Approaches Flashcards
What is the research method used in the behaviourist approach?
Laboratory study.
Define classical conditioning:
Learning through the association of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned response, producing a conditioned stimulus associated with a conditioned response.
Define operant conditioning;
A method of learning where behaviour is influenced by its consequences, through positive and negative reinforcement.
What are the two key studies that support the behaviourist approach:
- Pavlov’s dog study
- Skinner’s box
Outline Pavlov’s dog study:
Through classical conditioned, the dogs learnt to associate a bell (neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus) with food (stimulus) which would produce the salivation response (unconditioned response into a conditioned response)
Outline Skinner’s box study:
Rat was placed into a box with a lever that when pressed according to the signal light would release food (positive reinforcement). When the rat pressed the lever not at the signal light, the rat would receive an electric shock (negative reinforcement)
Name the four evaluation points for the behaviourist approach:
- Well controlled research (S)
- Real world application (S)
- Environmental determinism (L)
- Ethical issues (L)
Name all of the approaches:
- Behaviourist
- Biological
- Cognitive
- Humanistic
- Psychodynamic
- Social learning theory
Explain the evaluation point ‘well controlled research (S)’ for the behaviourist approach:
- Approach is based on well-controlled research (have scientific credibility)
- Highly controlled lab settings mean that cause-and-effect relationships can be established through the removal of extraneous variables.
Explain the evaluation point ‘real world application (S)’ for the behaviourist approach:
- The principles of conditioning can be applied to real-life behaviours (has widespread application)
- Basis of token economy systems used in prisons and psychiatric wards.
Explain the evaluation point ‘environmental determinism (L)’ for the behaviourist approach:
- Sees all behaviour as conditioned by its past conditioning experiences
- Does not consider the impact of free-will on behaviour (Skinner himself said that free-will is an illusion).
Explain the evaluation point ‘ethical issues (L)’ for the behaviourist approach:
- Although procedures such as the skinner box were useful to ensure scientific credibility, ethical issues arise.
- The rats in the Skinner box were purposely underfed (so they would be hungry) and kept in cramped conditions.
What did Wundt do?
Was the first person to open an experimental psychology lab as psychology emerges as an individual topic.
What was the first approach to be established?
The psychodynamic approach
What are the assumptions of the social learning theory:
We learn through the observation and imitation of others. Behaviour is repeated if it is seen to be rewarded rather than punished.
What research method is used in the behaviourist approach?
Laboratory study
What research method is used in the social learning theory?
Laboratory study
What is vicarious reinforcement from the social learning theory?
When we imitate behaviour that we have seen be reinforced and rewarded through indirectly observing others.
What are mediational processes from the social learning theory?
Cognitive factors (e.g. thinking) that influence learning and come in between stimulus and response.
What are the 4 mediational processes according to the social learning theory?
- Attention = The extent to which we notice certain behaviours
- Retention = How behaviour is remembered
- Motor reproduction = The ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
- Motivation = The will to perform the behaviour (determined by if behaviour is punished/rewarded)
What is the key study for the social learning theory:
Bandura’s research
Explain Bandura’s research:
Found that children who observe adults of the same gender showing aggressive behaviour are more likely to imitate the behaviour.
Name the four evaluation points for Bandura’s research:
- Cognitive factors (S)
- Real world application (S)
- Contrived lab studies (L)
- Underestimates the influence of biology (L)
Explain the evaluation point ‘cognitive factors (S)’ for the social learning theory:
- Recognises the importance of cognitive factors in learning.
- Classical and operant conditioning do not offer an adequate amount of learning on their own.
- Observation and imitation of others also aid our learning.
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- We are born with our minds being a ‘blank slate’.
- We learn through conditioning (classical and operant)
Explain the evaluation point ‘Real world application (S)’ for the social learning theory:
- SLT principles allow us to understand cultural differences in behaviour and demonstrates how children can learn from others around them, and how social norms are passed down in cultures.
- Useful in understanding behaviours e.g. how children come to understand their gender role
Explain the evaluation point ‘Contrived lab studies (L)’ for the social learning theory:
- Much of bandura’s research was based on children’s behaviour in lab settings.
- Lab settings are often criticised for their contrived nature as Ps may respond to demand characteristics e.g. the children thought that the purpose of the bobo doll was to strike it and were simply acting in the way that they thought was expected.
Explain the evaluation point ‘underestimates the influence of biology (L)’ for the social learning theory:
- Bandura makes little reference to the impact of biology on social learning, which may have a significant impact.
- One consistent finding in the experiment was that observed males were always more aggressive than observed females.
- May be explained due to biological factors, such as males having higher levels of testosterone.
What are the assumptions of the biological approach?
- All mental processes can be explained our biology e.g. genes, neurochemistry and nervous system.
What is the neurochemical basis of behaviour for the biological approach?
- Much of our thought and behaviours relies on chemical transmission within the brain via neurotransmitters.
- An imbalance of neurochemicals may cause mental disorders, e.g. OCD, schizophrenia
What is the genetic basis of behaviour for the biological approach?
- Psychological characteristics like intelligence are inherited in the same way as height or eye colour.
- Twin studies are used to investigate this by determining their concordance rate.
- Monozygotic twins are expected to have a 100% concordance rate, whereas dizygotic twins a 50% concordance rate
What is a persons genotype and phenotype for the biological approach?
Genotype = The genetic makeup of a person
Phenotype = The way a persons genotype is expressed through the environment.
What does the biological approach state about evolution and behaviour?
- Any genetically determined behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction will be passed on through generations.
Name the four evaluation points for the biological approach:
- Real world application (S)
- Scientific methods (S)
- Biological determinism (L)
- Criticism of natural selection (L)
Explain the evaluation point ‘Real world application (S)’ for the biological approach:
- An increased understanding of the neurochemical processes allows us to use psychoactive drugs to treat mental disorders.
- e.g. the increased understanding of the role of serotonin has helped us assign antidepressant drugs to help treat depression.
Explain the evaluation point ‘scientific methods (S)’ for the biological approach
- Scientific methods are used to investigate the genetic and biological basis of behaviour
- Advancements in technology mean precise and highly objective techniques e.g. tMRIS, EEGs mean that it is possible to measure physiological and neural processes.
