Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
Origins of Psychology
Wundt founded first ever psychological lab in Germany in 1879.
Aimed to document and describe the nature of human consciousness.
Developed introspection
What was Wundt’s approach to psychology?
To study the human brain by breaking down behaviours such as sensation and perception.
What did Wundt believe about the human mind? What did this cause
He believed it could be studied scientifically, and this helped move psychology away from philosophy into a science of its own right
Introspection
Involved recording own conscious thoughts.
Aim was to break these thoughts down into their constituent parts.
Isolating the structure of consciousness in this way is known as Structuralism
Strength of origins of psychology
-Scientific approach
- Brought objective systematic methods
limitations of origins of psychology
-Wundt’s methods were unreliable: non observable responses + hard to reproduce.
- inaccurate
- Lab studies produce low ecological results
outline of behavioural approach
- focused on observable events
- Behaviourists believed that much of human behaviour could be explained in terms of conditioning.
define classical conditioning
Learning through association
who studied classical conditioning and how?
Pavlov research - dogs associate sound of bell with food if bell is rung consistently before feeding.
classical conditioning in dogs
Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR)
Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) = Salivation (UCR)
Bell (CS) = Salivation (CR).
The neutral stimulus (Bell) is conditioned to produce the response of salivation.
what features affect classical conditioning?
- Timing: timing between presenting UCS and NS cannot be too great
- Stimulus generation: once the animal has been conditioned, it will respond to other stimuli similar to the CS
what is a strength of classical conditioning ?
- lead to an effective treatment for a range of phobias: systematic desensitisation.
- based on classical conditioning as the patient is taught a new association to the phobic stimulus that runs counter to the original association
- relaxation instead of fear.
- this is a strength as it is an effective treatment and so is able to help people
what is a limitation of classical conditioning ?
relationships between the CS and UCS can be difficult to establish for some species. animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant in terms of survival (i.e. food+ smell of food) but unprepared to learn associations that aren’t significant in this respect (i.e. food+ and a bell)
Operant conditioning
learning through reinforcement or punishment. behaviour is more likely to be repeated if it is followed by a desirable consequence
who studied operant conditioning and how?
Skinners :
- rat moves in cage and presses lever, the reinforcer.
- hungry rat keeps pressing the lever for food
- and then abandons, extinction
2 types of reinforcement? (operant)
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
2 types of punishment? (operant)
positive punishment: when a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence, and something is added to the situation. (i.e. getting a detention). behaviour is less likely to be repeated
negative punishment: when a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence, and something pleasant is removed from the situation (i.e. phone taken off you) behaviour is less likely to be repeated
Positive reinforcement
when a behaviour produces a good/rewarding consequence and so the behaviour is reinforced and likely to be repeated
Negative reinforcement
when a behaviour removes something unpleasant from a situation and so the behaviour is reinforced and likely to be repeated
what is a strength of operant conditioning?
- experimental methods to find causal relationships between two or more variables. Through skinner’s box, he was able to find a cause and effect relationship between the consequences of a behaviour and the future frequency of its occurrence. : reliable and objective
what is a limitation of operant conditioning?
criticised for being based on animals not humans. critics say that we cannot use this to explain human behaviour, and also our behaviour is determined by free will not reinforcement : not a full/valid explanation of behaviour.
Limitations of the behaviourist approach
it ignores key elements that have an influence on behaviour such as cognitive elements and emotional states: not a valid approach
Strengths of the behaviourist approach
real life application - token economy systems
what are the 4 key principles of social learning theory?
1) Model. = someone who carries out the behaviour to be learned
2) Imitation= an individual acquiring and reproducing a new behaviour after observing it on a model
3) Identification= the extent to which the individual relates to the model, and thus how likely they are to imitate them
4) vicarious reinforcement= individuals who witness the model being rewarded for their behaviour are more likely to imitate it than if they were punished for it
what did bandura observe
tested imitative learning in children, half were exposed to aggressive adult models and half were exposed to non aggressive models. all the models had a Bobo doll. the aggressive models were physically/verbally aggressive to the doll.
from his observation, what did bandura find?
children exposed to aggressive behaviour imitated this, and showed violence towards the doll whereas children who hadn’t seen aggression showed no signs of violence. children who saw the model being rewarded for their aggressive behaviour were most likely to repeat the behaviour
what is a strength of SLT?
it can be applied to many areas of human behaviour, eg criminal behaviour. Akers suggests the probability of someone engaging in crime increases when they are exposed to criminal behaviour
what is a limitation of SLT
-Over reliant on evidence from lab studies
what is a schema?
a cognitive framework that helps to organise and interpret information in the brain
Assumptions of Cognitive approach
Internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
Studies area of human behaviour neglected by behaviourists
These include memory, perception and thought
These are studied indirectly by making inferences based on a person’s behaviour.
