APPROACHES AS COMPLETE STACK Flashcards
Mainly exam question based
How can psychology be classed as a science? Give 2 examples of this.
-Uses scientific methods during research.
-Examples: Standardised instructions, strictly controlled.
Who constructed the first ever lab study in psychology?
Wilhem Wundt.
Outline Wundt’s approach to studying psychology?
Wundt’s approach to studying psychology is known as structuralism.
Break down structure and nature of human conciousness into basic elements.
Outline Wundt’s method and techniques in studying psychology?
Method of introspection (‘looking into’) in order to make inferences about how the brain affects our behaviour.
Evaluate Wundt and the method of introspection?
STRENGTHS -> Strictly controlled and standardised means accurate results.
Quite a scientific method which improved the credibility of psychology as a science.
WEAKNESSES -> Introspection relies on inferences which cannot be directly observed - this produced subjective data and reduced reliability.
Describe the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
-Focuses on behaviour that can directly be observed.
-We are born as a blank slate and learn from the environment. -Lab experiments
-Animal test subjects
What are the two forms of behaviourism?
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Who founded classical conditioning? Describe how.
Pavlov.
Set up an experiment in which he observed when a dog salivated and to what stimuli over time.
He proved classical conditioning.
Describe Pavlov’s research in terms of stimuli and response.
- Neutral stimuli = Bell; generates no response.
- Unconditioned Stimulus = Food; immediately generates a response without conditioning.
- Unconditioned Response = Salivation; immediately salivates when food is placed.
- Conditioned stimuli = Bell; over time the bell is associated with food which generates a response.
- Conditioned response = Salivation to the bell; the dog expects food when he hears the bell so salivates.
What are the key principles of Pavlov’s findings?
- Extinction -> Over time if the conditioned stimuli is repeated without the item being recieved (e.g. food), then the response is extinct.
- Spontaneous Recovery -> After extinction, the behaviour may suddenly return at random.
- Generalisation -> The conditioned stimuli could slightly change and still generate a response.
- Discrimination -> Cannot generalise to all; once the stimuli becomes tooo different a response isn’t generated.
What did Watson and Rayner state?
Fear can be conditioned by associating something you already fear (e.g. loud noise) with something you don’t fear (e.g. white rat). This creates a new fear.
What are the key assumptions of operant conditioning?
-Learn by consequences
-An active process of learning
-Contains 4 main processes of learning which are: Positive punishment, Positive Reinforcement, Negative punishment, Negative Reinforcement.
Describe positive and negative punishment or reinforcement?
Positive Reinforcement -> Adding a pleasant stimuli/reward to maintain behaviour.
Negative Reinforcement -> Removing an unpleasant stimuli to maintain behaviour,
Positive Punishment -> Add unpleasant stimuli to decrease a behaviour.
Negative Punishment -> Remove a pleasant stimuli to decrease a behaviour.
Summarise positive and negative punishment/reinforcement.
Reinforcement = MAINTAIN behaviour
Punishment = DECREASE behaviour
Positive = ADD SOMETHING
Negative = TAKE AWAY SOMETHING.
Describe Skinner’s Research?
Skinner placed rats in a box and tested both positive and negative reinforcement:
P.R -> Lever = Food. Rat continued to press lever which shows maintained behaviour.
N.R -> Lever = Electric shock. Rat stopped pressing lever which shows maintained behaviour.
Evaluate operant conditioning?
STRENGTHS
1. Lab experiments; highly controlled, reduced effects of confounding variables. Increased reliability and validity.
2. Increased credibillity of psychology as a science.
3. Many real life applications, examples include treatments and therapies.
WEAKNESSES
1. Use of animals = unethical
2. Machine reductionism - animals are seen as more like machines opposed to humans so isn’t fully representative.
3. Environmental determinism - Ignores the fact humans have free will and emotions which animals lack.
4. Ignores the biological factors to some extent.
What are the key assumptions of the social learning theory?
-The key way of learning is observational
-Learning is done both directly (your personal consequences) and indirectly by watching consequences.
-Includes rewarding and punishing,
-Focuses on human testing NOT ANIMALS
What did Albert Bandura state?
-All behaviour comes from a mix of classical and operant conditioning.
-Some behaviours occur without conditioning - this is the SLT.
What key steps must occur for Social Learning Theory to take place? (4)
- Behaviour must be modelled by a role model. E.G. Celebrity
- Observer must identify and relate with the role model. E.G. Same gender
- Behaviour must be observed by the 4 mediational processes.
- Behaviour will be imitated.
What is the definition of mediational processes?
Mental or cognitive processes that intervene in the learning process and determine whether a new behaviour is acquired.
What are the 4 mediational processes?
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation.
What is vicarious reinforcement?
-States that an observer observes the consequences of a behaviour in order to determine whether to imitate this behaviour
-Good consequence = more likely to imitate than a bad consequence.
Outline Bandura’s Bobo Doll study and its findings?
-Tested children’s aggression levels whilst watching adult’s (role model) behaviour.
