Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
Definition of psychology.
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context.
The behaviourist approach - assumptions.
> Primarily concerned with observable behaviour
Psychology as a science
When born, the mind is a blank slate.
Little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals.
Behaviour is a result of a stimulus - response
All behaviour is learnt from the environment
The behaviourist approach - key concepts.
> Stimulus - anything, internal or external, that brings about a response
Response - any reaction in the presence of the stimulus
Reinforcement - the process by which a response is strengthened
The behaviourist approach - classical conditioning.
> Pavlov was the first to describe this process of learning, by testing it on animals
This is learning by association - refers to the conditioning of reflexes - involves associating a new stimulus with an innate bodily reflex
Pairing a response naturally caused by one stimulus with another, previously neutral stimulus.
Later research to support the term in relation to humans comes from the Little Albert case study - Watson and Rayner.
The behaviourist approach - operant conditioning.
> B.F. Skinner claimed that all behaviour is learnt as a result of consequences in our environment
Learning through the consequences (positive and negative) of behavioural responses.
Concerned with the use of consequences in order to modify and shape behaviour.
Skinner tested this learning process on animals.
The behaviourist approach - positive reinforcement.
Increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves a reward for the behaviour.
The behaviourist approach - negative reinforcement.
Increases the likelihood of a response occurring because it involves the removal of, or escaping from, unpleasant consequences (e.g. it leads to stopping or avoiding an electric shock)
The behaviourist approach - positive punishment.
The consequence is receiving something unpleasant which decreases the probability of the behaviour being repeated (e.g. the behaviour leads to an electric shock or a smack)
The behaviourist approach - negative punishment.
The consequence is removing something desirable and decreases probability of the behaviour being repeated.
The behaviourist approach - strengths of the approach.
> Scientific
Influences all areas of psychology.
Replicable - high reliability
Mainly quantitative data - easy to analyse.
Real world application
Useful applications to education, child rearing (i.e. super nanny).
Provides strong counter-arguments to the nature side of the ‘nature-nurture’ debate.
The behaviourist approach - limitations of the approach.
> Many forms of learning cannot be satisfactorily explained by classical and operant conditioning.
Ignores important mental processes involved in learning
Reductionist - only takes nurture into account
Deterministic - ignores free will
Lack of ecological validity due to highly controlled experiments → issues with generalisability
Ethical issues
Lack of qualitative data - no thoughts or feelings known
Much data has been obtained from species such as rats, dogs and pigeons but the relevance of these findings to human behaviour is dubious.
Social Learning Theory
> Proposed by Albert Bandura
A development of the behaviourist approach
Classical conditioning cannot account for all human learning.
Joined behaviourism and the cognitive approach to form social learning theory.
Social Learning Theory - Similarities to behaviourist and cognitive approach
Behaviourist approach:
Role of reinforcement
Behaviour learnt
Cognitive approach:
Role of cognitive processes
Focus on human behaviour rather than animalSocial Learning Theory - Differences from behaviourist and cognitive approach
Behaviourist approach:
Importance of expectancy
SLT looks forward while behaviourism looks backwards
Distinction between learning and performance in SLT, while they are the same for behaviourism
Animals not seen as same as humans in SLT
Cognitive approach:
Observational learning not part of the cognitive approach
Cognitive approach focuses more on cognitive processes, e.g. schemas
SLT still tends to focus on external behaviour, while cognitive approach is interested in internal processes
Social Learning Theory - Assumptions
> Combines principles from both the behaviourist and cognitive approach.
Concerned with human other than animal behaviour.
Sees people as manipulators of their environment.
Learning occurs through the observation of role models.
Social Learning Theory - Models/ Modelling
Two types of models:
Live model - people who are present in our environment
Symbolic models – people who are present in the media
There must be: attention (noticing the behaviour), retention (remembering the behaviour), reproduction (physically possible), motivation (a reason to copy)
Social Learning Theory - Identification
When an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour in line with their role model.
Social Learning Theory - Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment.
> Bandura recorded the behaviour of young children who had watched an adult behave in an aggressive way towards a bobo doll.
Shows us that mediating cognitive factors must be intervening between observation and behaviour.
Social Learning Theory - On-going development of behaviour
Behaviour displayed by role model considered to be worth imitating – identification.
There needs to be self-efficacy – the belief that behaviour can be imitated.
If the behaviour is punished it won’t be reinforced.
Provided the outcomes are positive - becomes part of the person’s repertoire of behaviours.
Social Learning Theory - Strengths
> Considers the role of cognitive factors in learning.
Based on laboratory experiments (scientific).
Less deterministic and reductionist than other approaches
Explains the development of culture.
Explains the learning of complex behaviours such as aggression
Successfully applied to many areas of psychology
Social Learning Theory - Applications of approach - anxiety disorder
Modelling to treat disorders, e.g. showing a model interacting happily with a phobic object. A vicarious association is made between the positive feelings demonstrated and the object.
Social Learning Theory - Applications of approach - Forensic Psychology
Social skills training may include the use of modelling to provide offenders with appropriate skills in social interactions to avoid behaviour that will get them into trouble.
Social Learning Theory - Applications of approach - Gender Development
Social learning theorists see gender-related behaviour as acquired by reinforcement, modelling and imitation.
Social Learning Theory - Applications of approach - Aggression
Aggression results from observational learning. An influential model who behaves in an aggressive way and is seen to be rewarded for such behaviour may be imitated by others.
Social Learning Theory - Limitations of the approach
> Ignores the role of biology.
Concentrates mostly on external behaviour.
Does not fully explain individual differences
Does not account for all behaviour
Lab experiments are artificial, in particular the are criticism of the Bobo doll study which is the basis of the theory.
Not good at explaining learning of abstract ideas.
The Cognitive Approach
> Cognition means ‘knowing’
Cognitive processes refer to the way in which knowledge is gained, used and retained.
Cognitive psychologists explain all behaviour in terms of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and study how these direct our behaviour.
The Cognitive Approach - Assumptions of the approach
> Reaction against the behaviourist stimulus-response approach.
Events within a person must be studied for behaviour to be fully understood.
It is possible to study internal mental processes in an objective way
Insight into mental processes may be inferred from behaviour.
Concerned with how thinking shapes our behaviour.
The Cognitive Approach - Internal Mental Process
> Humans seen as information processors.
Main concern is how information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing directs how we behave.
Looks at how various cognitive functions work together to help us make sense of the world.
The Cognitive Approach - Mental processes studied by cognitive psychologists
>perception >attention >memory >language >thinking >problem solving
The Cognitive Approach - Schemata
> Part of the mental process.
Mental structures that represent an aspect of the world.
Help us to make sense of the world, by providing shortcuts to identifying things that we come across (building blocks of knowledge).
The Cognitive Approach - theoretical and computer models
Cognitive psychologists often compare the human mind to a computer. It compares how we take information (input) store it or change it (process) and then recall it when necessary (output).
The Cognitive Approach - Cognitive models
>Use the results of their research to develop models of how people process information >Infer mental processes from comparisons between the information (input) a person receives and the behaviour (output) they produce >Such computational models of the mind have proved useful in the development of ‘thinking machines’ or artificial intelligence.
