Approaches

Question 1

Define science

Answer 1

A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim is to discover general laws of human behaviour

Question 2

Name the three major approaches of psychology as a science

Answer 2

1900s behaviourist approach
1950s cognitive approach
1980s biological approach

Question 3

Summarise the 1900s behaviourist approach

Answer 3

> introspection was questioned (John. B. Watson)
difficult to establish natural laws

> Watson and Skinner proposed that psych should only study phenomena which can be measured and observed objectively

> behaviourist ideas of controlled and measurable experiments will carry on for the next 50 years

Question 4

Summarise the 1950s cognitive approach

Answer 4

> a digital revolution gave psychologists a new metaphor for studying the mind

> cognitive psychologists likened the mind to a computer and tested their predictions about memory and attention using experiments

Question 5

Summarise the 1980s biological approach

Answer 5

> taken scientific psychology to new levels by using advances in psychology to do new research on physiological processes like fMRI and EGG scans to study the brain and new methods like genetic testing to understand the relationship between genes and behaviour

Question 6

Which three philosophers had early psychological impact and what were their views

Answer 6

Rene Descartes:
Cartesian dualism- mind and body are independent from each other

John Locke:
Empiricism- all experience is gained through our senses and no knowledge is innate

Charles Darwin:
Theory of evolution- adaptive genes survive and reproduce

Question 7

What is Wilhelm Wundt known for (3)

Answer 7

He established psychology as the scientific study of the mind and had the first ever lab dedicated to psychology in Germany in 1879

He also suggested introspection

Question 8

What is introspection

Answer 8

The study of the mind which breaks up the consciousness into structures of thoughts, images and sensations

Participants are asked to reflect on their own cognitive processed and describe them- the structure of their mind

Standardised instructions and strictly controlled experimental conditions are used

Question 9

Summarise what Wundt believed

Answer 9

I am only interested in studying aspects of behaviour that can be controlled under standardised conditions, for instance, thoughts, sensations and images. My aim is to study the structure of the human mind by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements. The technique I use to achieve this is called introspection

Question 10

Evaluate Wundt

Answer 10

S:
His methods were controlled
> high internal validity and reduces extraneous variables
> easily replicable- reliable
> good cause and effect relationship
> one study gave psychology great scientific credibility and he acted as a forerunner for later scientific approaches

L:
Reliance on self-report
> low internal validity
> social desirability / demand characteristics
> investigator bias and lack of inter-rater reliability
> human behaviour is subjective (hard to establish universal laws)- low external validity