approaches Flashcards
wundt + introspection
- established the 1st psychology lab + pioneered the method of:
INTROSPECTION: when ppts reflect on their own cognitive processes + describe them
- means ‘looking into’
- attempt to study the mind by breaking up coscious awareness into basic structures of throughts, images + sensations
- called STRUCTURALISM
wundt + introspection
AO3
✔ scientific method
- recorded within controlled lab environment
- ppts given same instructions + standardised procedure
- so procedure could be replicated
- increased credibility
- is what established psychology as a science
✔ practical applications
- still used today in therapy
✘ relies on methods of self-report
- data is subjective + ppts may not want to reveal all their thoughts
- would not meet criteria of scientific enquiry
behaviourism
ASSUMPTIONS
- only interested in observable behaviour
- not concerned w mental processes
- rejects introspection
- reliant on lab studies
- followed Darwin’s belief that processes involved in learning are the same in all species so used animals as experimental subjects
behaviourism
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
- learning through association
PAVLOV’S DOGS
- Pavlov’s research revealed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if it was repeatedly presented at the same time they were given food by forming an association between the bell and food
behaviourism
OPERANT CONDITIONING
- learning through reinforcement
- active process whereby behaviour is shaped + maintained by its consequences
- positive reinforcement: behaviour more likely to be repeated if rewarded
- negative reinforcement: behaviour more likely to be repeated to avoid unpleasant consequence
- punishment: behaviour less likely to be repeated to avoid unpleasant consequence
SKINNERS RATS
- Skinner’s research revealed that rats could learn to press a lever for a food pellet (positive reinforcement) + also to avoid an electric shock (negative reinforcement)
behaviourism
AO3
✔ scientific credibility
- brought methods of natural sciences into psychology
- emphasises importance of scientific processes, eg objectivity + replication
- gives psychology greater credibility + status
- HOWEVER, ethical issues arise w Skinner’s methodology
- unnatural + stressful environment for the rats
✔ practical application
- idea of classical conditioning used in systematic desensitisation to treat phobias via counterconditioning
- and also used in aversion therapy to counter alcohol addiction
- operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems (positive reinforcement) used successfully in prisons + psych wards
✘ reductionist
- reduces humans down to simple stimulus-response reactions
- humans seen as passive + machine-like responders to environment w no conscious insight into their behaviour
- WHEREAS SLT + cognitive approach emphasise importance of mental processes + suggests people have a more active role in learning
✘ environmental determinism
- sees all behaviour as determined by past experiences + ignores influence of free will
- Skinner said free will is an illusion
- describes humans as slaves to the environment +supports the belief that everything is predermined
- this is a v extreme position which ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes on behaviour, as suggested by the cognitive approach
social learning theory
ASSSUMPTIONS
- learning takes place in a social context through the observation + imitation of others
- occurs indirectly
vicarious reinforcement: behaviour seen to be rewarded is more likely to be copied than behaviour that is punished
mediational processes: cognitive factors that influence learning:
- attention - notcing a behaviour
- retention - remembering a behaviour
- motor reproduction - being able to do it
- motivation - the will to perform the behaviour
identification: children are more likely to imitate the behaviour of someone they identify w
- role models tend to be similar to child, attractive + of high status
social learning theory
BANDURA’S BOBO DOLLS
- Bandura’s research revealed that children were more likely to act aggressively towards a bobo doll after seeing an adult being aggressive
- even more likely to imitate if behaviour was rewarded
social learning theory
AO3
✔ recognises importance of cognitive factors
- recognises role of mediational processes in learning
- therefore provides a more comprehensive explanation as opposed to the behaviourist approach (CC + OC)
✔ can explain cultural differences in behaviour
- social learning principles account for how children learn from others around them + what’s presented to them in the media
- explains how cultural norms are established
- AS OPPOSED TO BIOLOGICAL APPROACH, which doesn’t account for cultural differences as it only explains universal behaviours
✔ less deterministic than behaviourist approach
- emphasises reciprocal determinism
- idea that we are influenced by our external environment but also exert an influence upon it through the behaviours we choose to perform
- element of choice suggests some free will
✘ demand characteristics
- relies too heavily on evidence from lab studies
- main purpose of bobo doll is to hit it
- so children were only acting in a way they thought was expected
- reduces internal validity of findings
✘ ignores biological influences on behaviour
- Bandura’s study found boys to be more aggressive than girls
- this could be accounted for by hormonal factors
- as boys have more testosterone than girls + testosterone is linked to aggression
the cognitive approach
- scientific study of internal mental processes, eg perception + memory
INFERENCE: because mental processes are private, they can’t be observed directly, so have to be studied indirectly by making inferences
THEORETICAL MODELS: suggests information flows through a sequence of stages
eg MSM
COMPUTER MODELS: used as a metaphor for the mind, suggesting info processed in similar way (input –> output)
SCHEMA: packages of information developed through experience + learning
- act as a mental framework of beliefs + expectations to help make sense of the world
cognitive neuroscience
brain scanning techniques
cognitive approach
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
- scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
- advances in brain-scanning technology have allowed scientists to establish the neurological basis of mental processing
- and of some disorders eg OCD + parahippocampal gyrus
- includes research in memory linking episodic and semantic memories to opposite sides of prefrontal cortex in the brain
cognitive approach
AO3
✔ scientific methods
- use of controlled lab studies
- produces reliable + objective data
- so researchers can infer cognitive processes at work
- brain scans used by tulving to establish types of LTM
- cognitive neuroscience has allowed bio + psych to come together, establishing a credible scientific basis for the study of the mind
✔ practical application
- used in CBT to treat depression by challenging a person’s negative schema
- has also made important contributions to development of AI
✔ less deterministic
- founded on soft determinism
- although cognitive systems can only operate on what we know, we are still free to think before responding to a stimulus
✘ machine reductionism
- computer metaphor is too limiting
- reduces humans to codes
- ignores influence of human emotions on cognitive system + how this affects our ability to process info
- eg anxiety has been shown to have a big influence over accuracy of recall in EWTs
the biological approach
ASSUMPTIONS
- influence of innate biological factors on behaviour
- eg genes, hormones, neurochemistry + the nervous system
- everything psychological is at first biological
- the mind lives in the brain - all thoughts + feelings have a physical basis
- in contrast to the cognitive approach
- twin studies - genetic basis
- genotype
- phenotype
- evolution
biological approach
TWIN STUDIES
biological approach
AO3
✔ scientific methods
- use of controlled lab experiments + scanning techniques
✔ practical application
- increased understanding of biochemical processes in the brain has led to development of psychoactive drugs that treat mental disorders such as depression
- allows pxs to manage their conditions + live a relatively normal life
✘ biological determinism
- behaviour determined by innate biological causes, out of our control
- has negative implications w the legal system
- as discovery of a ‘criminal gene’ may be used as an excuse for criminal behaviour
- takes away responsibility for their actions
✘
