approaches- 2 Flashcards
why is Wundt known as the father of experimental psychology
first to use the empirical method and experimental methods to understand the phenomena of consciousness
strength- wudnts introspection
scientific- used several key features of science- replicability and the empirical method
limitation- wudnts introspection
lacks objectivity -many sources of interpretation/ bias, subjective evidence
assumptions of behaviorism
born a blank slate,
biology plays a limited role in explaining behaviour,
laws governing behaviour span animals and humans- animal behaviour can be studied to explain human behaviour
classical and operant conditioning, voluntary or not voluntary
classical- not voluntary
operant- voluntary
strength of behaviorism
demonstrates key features of science- skinners operant conditioning study- falsifiable, replicable , used empirical method
limitation of behaviorism
ethical issues- animal testing, no informed consent or right to withdraw due to lack of language- no protection from harm
pavlovs dogs had jaws removed, skinners rats were electrocuted
still possible to learn from unethical research
assumptions of social learning theory
biology has limited exp of behaviour
environment can influence social learning- observe then imitate
internal mental processes must be taken into account
what are the 4 mediational processes
attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation
role of vicarious reinforcement in social learning
if a modelled behaviour is rewarded a learners motivation increases, if a modelled behaviour is punished or not rewarded, motivation decreases
strength of slt-research support
banduras bobo doll exp, objective evidence, empirical method
limitation of slt
fails to explain the role of the mind in behaviour- limited exp, explains what but not how
assumptions of cog approach
people are born with imps
behaviour can only be explained with reference to environment and imp
computer model
cant study imp directly
outline the computer model
processes info from the environment through imps- which are like programs- consequence of the information processing is an output, in the form of human behaviour
limitation of the cog approach
computer model- the mind can perceive and interact with the world in a way a computer can not- computers cannot adapt or change- the mind is more than an info processor
strength of the cog approach
real life applications- beck and ellis helped to develop cbt- only possible due to the computer model
what are some techniques cognitive neuroscientists use
brain imaging techniques- pet and frmi scans- when engaged in a task
study people with cognitive defects on parts of their brains- if unusual behaviour is displayed this may suggest the damaged region may link to a particular cognitive function
example of cog neuroscience
broca- postmortem of man with speech impediment revealed he had a lesion on area on brain responsible for speech production
- provided evidence of where internal mental process of language was located, brocas area
assumptions of bio approach
humans are biological beings so behaviour must explained with refence to biology
evals for twins studies
limitation- differences between dz twins will lead to unseen environmental differences- situational extraneous variable
what is the mind split into- psychodynamic approach
conscious, unconscious and preconscious
role of the unconscious- psychodynamic
keep distressing thoughts from conscious, to protect from anxiety-defence mechanisms
structure of personality- psychodynamic
id, ego, superego
what is the id
passionate part of personality- concerned with satisfying our basic instincts- unconscious and present from birth