Cognitive approach - Models
Theoretical models used to study internal processes.
Computer model - Input -> Process -> Output
Information processing approach suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that includes input, storage and retrieval, as in the MSM
Cognitive Approach - Schema
allow us to process a lot of information quickly without becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli. however, they can cause us to exclude information which doesn’t fit in with our pre existing schemas leading to stereotypes and
perceptual errors.
Cognitive neuroscience
Scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes.
In the 1860s Broca identified that damage to a certain area of the brain permanently impaired speech.
In last 20 years, technology has advanced to allow brain imaging scans.
Scientists are able to systematically observe neurological bases of mental processes
strengths of the cognitive approach
- Scientific and objective methods: Highly controlled in a lab setting. Reliable and objective data produced.
- practical and theoretical applications, for example in the field of artificial intelligence and mental health: dysfunctional thinking is due to faulty information processing
Limitations of the cognitive approach
- Machine reductionism - ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system.
- Schema can lead to prejudice
what are the 4 features in the biological approach that influence behaviours
1) genetic factors
2) evolution
3) neurons/nervous system
4) neurochemistry
how does genetic factors influence our behaviour?
characteristics are passed from generations through genes. how genes develop is partly influenced by interactions with other genes and partly the influence of the environment.
what are genotypes
The person’s actual genetic makeup
What are phenotypes
The way that a person’s genotype is expressed through environmental factors.
how do we determine the involvement of genetic factors?
by comparing the concordance rate of monozygotic twins (MZ, indenticle, same genes) with the concordance rate of dizygotic twins (DZ, 50% same genes). the more similar MZ twins are in a characteristic such as aggression compared to the general population, the more heritable/genetically based the characteristic
what is the effect of evolution on behaviour?
Genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce will be passed on to the next generation.
what is the effect of neurons/nervous system on behaviour?
the nervous system is made up of the CNS and the PNS.
neurons are individual nerve cells which carry messages around our body. they transmit nerve impulses in the form of electrical signals which control behaviour.
The Brain
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain
The outer surface of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex is responsible for functions such as language thought
The cerebrum is divided into 2 hemispheres which are then divided into 4 lobes
The frontal lobe is used for emotion
Neurotransmitter
A chemical released when a nerve impulse reaches a synapse
The neurotransmitter defuses across the synapse
Excitatory or inhibitory
what is an example of an excitatory neurotransmitter
Triggers nerve impulses in the receiving neuron and stimulates the brain into action
Example - Dopamine associated with motivation
what is an example of an inhibitory neurotransmitter?
Inhibit nerve impulses in order to calm the brain and balance mood
Example - Serotonin stabilises mood
Hormones
Chemicals secreted into the bloodstream by endocrine glands in response to a signal from the brain.
Travel to their target cells and exert their influence by stimulating cell receptors
The presence of a hormone causes a physiological reaction in the cell altering the cell’s activity
what is a strength of the biological approach?
Real life application - Drug therapy
what is a limitation of the biological approach?
this approach is reductionist; the idea that you can explain complex human behaviour by breaking it down into smaller components such as genes. therefore, it ignores other factors that could have an influence on behaviour, such as cognitive /emotional /cultural factors.
what does psychodynamic approach state?
states that we have unconscious forces in our minds that determine our thoughts, feelings and behaviour
what is the unconscious?
a storehouse of biological drives and instincts that has influence on our behaviour
what is the structure of the personality?
the id, ego and superego
what is the id and when is it formed?
- formed in new-borns
- it acts on the pleasure principal, and demands instant gratification regardless of circumstances.
what is the ego and when is it formed?
- formed at 2 years
- it acts on the reality principal and acts as a mediator by reducing conflict. prevents us from anxiety by employing defence mechanisms
