Approaches - Behaviourist, Cognitive, Biological Flashcards
Who was the first person to call themselves a psychologist?
Wilhelm Wundt
What did Wundt theorise / study?
The human mind can be explained by science He believed in structuralism and the importance of introspection
Define structuralism
Breaking things down into their most basic parts
Define introspection
Looking inside of something
Why did James disagree with Wundt’s approach?
He thought that the basic parts were irrelevant -> what really mattered was functionalism
Define functionalism
The function of thoughts / behaviours
What are the 3 main assumptions of behaviourism?
- > nearly all behaviour is learnt
- > animals and humans learn in the same ways
- > the ‘mind’ and thought process is irrelevant
What are the two types of conditioning?
Classical and Operant
What did Pavlov notice about his dogs causing him to investigate classical conditioning?
Animals not only salivated when they were fed, but they also reacted to stimuli that they associated with being fed.
Describe Pavlov’s experiment
Pavlov rang a bell and got no response from his dogs. Every time he fed his dogs, he rang the bell. After a period of time, he began to ring the bell on its own. The dogs salivated at the sound of the bell alone -> they received no food.
What conclusions can be drawn from Pavlov’s experiment?
When a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus repeatedly, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and produces a conditioned response
What was the aim of Pavlov’s experiment?
to see if a neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus for a period of time
What are the IV and DV for classical conditioning?
IV -> pairing the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus
DV -> if the conditioned response is caused or not
Define operant conditioning
Organisms can learn new behaviours through positive or negative reinforcement
Define positive reinforcement
When a behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant
Define negative reinforcement
When a behaviour removes something unpleasant
What was the aim of Skinner’s experiment
to investigate operant conditioning in rats
Describe Skinner’s experiment
A rat was put in a box. If it pressed a lever, a food pellet falls into the cage. The rat quickly begins pressing the lever in order to obtain food (positive reinforcement) Then, the rat is given shocks, and when it presses the lever the shocks stop (negative reinforcement)
What are some applications of the behaviourist approach?
Classical conditioning can be applied to therapy, especially for phobias
What are some weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?
- > only appropriate for associations with survival needs
- > reliance of non-human animals, can’t be generalised
- > ignores other factors such as thought processes
Define Social Learning Theory
That new behaviours can be imitated by observing a model that you identify with and is vicariously reinforced (the mediational process)
What are the 4 stages of the mediation process?
Modelling
Identification
Imitation
Vicarious Reinforcement
What are the benefits of SLT?
- > useful applications in crimonology (eg James Bulgar case)
- > can be used to promote good things (eg celebrities talking about mental health)
What are some drawbacks of SLT?
- > issue of causality? eg in James Bulgar - did the kids watch the film because they are violent or did the flim make them violent
- > ignores other factors eg biological factors
What is the cognitive approach?
The ‘process’ of thinking using machine reductionalism and schemas.
Define a schema
A mental ‘plan’ consisting of expectations we use to make decisions and to make sense of the word
What is the difference between a healthy schema and a depressed schema?
Healthy
Input -> memory -> decision -> Output
Depressed
Input -> self -> future -> others -> output
What are two ways of seeing the physical modules of the brain?
PET scans
fMRI scans
How does a PET scan work?
a radioactive barium sample is used to track where the blood goes in the brain
How does a fMRI scan work?
Sends magnetic pulses affecting haemoglobin, causing red blood cells to vibrate and turn towards the magnet
What are the strengths of the cognitive approach?
- > better than behaviourism at explaining complex human problems
- > uses a very scientific approach with objective findings
Whar are the drawbacks of the cognitive approach?
- > ignores emotive decisions and biological factors
- > lacks ecological validity as the experiments use artificial situations
- > correlation not causation
- > machine reductionalism
Define a genotype
the characteristics caused by the information in DNA
Define a phenotype
the characteristics developed because of the environment
What is the function of neurotransmitters?
To carry signals around the brain between synapses
all moods / feelings are created this way
What are 4 hormones present in the brain?
Oxytocin
Serotonin
Dopamine
Cortisol
When is oxytocin released?
On physical contact
What is the effect of serotonin?
Impulse control
causes feelings of satisfaction
makes you sleepy
What is the effect of dopamine?
Causes excitement, addiction and love
What is the effect of cortisol?
Releases energy
Causes stress
Wakes you up
What are the 6 main parts of the brain?
Temporal lobe
Occipatal lobe
Parietal lobe
Frontal lobe
Cerebellum
Brain stem
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
Abstract thinking
Personality
Planning ahead
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
controles vision
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
Memory and emotion
Hippocampus located at bottom of the lobe makes new memories
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Controlling sensory information and voluntary muscle movement
What is the function of the cerebellum?
Controls involuntary muscle movements
What is the function of the brain stem?
connects brain to spine
What are the benefits of the biological approach?
- > uses the scientific method
- > useful applications eg drug therapy
What are the drawbacks of the biological approach?
- > can lead to dangerous explanations eg the XYY case
- > reductionist and doesn’t take into account emotional factors
Describe the XYY case
The XYY gene was thought to have caused more testosterone and therefore more violent people
criminals with the XYY gene were hospitalized until it was proven to be incorrect
the XYY gene was proven to only cause acne and being taller
Describe the James Bulgar case
Two boys watched a violent film featuring a doll killing a boy by throwing bricks onto him on a train track
The next day they kidnapped James Bulgar, a toddler, and killed him in the same way
One of the killers experienced violence at home, lacked empathy and was diagnosed as a psychopath while in prison
