Approaches Flashcards
Introspection
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
Wundt’s lab
First ever lab dedicated to psychological enquiry
The pioneering method of introspection
Involved Wundt and his co workers recording their own conscious thoughts with the aim of breaking these down into their constituent parts.
Structuralism
is the methodology that implies elements of human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to a broader, overarching system or structure and It works to uncover the structures that underlie all the things that humans do, think, perceive, and feel.
What scientific techniques did Wundt use in his attempt to study the mind?
- all introspections we’re recorded under strictly controlled conditions using the same stimulus
- the same standardised instructions were issued to all participants which allowed procedures to be replicated
Why did Watson question introspection?
- it mainly produced data that was subjective as it varies from person to person so it became difficult to establish general principles
- introspection focuses on ‘private’ mental processes and Watson proposed that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself only to studying phenomena that could be observed and measured
- Watson thought it involved too many concepts that were vague and difficult to measure
Classical conditioning
Learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together - an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus and a new ‘neutral’ stimulus. The new neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone
Opérant conditioning
A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences (positive, negative or punishment)
Reinforcement
A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated (positive or negative)
Who first demonstrated classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov
What did Pavlov do and show
Dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time they were given food.
Gradually, dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell (a stimulus) with the food (another stimulus) and would produce the salivation response every time they heard the sound
Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (a bell) can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association
Who did operant conditioning?
BF skinner
Positive reinforcement
Is receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
Negative reinforcement
Occurs whenever an animal avoids something unpleasant
Punishment
Is an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
Social learning theory
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors
Imitation
Copying the behaviour of others
Identification
When an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be the role model
Modelling
From the observers perspective, modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model. From the role models perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be imitated by an observer
Vicarious reinforcement
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour - key factor in imitation
Meditational processes
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response
Who invented social learning theory?
Bandura
4 mental meditational processes in learning identified by Bandura?
- Attention
- Rétention
- Motor reproduction
- Motivation
Attention
The extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention
How well the behaviour is remembered
Motor reproduction
The ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
Motivation
The will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
Internal mental processes
‘Private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response
Schéma
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing - they are developed through the experience
Inference
The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour
Cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of biological structures that underpin cognitive processes
Biological approach
A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function
Genes
They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical features of an organism (such as eye colour, height) and psychological features( such as mental disorders, intelligence) . Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring
Biological structure
An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system, or living thing
Neurochemistry
Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
Genotype
The particular set of genes that a person possesses
Phenotype
The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment
Evolution
The changes inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
Nervous system
Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system and is a specialised network of cells in the human body and is our primary internal communicational system
Central nervous system
Consists of the brain and the spinal chord and is the origin of all complex commands and decisions
Peripheral nervous system
Sends information to the CNS from the outside world, and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body
Somatic nervous system
- Transmits information from receptors cells in the sense organs to the CNS and receives information from the CNS that direct muscles to act
- controls muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors
Autonomic nervous system
- Transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. It is ‘autonomic’ as the system operates involuntarily
- governs vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion, sexual arousal and stress responses
What are the 2 main functions of the nervous system?
- to collect, process and respond to information in the environment
- to co - ordinate the working of different organs and cells in the body
The brain
- the centre of all conscious awareness
- divided into 2 hemispheres
Cerebral cortex
- brains outer layer
- highly developed in humans and is what distinguishes our higher mental functions from those of animals
Spinal chords
- Is an extensions of the brain
- responsible for reflex actions
The endocrine system
- works alongside the nervous system
- acts much more slowly the nervous system
- one of the body’s major information system that instruct glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream and these hormones are carried towards target organs in the body
Gland
An organ in the body that synthesises substances such as hormones
Hormones
Chemical substances that circulate in the bloodstream and only affect target organs and are produced in large quantities but disappear quickly (effects are very powerful)
Flight or fight response
They way an animal responds when stressed. The body becomes physiologically aroused in readiness to fight an aggressor or flee
Adrenaline
A hormone produced by the adrenal glands which is part of the humans body immediate stress response system. It has a strong effect on the cells of the cardiovascular system - stimulating the heart rate, contracting blood vessels and dilating air passage
Parasympathetic state
Normal resting state in the brain
Sympathetic state
Physiological aroused state in the brain
Neuron
Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals
Sensory Neuron
These carry messages from the PNS to the CNS and they have long dendrites and short axons
Relay neurons
These connect the sensory neurons to the motor or other relay neurons. They have short dendrites and axons
Motor neurons
These connect the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands. They have short dendrites and long axons
Nucleus
Contains the genetic material of the cell
Dendrites
Carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body
Axon
Carries the impulses away from the cell body down the length of the neuron and covered in a myelin sheath
Myelin Sheath
A fatty layer that protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmission of the impulse
Nodes of ranvier
These speed up the transmission of the impulse by forcing it to jump across the gaps along the axon
Terminal buttons
At the end of the axon that communicate with the next neuron in the chain across a gap known as a synapse
Synaptic transmission
The process by which neighbouring neurons communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap ( synapse) that separates them
Neurotransmitter
Brain chemical released from synaptic vesicles that relay signals across the synapse from one neuron to another. Neurotransmitter can be broadly divided into those that perform an excitatory function and those that perform an inhibitory function
psychodynamic approach
a perspective that describes the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience
the conscious mind
-freud suggest that this is the part of our mind that we know about and are aware of and is the tip of the iceberg
the unconscious
-contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed, or locked away and forgotten
how can we access the unconscious part of the mind?
- during dreams
- slip of the tongue (parapraxes)
the preconscious
contains thoughts and memories which are not currently in conscious awareness but we can access if desired
Freud describes the personality as
-tripartite and composed of three parts
id
- the most primitive part of our personality
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