Approaches Flashcards
Behaviourism assumptions (5)
- behaviourists study observable, measureable behaviour
- behaviourists do not study underlying internal mental processes
- processes that govern learning are the same in all species
- use of animals in species
behaviourism
classical conditioning
- overview, and types of conditions
- various conditions create emotions and responses:
- learning through association
- unconditioned stimulus
- creates unconditioned response
- neutral stimulus present but doesn’t cause response
- conditioned stimulus (what originally was NS)
- creates conditioned response (UCS does not need to be present)
behaviourism
what is stimulus generalisation?
when someone becomes scared of more than just the stimulus
eg if you become scared of lighting you could also become scared of bright lights
behaviourism
operant conditioning
overview and types of reinforcement
-behaviour is shaped by its consequences
- positive reinforcement: giving a reward
- negative reinforcement: taking away something unpleasant
- punishment: an unpleasant consequence
behaviourism
classical conditioning - Pavlov’s research
UCS: food
UCR: salivation
NS: bell
CS: bell
CR: salivation
this research shows that a neutral stimulus can elicit a learned response through association
behaviourism
extinction in both classical and operant conditioning
- disappearance of learnt behaviour when:
CC - conditioned stimulus repeated without UCS
OC - behaviour never reinforced with rewards / consequences
behaviourism
schedules of reinforcement - operant conditioning
changing frequency and predictability of reinforcement
- continuous - reinforcement every time
- variable ratio - reinforcement sometimes
behaviourism evaluation
- scientific credibility led to psychology being more trusted
- objectivity - being free of bias due to personal opinions or experience
- replication - opportunity to repeat an investigation under the same conditions
social learning theory
assumptions
- behaviour is learnt from experience through:
- observation and imitation of other peoples behaviours and experiences
- indirectly affected by other people’s experience
- not directly reinforced
social learning key terms
- imitation
- identification
- modelling
- vicarious reinforcement
- mediational processes
imitation - copying the behaviour of yours
identification - when an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model
modelling - imitating the behaviour of a role model.
vicarious reinforcement - reinforcement that is not directly experienced but is observed happening to someone else
mediational processes - cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
social learning
Bobo doll experiment
Bandura 1961
procedure:
let children watch adults behaviour towards the doll and then observed the childrens behaviour towards the doll
control: adults were aggressive towards doll.
condition 1: adults aggressive towards doll. adults praised for behaviour. (positive reinforcement)
condition 2: adults aggressive towards doll. adults punished for behaviour
results:
children imitated aggressive behaviour most in condition 1, then control, then condition 2.
social learning evaluation
social learning says ‘nurture’ drives behaviour
- this doesn’t explain why people are naturally different
social learning and cultural differences
slt can explain cultural differences in behaviour
- cultural norms passed from adult to child through media and peers
social learning
bandura and reciprocal determinism
bandura said that we are not just determined by our environment, but we have an influence on it too.
this suggests we have free will.
cognitive approach
assumptions
- behaviourist explanation is not enough to explain behaviour
- there are internal mental processes between stimulus and response which affect behaviour
- internal mental processes can’t be studied directly so inferences are necessary
cognitive
adv and disadv of using computer models to simulate cognitive functions
adv:
complete precision
gives an idea of how human cognitive processing might work
disadv:
no guarantee of accuracy
differences between humans and computers eg emotions
cognitive
schema definition
a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. they are developed from experience.
- aids processing of info
- mental shortcut
- may distort interpretations of sensory information
3 different scans used to show brain activity
fMRI PET CAT red --> purple high --> low activity
cognitive
cognitive neuroscience evaluation
- strong theoretical basis - combines biological and cognitive approach
- allows brain mapping
- localisation of function - shows parts of brain that are specialised for particular activities
- useful for studying memory and mental disorders
cognitive approach evaluation
- scientific credibility due to objective expts
- expts criticised for lacking external validity
- inferences from expts can’t be guaranteed accuracy
biological approach assumptions
- all traits must have biological basis
- explores role of genes, neurochemistry and biological structure
- behaviour can be inherited
biological
genetic basis overview
- concerned with explaining individual differences
- explores extent to which traits are genetic
- uses twin studies
studies
- intelligence
- personality
- mental disorders
biological
identical twin vs non identical twin
- name and shared gene %age
concordance rate definition
correlation def
identical:
monozygotic, 100% genes in common
non identical
dizygotic, 505 shared genes (of genes that vary)
concordance rate:
- proportion of twins where both individuals share a characteristic
- %age
correlation: for a characteristic that is a scale, eg intelligence, values are plotted on a scattergram and correlations worked out
biological
evolutionary theory overview
- explaining human nature
- every living organism has characteristics decided by genes
- environment contains opportunities and threats
biological
genotype, phenotype and behaviour
genotype: actual set of genes
phenotype: how the genes are expressed
behaviour: result of interaction between genes and environment
biological evaluation
strong scientific credibility
- well established principles/ theories/ research
- inheritance, behavioural genetics
- Darwinian evolutionary theory
- physiology and neuroscience
- based on objective measures of brain activites
limitations:
- can’t always identify cause and effect
- twin studies less objective
application to real life
- drug trials useful for reducing mental disorders
