Approaches Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
- Wundt was the first person to call himself a psychologist, believing that all aspects of nature, including the human mind, could be studied scientifically
- His approach paved the way for the acceptance of psychology as a distinct science in its own right, and experimental psychology as the preferred method of studying human behaviour
- In his laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, he studied only those aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions
- These included the study of reaction time (how long it takes people to respond to various stimuli and) and various aspects of sensation and perception
- Wundtโs aim was to study the structure of the human mind, and he believed that the best way to do this was to break down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements
- Because of this, his approach was referred to as structuralism and the technique he used as introspection
- Although Wundt originally believed that all aspects of human experience can be investigated experimentally, he eventually came to realise that all mental processes such as learning, language and emotions, could not be studied in this strict controlled manner
- These topics could instead be described in terms of general trends in behaviour among groups of people
- He referred to this as cultural psychology
Introspection
Introspection, from the Latin meaning โlooking intoโ, is the process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states
- Just as our perceptual ability enables us to observe our inner world
- Wundt claimed that, with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed as they occurred using introspection
- For example, observers might be shown an object and asked to reflect upon how they were perceiving it
- This information could then be used to gain insight into the nature of the mental processes involved in perception, reaction time,
- For example, in Wundtโs studies of perception, participants would be presented with carefully controlled stimuli (e.g. visual images or auditory tones)
- They would then be asked to provide a description of the inner process they were experiencing as they were experiencing as they looked at the image or listened to the tone
- This made it possible to compare different participantsโ reports in response to the same stimuli, and so establish general theories about perception and other mental processes
The emergence of psychology as a science
- We might ask โWhat is the glue that holds psychology together as a discipline?โ
- This is most probably its reliance on a philosophical view known as empiricism
- Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone (rather than being innate)
- When empirical methods were first applied to the study of human beings by Wundts and his followers, psychology began to emerge as a distinct entity
- This new โscientific, approach to psychology was based on two major assumptions
- First, all behaviour is seen as being caused (the assumption of determinism)
- Second, if behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions (the assumption of predictability)
- The technique used to explore these assumptions became known as the scientific method
The scientific method in psychology
- The scientific method refers to the use of investigate methods that are objective, systematic and replicable
- It is objective in that researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection of their data, and systematic in that observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way
- Measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately and with due consideration for the possible influence of other factors on the results obtained
- It is replicable in that observations can be repeated by other researchers to determine whether the same results are obtained
- If results are it replicable, then they are not reliable and cannot be accepted as being universally true
- The research process is not restricted to empirical observation alone, but also necessitates the use of reason to explain the results of these observations
- The development of scientific theories and constant testing and refining of these theories through further observation completes the scientific cycle
Evaluation: origins of psychology (Wundts methods are unreliable)
- A criticism of Wundts structuralist approach, mainly from behaviourists, was that this approach relied primarily on โnon observableโ responses.
- Although participants could report on their conscious experiences, the processes themselves (e.g. Memory and perception) were considered to be unobservsble constructions
- Wundts approach ultimately failed because of the lack of reliability of his methods
- Introspective experimental results were not reliably reproducible by other researchers in other laboratories
- In contrast, the early behaviourists such as Pavlov anf Thornhill were already achieving reliably reproducible results and discovering explanatory principles that could easily be generalised to all human beings
Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Introspection is not particularly accurate)
- Most psychologists tend to accept Nisbett and Wilsonโs claim that we have very little knowledge of the causes of, and processes underlying, our behaviour and attitudes, a claim which would challenge the value of introspective reports
- Nisbett and Wilson found, for example, that participants were remarkably unaware of factors that had been influential on their choice of a consumer item
- This problem is particularly acute in the study of implicit racist, which influence the way they react to members of a different ethnic group, yet because such attitudes exist outside of conscious awareness, self- reports through introspection would not uncover them
Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Strengths of a scientific approach to psychology)
- Because of its reliance on objective and systematic methods of observation, knowledge acquired scientific method is more than just the passive acceptance of facts
- Because scientific methods rely on belief in determinism, they are able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods that are both empirical and replicable
- If scientific theories no longer fit the facts, they can be refined or abandoned, meaning that scientific knowledge is self corrective
- Because psychologists are always repeating each otherโs experiments,it is hard for a theory that does not explain the facts to hang on for very long
Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Limitations of a scientific approach to psychology)
- By concentrating objectivity and control in observations, scientific psychologists create contrived situations that tell us little about how people act in more natural environments
- Much of the subject matter of psychology is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured with any degree of accuracy. It is probably true to say that of all the sciences, psychology is the most inferential i.e. there is a far bigger gap between the actual data obtained in research investigations and the theories put forward to explain this data
- Not all psychologists share the view that all human behaviour can be explored by the use of scientific method. If human behaviour is not subject to the laws and regularities implied by scientific methods, then predictions become impossible and these methods inappropriate
Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Introspection is still useful in scientific psychology)
- Despite the fact that introspection rapidly fell out of favour as a research tool, it had not been entirely abandoned by psychologists, and in recent years it has made something of a comeback
- Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter used introspective methods as a way of making โhappinessโ a measurable phenomenon
- They gave a group of teenagers beepers that went off during random times throughout the day, surprising participants and requiring them to write down their thoughts and feelings in the moment beep
- Most of the entries indicated that the teens were unhappy rather than happy, but Csikzentmihalyi and Hunter also found that when their energies were focused on a challenging task, they tended to be more upbeat
Define empiricism:
- The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
- It is generally characterised by the use of the scientific method in psychology
Define Introspection
-The process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states as a result of the examination or observation of their conscious thoughts and feelings
What is the scientific method?
- Refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable, and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses based on these method
Briefly describe the scientific cycle
1) Objective, systematic and replicable observation ->
2) Building, refining or falsifying ->
3) Development of scientific theory ->
4) Testing
The behaviourists approach: Briefly describe classical conditioning
- All animals (including humans) are born with a number of natural reflexes such as the reflex action of salivation when food is placed in the mouth
- These reflexes are made up of a stimulus (such as food) and its naturally associated response (in this case salivation)
- When other stimuli are consistently associated with this stimulus, and predict its arrival, then eventually they too trigger the same response and the animal is described as having being โclassically conditionedโ
The behaviourists approach: Pavlova research
- Russians physiologist Ivan Pavlov is normally credited with discovering the process of classical conditioning
- He was investigating the salivary reflex in dogs when he noticed that the animals not only salivated when food was placed in their mouths, but also reacted to stimuli that coincided with the presentation of food, such as the presence of a food bowl or the person who fed them
- This led him to explore the conditions under which this type of learning was most likely to occur
- The natural stimulus in any reflex is referred to as as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the natural response to this stimulus is the unconditioned response (UCR)
During the acquisition phase, a neutral stimulus (NS), which does not elicit the UCR, is presented shortly before the UCS - After many pairings of NS+UCS, this changes and the NS is now referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response it produces is called a conditioned response (CR)
-Ringing a bell shortly before presenting food to a hungry animal will eventually (after many pairings of NS and UCS) mean that the bell on its own will be sufficient to produce the response of salivation (CR)
The behaviourists approach: Other important features of classical conditioning
- TIMING- If the NS cannot be used to predict the UCS (e.g. If it occurs after the UCS or the time interval between the two is too great), then conditioning does not take place
- EXTINCTION- Pavlov discovered that, unlike the UCR the CR does not become permanently established as a response. After a few presentations of the CS in the absence of the UCS, it loses its ability to produce the CR
- SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY- Following extinction, if the CS and UCS are then paired together once again, the link between them is made much more quickly
- STIMULUS GENERALISATION- Pavlov discovered that once an animal has been conditioned, they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS
The behaviourists approach: Operant conditioning
- The basic idea behind Skinners theory of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938) is that organisms spontaneously produced different behaviours, and these behaviours produce consequences for that organism, some of which may be positive (I.e desirable) and some negative (I.e undesirable)
- Whether or not an organism repeats a particular behaviour depends on the nature of these consequences , i.e. It is reinforced
The behaviourists approach: Skinners box
- Skinner developed a special cage (called a โSkinner boxโ) in order to investigate operate conditioning in rats
- The rat moves around the cage, and when it accidentally presses the lever, a food pellet (the reinforced) falls into the cage
- In no time at all the hungry rat begins pressing the lever in order to obtain food
- If the food pellets stop, the rat presses the lever a few more times and then abandons it (extinction)
The behaviourists approach: What is reinforcement?
- Reinforcement means just what the word implies, i.e. Something in the environment that strengths (or reinforces) a particular behaviour and so makes it more likely to recur
- There are two main types of reinforcer, positive and negative reinforcers
- Although they both make it more likely that a behaviour will recur, they do this in different ways
The behaviourists approach: Positive reinforcement:
- occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism; for example, food to a hungry animal or praise given to a child after they do something particularly well are both effective positive reinforcers
The behaviourists approach: Negative reinforcers:
- Involves removal of something aversive (unpleasant) and so restore the organism to its โpre-aversiveโ clock allows a person to escape from the unpleasant ringing and restores the restful pre-alarm state
The behaviourists approach: Other important features of operant conditioning
- Schedules of reinforcement- although a continuous reinforcement schedule (e.g. Reinforcing a rat every time it presses a lever) is most effective in establishing a particular response, a partial reinforcement schedule (e.g. Reinforcing every third lever press or even 10 minutes) is more effective in maintaining that response and avoiding extinction
- Punishment- refers to the circumstance whereby a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is undesirable or unpleasant for the organism. Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour recurring, whereas punishment decreases it. As with reinforcement, punishment can also be positive (i.e. Adding something unpleasant as a consequence, such as slapping naughty child) or negative (i.e. Taking away something pleasant such as โgroundingโ a naughty teenager
Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (strengths of classical conditioning explanations)
- Classical conditioning has led to the development of treatments for the reduction of anxiety associated with various phobias
- Systematic desensitisation is a therapy based on classical conditioning
- This form of therapy works by eliminating the learned anxious response (the CR) that is associated with a feared object or situation (the CS)
- The therapist tries to eliminate one learned response (anxiety) and replace it with another (relaxation) so that the patient is no longer anxious in the of the feared object or when in the feared situation
- This approach has been found to be effective for a range of phobias such as fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and fear of flying (aerophobia)
Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (Limitations of classical conditioning explanations)
- Different species face different challenges to survive, so have different capabilities to learn through the process of classical conditioning
- As a result, relationships between the CS and UCS tend to be more difficult to establish for some species than for others
- Seligman proposed the concept of preparedness to explain this
- Animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant in terms of their needs (e.g. a dog will quickly learn to associate the smell of meat with the presence of food), yet unprepared to learn associations that are not significant in this respect (e.g. A dog will find it harder to associate the sound of a bell with food)