Approaches Flashcards
Which subject did psychology emerge from
Philosophy
Who opened the first experimental psychological laboratory
Wundt (father of psychology)
Where was the first psychological laboratory opened
Leipzig, Germany
What psychological approach did Wundt devise
Introspection
What was introspection used to do
Study internal events by breaking down conscious awareness into basic structures
What psychological processes did Wundt focus on
Perception and structuralism
What approach of psychology did Wundt help to develop
Cognitive psychology
Introspection weaknesses
- Subjective
- Cant prove what someone is thinking
- Don’t know if someone is being truthful
- Inaccurate, we may not know the causes behind our attitudes and behaviours
- Humans are complex
Csikszentmihayl and Hunter
- Teenagers with beepers that go off at random times
- Write down thoughts and feelings (introspection)
- Generally more unhappy than happy
- Tended to be happier when engaging with a challenging task
- Proves that introspection can be used as a tool to measure emotions and feelings
What does the behaviourist approach assume
The basic principles that govern learning are the same in all species, so animals can be test subjects
Forms of conditioning
- Classical
- Operant
Who first demonstrated classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
Principles of classical conditioning
- Stimulus Generalisation: (stimuli similar to the original CS will cause CR, for example, bell with different pitch)
- Discrimination: (similar stimuli to CS will not produce CR, for example if food is withheld when a different pitch is rung, there will be no CR)
- Extinction: (CR no longer occurs from CS, happens if UCS is not presented with CS too many times, example withholding food many times when bell is rung)
- Timing: (If NS cannot predict UCS conditioning does not happen, for example if CS is presented after UCS, or if the time gap is too much the association wont be made)
- Spontaneous Recovery: (If CS and UCS are paired together again after extinction, the connection between them is made more quickly)
Classical conditioning evaluation
Strengths
- Explains how we learn
- Explains phobias
- Little Albert study
- Real application in treating phobias
- Systematic desensitisation and flooding are effective and based on conditioning
Weaknesses
- Lab settings lack ecological validity
- Not all phobias involve trauma
- Adult behaviour is complex, classical conditioning is much more effective on young children and animals
- Menzies’ study of hydrophobia, only 2% of them had a negative experience
- Ignores free will
Reinforcement
Consequence that makes behaviour more likely to occur
Punishment
Consequence that makes behaviour less likely to occur
Positive punishment
Adding something unpleasant as punishment (like pain)
Negative punishment
Taking something away as punishment
Skinner box
- Rat in a box with loud speakers, lights, a lever, a door, and a floor that could be electrified
- Hungry rat may accidentally press lever and be rewarded by food pellets
- Would associate the lever causing it to keep pressing the lever
- Another experiment where pressing the lever stops an electric shock
- Pain is a stronger drive so the connection is made faster to press the lever
Classical conditioning principles in Operant conditioning
- Extinction
- Spontaneous recovery
Schedules of reinforcement
- Continuous reinforcement: Every time to rat presses the lever they get a reward
- Fixed interval: Pressing the lever only can give a food pellet every 30 seconds (like a cooldown)
- Fixed ratio: The lever must be pressed a specific number of times to receive a food pellet
Operant conditioning evaluation
Strengths
- Real world application: Token Economy
- Glowacki: token economy was effective at reducing negative symptoms in schizophrenia patents
- Highly controlled conditions
Weaknesses
- Ignores free will, some people repeat behaviour that punishes them
- Ethical issues of harming the rats
- Generalisation to humans
- Ignores the biological approach of genes and hormones that could affect behaviour
Behaviourist approach evaluation
Strengths
- Scientific credibility, observed in lab conditions
- Real world application
Weaknesses
- Free will ignored, may apply less to humans, especially adults
- Environmental determinism, only past experiences affect behaviour
- Ethical issues of harming the animals
- Unrealistic conditions (animals are normally free to roam)
- Ignores biological approach (it is near impossible to learn to be schizophrenic)