- Bandura found that the children who observed aggression behaved more aggressively than the children who didn’t observe aggression.
-Girls showed more physical aggression to a male doll and more verbal to a female doll.
-Boys imitated and showed way more aggression than girls overall.
Give one strength and one weakness of Bandura’s Bobo Doll study?
STRENTH
+ Took into account the cognitive factors via mediational processes.
WEAKNESS
- Bandura makes little to no links to biological factors which makes it reductionist e.g. boys have more testosterone which makes them more aggressive.
Evaluate social learning theory?
STRENGTHS
+ Took into account how cognitive factors affect our behaviours.
+ Provides explanations for how cultural differences affect our behaviour.
+ Less deterministic than behaviourism as it focuses on human behaviour NOT animals.
WEAKNESSES
- High reliance on lab studies which are artificial environments open to demand characteristics.
- Reductionist - ignores the effects of biological factors on behaviour.
What are the key assumptions of the cognitive approach?
-Internal mental processes affect our behaviours and should be studied via inferences.
What is meant by internal mental processes?
Private internal processes of the mind that stimulate responses.
What is meant by inferences?
Using displayed and observed behaviours to draw a conclusion about internal mental processes (which cannot be directly observed).
Describe and evaluate schemas.
Schemas = Mental shortcuts. Packages of ideas about places, items and objects that help react STRENGTHS
+ Process a lot quicly
+ Not overstimulated
WEAKNESSES
- Often distorts our experiences
- Leads to misconceptions.
Describe the two models which describe internal mental processes.
- Theoretical model: picture models of steps involved in our internal mental processes. Based on current research.
- Computer model: our mind is like a computer that stores info in a format which is used later.
Give an example of the theoretical and computer model.
- TM -> Multi store model.
- CM -> Coding.
Describe Paul Broca’s findings and experiment briefly.
Founded that speech production impairments were linked to an area on the frontal lobe. This is now known as ‘Broca’s Area.’
Describe Tulving’s findings and experiment briefly.
Injected radioactive gold into a patient’s mind and observed brain activity with PET scans. Found the episodic and semantic brains to be different things.
Evaluate the cognitive approach in detail.
STRENGTHS
1. Uses objective, scientific methods. Highly controlled which produces valid results.
2. Improved the status of psychology -> scientific methods. 3. Many practical applications, E.G. developing eyewitness testimony reliability.
4. Soft determinism -> takes into account human behaviour is affected by I.M.P AND free will.
WEAKNESSES
1. Low external validity and ecological validity. Relies on inferences which are too abstract and unreliable.
2. Machine reductionism as it ignores the effects of emotions.
What are the key assumptions of the biological approach?
Everything psychological is at first biological.
Describe the 4 research methods used in the biological approach.
- fMRIs
- EEGs
- Twin Studies
- Drug trials
Describe fMRIs.
-Brain scanning technique
-Measure brain blood flow
-Shows neuron activity during an event / activity.
Describe EEGs.
-EEG scanners detect the changes in electrical activity and transmissions along neurons.
-The 4 types of waves which detect change are: Alpha waves, Beta waves, Theta waves and Delta waves.
Describe twin studies.
-Includes comparisons of monozygotic (identical, share approx 100% gene pool) and dizygotic twins (share some genes).
-Tests concordance rate -> how likely it is for twins to gain certain characteristics.
Describe drug trials.
-Steps taken in finding out whether a drug is safe/ effective. -Tested on cells, then animals, healthy humans then patients.
What are the key components of the brain?
85% brain -> Cereberum
Splits to 2 hemispheres which contains 4 lobes.
Outer -> Cerebral cortex
What are neurotransmitters and give examples of what happens if they’re imbalanced?
Neurotransmitters -> Chemical messengers that transmits information between neurons.
Imbalance = Mental disorders
E.G. Increase dopamine = Schizophrenia. OR Decreased serotonin = Depression
What are genes and the two ways they are expressed?
Genes -> Transmitted from parent to offspring.
2 ways they’re expressed: Genotype, Phenotyope.
Describe geneotypes and phenotypes?
GENEOTYPE
-Actual genetic makeup
-Particular set of genes
PHENOTYPE
-Physical gene expression
-Observable traits
-E.G. Hair colour
OTHER FACTORS
-Environmental factors
Describe and evaluate the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin.
Evolution includes changes in characteristics within a biological population which leads to advantageous traits. Through survival of the fittest, advantageous traits continue to pass on in generations (known as natural selection).
EVALUATION
+ Lots of evidence such as fossil records showing changes.
- We cannot see evolution happening but only that it might have happened.
Evaluate the biological approach in detail.
STRENGTHS
1. Biological approach uses scientific methods; strictly controlled, unbiased, accurate.
2. Has many real world applications; developing SSRIs to treat depression. This has a positive impact on economy.
WEAKNESSES
1. Has many practical applications, however not all are very effective e.g. antidepressants.
2. Deterministic and reductionist - it ignores factors such as environment, culture, etc.
