid our understanding of mental illnesses like depression
+ The cognitive approach has also had a vast influence on the development of therapies in Psychology. For instance cognitive behavioural therapy aims to change negative thoughts into more positive thoughts to help treat depression.
- The cognitive approach uses computer models. Phrases like storage and retrieval are taken directly from computing. However, there is an important difference between the sort of information processing that takes place within a computer programme and the processing that takes place in the human mind. Computers do not make mistakes, or ignore available information, or forget what has been stored on their hard drives. Humans, on the other hand, do all of these things.
- The approach can be seen as mechanical in regarding human thinking as processing like the computer leaving little room for the irrationality often seen in emotional behaviours.
Biological approach key assumptions
Behaviour has evolved through evolutionary adaptation.
The genes an individual possesses influence their behaviour.
The biological examination of animals can provide useful information about
human behaviour.
Biological structures and neurochemistry control and influence our reactions
to the environment.
Psychosexual stages
Freud believed that personality developed through a sequence of five stages. These are referred to as psychosexual stages to emphasise that the most important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy (libido). At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and through different parts of the body.
Freud believed that parents played an important role in a child’s progression through the psychosexual stages. If the child as allowed to experience too much or too little gratification at any of the stages, a process called fixation could occur in which the child’s later adult personality could show permanent signs reflecting the stage at which fixation occurred.
