Approaches Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt
> First person to call himself a psychologist
All aspects of nature could be studied scientifically - acceptance of psychology as a distinct science and experimental psychology becoming the preferred method of studying human behaviour
Introspection
> Looking into’ - person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states
Participants were shown controlled stimuli and then asked to describe the inner processes they were experiencing as they looked at the image or listened to the tone - possible to compare participants responses to the same stimuli ad establish general theories about perception and other mental processes
Evaluations of Wilhelm Wundt - Still useful
P) Introspection has not been entirely abandoned by psychologists
E) CSIKSZENTMIHALYI and HUNTER used introspection methods as a way of measuring ‘happiness’
E) Gave beepers that went off at random times in the day, where they write down their thoughts at feelings in the moment - teens were unhappy, but more upbeat when their energies were focused on a challenging task
L) Understand more clearly the conditions that affect happiness - help them to improve quality of our lives
Evaluations of Wilhelm Wundt - Unreliable
P) Behaviourists criticises approach because it replies on ‘non-observable’ responses
E) Conscious experiences are unobservable, so cannot be measured accurately
E) Inferential - bigger gap between the actual data obtained and the theories put forward to explain this idea
L) Behaviourists therefore believe that this approach ailed because of the lack of reliability
Empiricism
> Belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
Emergence of psychology as a science
> Introduction of empirical methods when studying humans - based on two major assumptions
All behaviour is caused (assumption of determinism)
It should be possible to predict how humans will behave in different conditions (assumption of predictability)
Evaluation of the behaviourist approach - Application
P) Classical conditioning has been applied in the development of treatments for phobias
E) Systematic desensitisation works by eliminating the learned anxious response that is associated with a feared object or situation
E) Then possible to replace one learned response (anxiety) with another (relaxation)
L) This approach has been found to be effective for a range of phobias such as fear of spiders and fear of flying
Evaluation of the behaviourist approach - Experimental method
P) Skinner used controlled conditions to discover a possible causal relationship between variables
E) Skinners box was a good example of this
E) By manipulating the consequences of the behaviour (IV) he could measure the effects on the rats behaviour (DV)
L) Allowed him to establish cause-and-effect relationship between consequences and the future frequency of behaviour
Evaluation of the behaviourist approach - Animals
P) Over-reliance on non-human animals in research
E) Skinners research on rats and pigeons tell us little about human behaviour
E) Humans have free will rather than having their behaviour determined by positive and negative reinforcement
L) However, Skinner argues that free will is an illusion
Bandura’s bobo doll - Procedure
> Half the children were exposed to models interacting aggressively with a doll, and half exposed to non-aggressive models
Aggressive models displayed physically aggressive acts and verbal aggression
Children were frustrated when shown toys that they were not allowed to play with
Bandura’s bobo doll - Findings
> Physically and verbally aggressive behaviour if children observed aggressive model - 1/3 repeated models exact verbal responses
No aggression towards bobo doll if children observed non-aggressive model
BANDURA and WALTERS follow up study - children who saw models being rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to be more aggressive in their own play
Evaluation of social learning theory - Application
P) Principles have been applied to increase our understanding of human behaviours, including criminal behaviour
E) AKERS - criminal behaviour increases when exposed to models and identify with these models - expectation of positive consequences
E) However, SIEGEL and McCORMICK suggest young people with deviant attitudes seek out peers with similar attitudes and behaviour
L) Therefore, cause of delinquency may not be due to exposure, but deviant attitudes prior to contact with deviant people
Evaluation of social learning theory - Identification
P) Observing a model similar to the self should lead to more learning
E) FOX and BAILSENSON used computer generated ‘virtual’ humans engaging in exercise - similar or dissimilar to the participants
E) Participants who identified with their model engaged in more exercise in the 24 hours following the experiment
L) Concluded that this is because its easier visualise the self in the place of the model, so observer feels as if they’re having the same experience
Cognitive approach - Study of internal mental processes
> Extract, store and retrieve information
Studied indirectly by inferring what goes on as a result of measuring behaviour
Cognitive approach - Role of schemas
> Cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information in the brain
Allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting huge amounts of information
Consequence may be developing stereotypes - schemas tell us what to expect and how to act accordingly
