Approaches Flashcards
Who is Wundt?
“The father of psychology” who opened the first psychology lab
What did Wundt pioneer?
Pioneered introspection, the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind
What was Wundts study?
Participants were given the same standardised instructions and a stimuli was presented to them in the same order
Participants were given a metronome and they would report their thoughts, images and sensations which were recorded
What did Wundt’s study of introspection lead to?
Led to identifying the structure of consciousness by breaking it up into the basic structures :
- Thoughts
- Images
- Sensations
What did Watson 1913 argue?
Introspection was subjective in that it is influenced by a personal perspective
What did Skinner 1953 argue?
Brought the language and rigour of the natural sciences into psychology
What is a strength of Wundt’s research?
Wundt’s work is scientific - Recorded in a controlled lab environment, Standardised his procedures
What is a limitation of Wundt’s research?
Subjective - Relied on self reporting private mental processes, cant be generalised
What are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- Observable behaviour is all that needs to be studied
- Use of controlled lab studies
What did Pavlov Research?
Classical conditioning - learning by association
What did Sinner research?
Operant conditioning - Behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
What was Pavlov’s procedure?
UCS –> UCR
food -> Salivation
NS –> No response
bell –> No response
NS + UCS
bell + food
CS –> CR
bell –> Salivation
What was Skinners procedure?
Rats placed in specially designed cages
When a rat activated a lever it was rewarded with a food pellet
A desirable consequence led to behaviour being repeated
If pulling the lever meant an animal wasn’t shocked the behaviour would also be repeated
What are the three types of consequences of behaviour identified by Skinner?
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
What is positive reinforcement as identified by Skinner?
Recieving a reward when behaviour is performed
What is negative reinforcement as identified by Skinner?
Avoiding something unpleasant when a behaviour is performed
What is punishment as identified by Skinner?
An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
What are some strengths of the behaviourist approach?
Uses well controlled research
Real world application - Tokon economy
What are some limitations of the behaviourist approach?
Oversimplifies learning and ignores important influences on behaviour
Environmental determinism - sees behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned and ignores any influence that free will may have on behaviour
Ignores cognitive aspects
Nature v Nurture - ignores biology
What are the key assumptions of the social learning theory?
Behaviour is learned from experiences through imitation and observations of others
What did Bandura argue?
Children observe other peoples behaviour and take note of its consequences - behaviour that is seen to be rewarded is more likely to be copied (vicarious reinforcements)
What are the four mediational processes in the SLT?
Attention - Behaviour is noticed
Retention - Behaviour is remembered
Motor reproduction - Being able to do it
Motivation - Will to perform the behaviour
What is important in the SLT?
Identification with role models is important
What was Bandura’s procedure?
Children watched two conditions
- Adult behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll
- Adult behaving non aggressively towards a Bobo doll
What was Bandura and Walters procedure?
Children saw an adult who was :
- Rewarded
- Punished
- There was no consequence
What did Bandura find?
Children who saw aggression were more likely to act aggressive toward the doll
What did Bandura and Walters find?
Children who saw aggression rewarded were much more aggressive themselves
What are some strengths of the social learning theory?
Emphasises the importance of cognitive factors
Real world application
What are some limitations of the social learning theory?
Relies too heavily on evidence from contrived lab studies - DC
Ignores other factors
What are the key assumptions of the cognitive factors?
Internal mental processes can be studied through inference
Schemas - Mental frameworks
Refers to the human mind in relation to computer models
What are some strengths of the cognitive approach?
Scientific + objective
Real world application - CBT and Cognitive interview
What are some limitations of the cognitive approach?
Machine reductionism
Artificial stimuli - lack external validity
What are the key assumptions of the biological approach?
The mind and the body are one and the same
Twin studies
What are some strengths of the biological approach?
Real world application - SSRIs
Uses scientific methods - FMRis
What are some limitations of the biological approach?
Biological determinism
Deterministic
What is a key assumption of the psychodynamic approach?
Behaviour is caused by unconscious forces that we cannot control
What did Freud suggest?
The mind is made up three things :
- Conscious
- Preconscious
- Unconscious
What did Freud see the personality as?
Having three parts :
- Id - pleasure principle
- Ego - Reality principle
- Superego - Morality principle
What are the five psychosexual stages determined by Freud?
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
What is the oral stage of the psychosexual stages?
0-1 years old
Pleasure focus = mouth
What is the anal stage of the psychosexual stages?
1-3 years old
Pleasure focus = anus
What is the phallic stage of the psychosexual stages?
3-6 years old
Pleasure focus = genital area
What is the Latency stage of the psychosexual stages?
Earlier conflicts are repressed
What is the genital stage of the psychosexual stages?
Sexual desires become conscious
What is the oedipus complex?
Phallic stage - little boys develop feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred for their father
Older boys repress their feelings and identify with their father taking on his gender role
Girls of the same age experience penis envy
What are the defence mechanisms used by the ego to reduce anxiety?
Repression
Denial
Displacement
What are some strengths of the psychodynamic approach?
Practical applications
Explanatory power
What are some limitations of the psychodynamic approach?
Includes untestable concepts - unconscious concepts
Idiographic case studies
