Approaches Flashcards
What is 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 empiricism?
The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience. It is generally characterised by the use of the scientific method in psychology
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 their methods
What is a criticism of introspection?
It is not particularly accurate: we have very little knowledge of the causes of, and processed underlying, our behaviour and attitudes.
What are the strengths of the scientific approach to psychology?
- It relies on objectivity and systematic methods of observation so the knowedge aquired from it is more than a passive acceptance of facts
- The scientific method is able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods both empirical and replicable
- Scientific theories are self-correcting as if they no longer fit the facts they can be refined and abandoned
What are the limitations of the scientific approach to psychology?
- Scientific psychologists create contrived situations that tell us little about how humans behave in more natural environments
- Much of the subject matter of psychology is unobserable and therefore can’t be measured with any degree of accuracy
- Not all psychologists share the view that all human behaviour can be explored by the use of scientific methods- this means predictions become impossible and scientific methods inappropriate
What is the behaviourist approach?
The behaviourist approach assumes that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without the need to consider thoughts or feelings
What is classical and operant conditioning?
Classical conditioning- When a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response
Operant conditioning- Learning through reinforcement or punishment. If a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence then that behaviour is more likely to occur again in the future
Outline classical conditioning
- Pavlov was investigating the salivary gland in dogs and found that dogs salivated not only when they had food in their mouths but also when presented with something that coincided with food e.g. the presence of a food bowl
- The natural stimulus is the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. food) and the natural reponse is the unconditioned response (e.g. salivating)
- The neutral stimulus does not produce a response
- However after consistent pairing of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus an association occurs
- The neutral stimulus is then able to produce a response even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus
- The neutral stimulus is now the conditioned stimulus and it produces a conditioned response
Who investigated operant conditioning?
B.F. Skinner (Skinner’s rats)
What is reinforcement?
Reinforcement is something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour and so makes it more likely to recur.
What is positive reinforcement?
Occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism so is more likely to be repeated
What is negative reinforcement?
Works by removing something unpleasant and so restore the organism back to its ‘pre-aversive state’ and is therefore more likely to be repeated
What is punishment?
When a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is undesirable or unpleasant for the organism so is less likely to be repeated
What are the strengths of the behavioural approach?
- Led to the development of treatments for phobias (systematic desensitisation)
- Skinner’s research relied on the experimental method which uses controlled conditions so a causal relationship could be established
What are the limitations of the behavioural approach?
- Most of the research is done on animals- not relevant to human psychology? For example, humans have more complex behaviours and free will etc.
- Behaviourists have been criticised of ignoring other levels of explanation such as biological, cognitive
What is the social learning theory?
Learning through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded
What is modelling?
In order for social learning to take place someone needs to model the attitude or behaviour to be learned. A live model may be a parent or a teacher. A symbolic model would be someone portrayed in the media
What is imitation?
The action of using someone or something as a model and copying their behaviour
What is identification?
A form of influence where an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular group or person
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Learning that is not a result of direct reinforcement of behaviour, but through observing someone else being reinforced for that behaviour
What are mediational processes?
Refer to the internal mental processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the reponse made by an individual to those stimuli
Outline the procedures and findings of Bandura’s study
Procedure:
- Children observed aggressive or non-aggressive adult models and were then tested for imitative learning
- Half the children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a Bobo Doll and half were exposed to non-aggressive models
- Following exposure to the model, children were frustrated by being shown toys that they were not allowed to play with and then were taken to a room where there was a Bobo Doll
Findings:
- Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced a good deal of physically and verbally aggressive behaviour
- Children who observed the non-aggressive model exhibited virtually no aggression to the Bobo doll
- A third of the children who observed the aggressive model repeated the model’s verbal responses
What are the strengths of the social learning theory?
- The principles have been usefully applied: Akers suggests that the probability of someone engaging in criminal behaviour increases when they are exposed to models who commit criminal behaviour
- Research support for identification: Fox and Bailenson displayed a model of a virtual human engaging in exercise or loitering. The participants who viewed the virtual model exercising engaged in more exercise in 24 hours following the experiment than participants who viewed their virtual model loitering
