Approaches Flashcards
What is psychology?
Scientific study of the human mind and behavior
Describe Wundt’s contribution to Psychology
- He Is described as the father of Psychology
- His work marked the separation of Psychology from its philosophical roots
- He opened the first psychology lab in Germany in the 1870s
- He studied the human mind through the technique of introspection, which means examining our own conscious thoughts and feelings, by presenting them with a stimulus and recording their thoughts and feelings
- He strived to maintain reliability and objectivity of his findings.
This led to psychology becoming a science
Explain some of the weaknesses of introspection
- people might lie when recording their thoughts and feelings
- people may be unable to effectively communicate their feelings
- thoughts and feelings cannot be observed
- Different students often provided different responses to the stimuli, meaning his findings often lacked reliability and the scientific value of his findings was questioned.
What do behaviourists believe?
they suggest psychology should sole focus on studying observable behaviour that can be measured directly. They believe we are blank slates and that behaviour is learned.
What are the two types of learning? (Behaviourism)
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning? (Behaviourism)
it means learning through association and was first described by Ivan Pavlov
Explain the process of classical conditioning (Behaviorism)
Classical conditioning is learning through association.
- All animals are born with natural reflexes.
- Reflexes are made up of an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response.
- a neutral stimulus doesn’t stimulate a response.
- Sometimes a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus. When this happens repeatedly, the neutral stimulus will be associated with the unconditioned stimulus.
- Eventually, the neutral stimulus alone will trigger the unconditioned response.
The neutral stimulus is now called a condoned response. The animal has now been classically conditioned.
What is the definition of Operant conditioning
Learning through consequences
What is positive reinforcement
when an animal receives something pleasing for performing a behaviour
what is negative reinforcement
when an animal avoids something unpleasant by performing a behaviour
what is punishment
when an animal receives something unpleasant for performing a behaviour
what is the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment
negative reinforcement leads to an increase in responding, and punishment leads to a decrease in responding
Describe Skinner’s experiments surrounding operant conditioning (including year)
Skinner (1953) Developed a special cage called a Skinner box, in order to investigate operant conditioning in rats. Positive reinforcement was demonstrated through the rat receiving a food pellet every time it pressed a lever, causing the rat to continue to press the lever. Negative reinforcement was demonstrated through the rats avoiding an electric shock every time it pressed the lever, causing the rat to continue to press the lever. Skinner demonstrated the concept of punishment by placing a rat in a box and every time it pressed the lever, it would receive an electric shock, causing the rat to avoid the lever.
Who proposed social learning theory?
Bandura (1977)
What is social learning theory?
- the development of Behaviourism. Behaviourism suggests that learning occurs directly through operant and classical conditioning. Social learning theory can also occur through the observation and imitation of models.
What is the definition of modelling?
Modelling is the demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated. The individual who performs this role is called a model.
What is imitation?
Imitation is the copying of modelled behaviour
Give some factors that contribute to successful imitation
- Accurate modelling
- capable of copying
- Motivation e.g money, fame
- feedback
- attention and learning strategies e.g repetition
What factors increase the chances of imitation? What do we call a model with whom the observer identifies?
Imitation is more likely if the observer identifies with the model, for example if the model has similar characteristics to the observer, or if the model is attractive and has a high status
if the observer identifies with the model, the model is called a role model
Explain what is meant by vicarious reinforcement
- Social learning theory suggests observers learn about the consequences of a modelled behaviour by observing the model being reinforced or punished
- of they observe the model being reinforced for a behaviour, they are more likely to imitate it
What is meant b vicarious punishment
if an observer sees a model being punished for a behaviour, they are less likely to imitate it
Explain Bandura and Walters experiment and give the year it was conducted
To support social learning theory, Bandura and Walters conduced a series of experiments (1963).
- Young children aged 3-5 were split into 3 groups.
- All children watched a film of an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll.
- Group 1 observed the aggressive adult’s behaviour being reinforced
- Group 2 observed the aggressive adults behaviour being punished
- Group 3 observed the aggressive adults behaviour being neither punished or reinforced.
- All children were then left in a room together with a bobo doll.
What did Bandura and Walters find with their experiments
Children in group 1 behaved most aggressively, and children in group 3 behaved least aggressively. supports social learning theory and concepts of vicarious punishment and reinforcement, as it proves children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour if they observe the model being reinforced for it, and less likely if they observe the model being punished for it.
What is the cognitive approach?
The cognitive approach argues that unobservable mental processes can be studied scientifically.
What do cognitive Psychologists believe?
Cognitive psychologists accept that mental processes cannot be observed directly and therefore study mental processes indirectly.
They make inferences about what is going on in people’s minds on the basis of their observable behaviour.
What are, and what are the uses of theoretical models?
Theoretical models are simplified representations of mental processes based upon research evidence.
Theoretical models are represented by boxes and arrows that indicate the stages of a particular mental process.
They are often incomplete and are frequently changed
What is the order of the multi store model of memory
environmental stimuli –> sensory register –> attention and information either side of arrow –> short term memory (where information is retrieved) and then —> long term memory. Short term to Long term is called maintenance rehearsal, long term to short term is called retrieval
What are the uses of computer models and what is computer analogy
The cognitive approach uses computer models to represent mental processes.
The cognitive approach suggests the human mind works in a similar way to a computer.
This is called computer analogy.
What are the 4 things that computer analogy suggests
- We receive information in the form of an input
- We code the information (turn it into a useable format)
- We process and store the information
- We give an output
What are Schemas?
packets of information and ideas that are developed through experience.
What is the role of Schemas?
They act as a framework for the interpretation of incoming information, they therefore affect our behaviour.
What are the positives and negatives of Schemas?
Positives +
- Enable us to take shortcuts
- Enable us to process large amounts of information quickly
- Prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
Negatives -
- We may exclude important info
- We may only focus on things that support or confirm our pre-existing ideas and beliefs, leading to errors.
