Approaches Flashcards
Why was Wundt so important
He was the first scientist to open a laboratory purely for psychological research in Leipzig 1879
How did Wundt investigate the human mind
What is this
Introspection
‘Looking into’ - where people were asked to reflect on their own cognitive processes and describe them and trying to break up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
What is the problem with introspection
Non-observable= relied on participants reports being accurate Subjective= open to interpretation
Some of Wundt’s methods have been praised for being scientific, what made his experiments this
What did this mean
All his experiments were recorded in strict conditions using the same stimulus
Used the same standardised instructions for all participants
His procedures could be replicated
Define psychology
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions that affect behaviour
Define classical conditioning
Learning through association
Describe Ivan Pavlovs work
Classical conditioning:
Dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell
Gradually pavlovs dogs began to associate the sound of a bell with the food which would cause them to salivate
The dogs learnt to associate the food ( unconditioned stimulus) with the bell (conditioned stimulus) and would salivate ( conditioned response)
Describe Watson and Rayners work (1920)
Classical conditioning:
Conditioned a fear response in a baby
Every time ‘little Albert’ made contact with the white rat, the researcher would make a loud bang which would make the child cry
After doing this repeatedly, the child began to fear the rat because it associated it with the loud bang
Rat=fear
Name the four key principles of classical conditioning
Extinction
Spontaneous recovery
Generalisation
Discrimination
Describe the process of systematic desensitisation
The patient is taught to monitor their own anxiety levels- they learn to associate something positive/ relaxing with the object that gives them anxiety
A hierarchy of fear must be introduced, and by progressive exposure they become gradually more and more exposed to the threat
Define operant conditioning
Learning through reinforcement/ consequences
Describe Skinners work
Operant conditioning & skinners box:
The rat learned that if it was to press a specific lever it would be rewarded with food (positive reinforcement)
They were also conditioned to press a lever to get rid of an unpleasant stimulus i.e electric shock
What was an advantage of skinners box
The researcher (skinner) had complete control over the box and what the animal experienced
What are the three types of reinforcement
Positive= Recieving a reward Negative= avoiding something unpleasant Punishment= an unpleasant consequence
What is the purpose of
P+N reinforcement
Both strengthen a certain behaviour ( increase likelihood of being repeated)
Evaluate the behaviourist approach research methods
✅high control and replication
✅objective
❌artificial
Briefly state the three evaluation points for Behaviourism
✅practical application
❌reductionist
❌use of animals
Behaviourist approach AO3
-practical application to real life
Classical conditioning has been used to treat phobias through systematic desensitisation. (Associate fear with a relaxation)
THEREFORE a strength of BHV is that it contributes to helping people
Behaviourist approach AO3
- use of animals
Animal behaviour is FAR different from human behaviour for example animals have different internal mental processes to humans and different orders of priorities/ communication/ language
THEREFORE a limitation of bhv is that we cannot generalise animals to humans
Behaviourist approach AO3
-reductionist
Reduces all behaviour down to the environment, ignoring roles of hormones and genes on our behaviour. Different to biological approach which is reductionist in the sense that it reduces all behaviour down to genetics and ignores the role of the environment
THEREFORE a limitation of bhv is that it has a rather limited view of human behaviour as it fails to consider the roles of different factors on our bhv
Define:
Imitation
Modelling as the observer
Modelling as the role model
Copying behaviour of others
Imitating the behaviour of the role model
The demonstration of a specific behaviour thar may be imitated by an observer
Define mediational processes
Cognitive factors that influence learning that come between a stimulus and a response
What are the four mediational processes
Attention= the extent to which we notice certain bhv Retention= how well behaviour is remembered Reproduction= the ability to perform the bhv Motivation= the will to perform the bhv
Define identification
When an observer associate themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model
Who is likely to be a role model
Someone of the same gender, the same age or older, powerful or of high status or friendly or likeable
Define vicarious reinforcement
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour
Describe the work of Bandura in 1960
Bobo doll aggression: LAB EXP.
Children (3-5yr) were taken into a room filled with toys and a bobo doll, half were shown a adult playing with the doll and being highly aggressive, the other were shown a non-aggressive adult.
The children imitated the behaviour of each adult, eg one group being aggressive and the other not
- the children imitated behaviour of the role model ( identification)
Describe the work of bandura in 1963
The same experiment was repeated but this time the adult was either, 1) positively reinforced 2) negatively reinforced 3) punished, when the children were shown the adult being punished they were less likely to be aggressive ( vicarious punishment ). When the adult was rewarded the children showed more aggressive behaviour.
Evaluate the research methods of SLT
✅highly controlled
✅objective
❌demand characteristics
❌artificial
Briefly state the three evaluation points for SLT
✅practical application: media violence
✅cultural differences
❌reductionist
Social Learning Theory AO3
-practical application
Used to highlight the effect that media violence has on children’s behaviour, children likely to mimic behaviour that they have seen in the media, e.g. murder of James Bulger> two boys taken inspiration from violent film
THEREFORE a strength is that it is useful for explaining human bhv
Social Learning Theory AO3
-cultural differences
Children learn from those around them as well as from the media, can explain how cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies, e.g gender behaviour varies from culture to culture could be explained through the different behaviour that is vicariously reinforced
THEREFORE a strength of SLT is that it has good explanatory power
Social Learning Theory AO3
-reductionist
Reduces all behaviour down to the influence of those around us, ignores influence of biological factors , e.g bandura= higher testosterone levels can cause mor aggressive- SLT fails to take this into account, similar to BHV approach.
THEREFORE a limitation of SLT is that it fails to consider the role of biology
Define internal mental processes
Private actions/ processes of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate stimulus and response
How are internal mental processes studied
What are these
By drawing inferences
Drawing a conclusion about the way mental processes work by making assumptions based on observable behaviour
Define theoretical models
Give an example
Where models are simplified using pictorial representations of a particular mental process based on current research evidence
The multi store model (memory)
Describe computer models
Using computer analogies as a way of representing human cognition
