Approaches

Question 1

What is introspection?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is empiricism?

Answer 2

The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience. It is generally characterised by the use of the scientific method in psychology

Question 3

What is the scientific method?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What is a criticism of introspection?

Answer 4

It is not particularly accurate: we have very little knowledge of the causes of, and processed underlying, our behaviour and attitudes.

Question 5

What are the strengths of the scientific approach to psychology?

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

What are the limitations of the scientific approach to psychology?

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

What is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 7

The behaviourist approach assumes that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without the need to consider thoughts or feelings

Question 8

What is classical and operant conditioning?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Outline classical conditioning

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

Who investigated operant conditioning?

Answer 10

B.F. Skinner (Skinner’s rats)

Question 11

What is reinforcement?

Answer 11

Reinforcement is something in the environment that strengthens a particular behaviour and so makes it more likely to recur.

Question 12

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 12

Occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism so is more likely to be repeated

Question 13

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 13

Works by removing something unpleasant and so restore the organism back to its ‘pre-aversive state’ and is therefore more likely to be repeated

Question 14

What is punishment?

Answer 14

When a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is undesirable or unpleasant for the organism so is less likely to be repeated

Question 15

What are the strengths of the behavioural approach?

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

What are the limitations of the behavioural approach?

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

What is the social learning theory?

Answer 17

Learning through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded

Question 18

What is modelling?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What is imitation?

Answer 19

The action of using someone or something as a model and copying their behaviour

Question 20

What is identification?

Answer 20

A form of influence where an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular group or person

Question 21

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 21

Learning that is not a result of direct reinforcement of behaviour, but through observing someone else being reinforced for that behaviour

Question 22

What are mediational processes?

Answer 22

Refer to the internal mental processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the reponse made by an individual to those stimuli

Question 23

Outline the procedures and findings of Bandura’s study

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What are the strengths of the social learning theory?

Answer 24

• 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

Question 25

What are the limitations of the social learning theory?

Answer 25

• A problem of causality: Siegel and McCormick suggest that young people who possess deviant attitudes and values would seek out peers with similar attitutes- rather than the social learning theory’s suggestions that associaions with deviant peers leads to increased deviance
• A problem of complexity: In reality children are exposed to many different influences, each of these interacting in complex ways. If virtually anything can have an influence on a specific behaviour it becomes very difficult that one particular thing (social learning) is the main casual influence

Question 26

What is the cognitive approach?

Answer 26

Focuses on how people percieve, store , manipulate and interpret information. Cognitive psychologists believe in it necessary to look at internal mental processes in order to understand behaviour

Question 27

What are schemas?

Answer 27

A schema is a cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information in the brain. A schema helps an individual to make sense of new information and act accordingly.

Question 28

What are theoretical models?

Answer 28

Simplified, usually pictorial representations of a particular mental process based on current research evidence e..g. working memory model

Question 29

What are computer models?

Answer 29

Refers to the process of using computer analogies as a representation of human cognition

Question 30

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 30

An area of psychology dedicated to the underlying neural bases of cognitive functions

Question 31

What are the strengths of the cognitive approach?

Answer 31

• It has been applied to other areas of psychology e.g. social psychology, psychopathology (successful treatment of people suffering from depression and OCD using coginitve behavioural therapy)
• The cognitive approach is scientific: the use of experimental methods provides researchers with a rigorous method for collecting and evaluating evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions

Question 32

What are the limitations of the cognitive approach?

Answer 32

• Limitations of computer models: there is an important difference between the sort of information processing that takes place within a computer program and the human mind
• Ignores emotion and motivation: it tells us how different cognitive processes work but fails to tells us why- i.e. the role of emotion and motivation has been largely ignored by this approach

Question 33

How do genes influence behaviour?

Answer 33

Genes carry the instructions for a particular characteristic but how this characteristic develops depends on the interaction of the gene with other genes

Question 34

What are the genotype and phenotype?

Answer 34

Genotype- The genetic make-up of an individual. Collection of inherited genetic material that is passed from one generation to the next
Phenotype- The observable characteristics of an individual

Question 35

How do neurons and the nervous system influence behaviour?

Answer 35

The nervous system carries messages from one part of the body to another using nerves. Neurons transmit nerve impulses in the form of electrical signals. Many aspects of behaviour are under neuronal control, including breathing eating and sexual behaviour

Question 36

How does the brain influence behaviour?

Answer 36

• The cerebral cortex is responsible for thought and language
• Temporal lobes are involved in hearing and memory
• Parietal lobes are involved with touch, temperature and pain
• Occipital lobes process visual information

Question 37

How do neurotransmitters influence behaviour?

Answer 37

When a nerve impulse reaches the end of a neuron, it releases a neurotransmitter. it travels from one neuron to the next via a synapse. There are different types. Neurotransmitters that stimulate the brain into action are excitatory neurotransmitters e.g. dopamine. Those that inhibit nerve impulses in order to calm the brain are inhibitory neurotransmitters e.g. serotonin.

Question 38

How do hormones influence behaviour?

Answer 38

Hormones are secreted by glands. The presence of a hormone causes a physiological reaction in the cell, altering its activity.

Question 39

What is the mechanism behind biological evolution?

Answer 39

Natural selection- the process by which inherited characteristics that enhance an individual’s reproductive success are passed on to the next generation, and so become more widespread in the population over time

Question 40

What are the strengths of the biological approach?

Answer 40

• Importance of scientific method: the biological approach uses the scientific method. Experimental studies take place in highly controlled settings which means other researchers are easily able to replicate the studies under the same environmental conditions, increasing validity
• Applications of the biological approach: research into the role of neurochemical imbalance in depression has led to the development of drug treatments which correct this imbalance and minimise depression symptoms

Question 41

What are the limitations of the biological approach?

Answer 41

• The biological approach is reductionist: many critics argue we cannot fully understand a behaviour without also taking into account the other factors that influence it e.g. cognitive, emotional and cultural factors
• Problems for evolutionary explanations: many established patterns of human behaviour have purely cultural origins with no survival or reproductive value.
• Dangers of genetic explanations: a genetic basis for criminal behaviour may lead to genetic screening of the population to identify this genetic susceptibility and subsequent discrimination. This leads genes to be a convenient explanation for complex human behaviours