Approaches in Psychology Flashcards
Psychology
Scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience
Science
A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigations, the aim is to discover general laws
Behaviourist approach
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
Classical conditioning
Learning by association. Occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together-an unconditioned stimulus and a new ‘neural’ stimulus. The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone
Operant conditioning
A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include reinforcement and punishment
Reinforcement
A consequence of behaviour that increases likelihood of that behaviour being repeated (positive or negative)
Social learning theory
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combing learning theory with role of cognitive factors
Imitation
Copying behaviour of others
Identification
When an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like 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 in an observer
Vicarious reinforcement
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour. This is a key factor in imitation
What is behaviourist approach only interested in
Studying behaviour that can be observed and measured, it is not concerned with mental processes of the mind as they were seen as irrelevant
Was behaviourist research controlled or not
Controlled, behaviourist tried to maintain more control and objectivity within their research and relied on lab studies as best way to do this
What do behaviourist believe
All behaviour is learnt, they described babies minds as ‘blank slates’ and this is written on by experience
Following Darwin what did behaviourist suggest
Suggested basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species which meant in behaviourist research animals can replace humans as experimental subjects
What 2 important forms of learning did behaviourists indentify
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning and who first demonstrated it
Classical conditioning is learnt through association, first demonstrated by Pavlov
How did Pavlov demonstrate classical conditioning
Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salvage at sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as food, gradually Pavolvs dog learnt to associate sound of bell (stimuli) with food (another stimuli) and would produce salvation response every time bell was heard
Using a dog what was Pavlov able to show
How neutral stimulus, bell, can elicit a new learned response (conditional response) by association
How did the dog learn to associate before, during and after conditioning
Before: food(unconditioned stimulus) ->response=salvation (unconditional response), bell (neural stimulus) ->response=no salvation (no conditioned response) During:bell+food = salvation, After:bell(conditioned stimulus) -> response= salvation (conditioned response)
What did Skinner suggest and for what type of conditioning
That learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment, in operant conditioning behaviour is shaped by its consequences
What is positive reinforcement and example.
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed such as praise from a teacher for answering question correct in class
What is negative reinforcement and example
Occurs when animal/human avoids something unpleasant so outcome is positive experience, eg. When student hands in hwk so not told off, avoidance of something unpleasant is negative reinforcement
What animal did Skinner use for his experiment and what did he do
He used rats, rats may learn through negative reinforcement that pressing a lever Leeds to avoidance of electric shock. In his experiment if rat activated lever it would get food(positive reinforcement) and behaviour repeated, but if rat didn’t touch lever it would get electric shock (negative reinforcement) so rat pulled lever
What is a strength of behaviourist approach
Behaviourist approach based on well-controlled research, they focused on measurement of observable behaviour with highly controlled lab settings. By breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus-response units all extraneous variables were removed so cause-&-effect relation established. Eg. Skinner clearly demonstrated how reinforcement worked on animal behaviour. Suggests behaviourist experiments have scientific credibility
What is the counterpoint of behaviourist approach having well controlled research
Problem with stimulus-response units is it may have over simplified learning processes, by reducing behaviour to such simple components behaviourists may have ignored other important influences on learning like that of human thought. Other approaches like SLT and cognitive approach draw better attention to mental processes involved in learning. Suggests learning is more complex that observable behaviour alone and private mental processes are also essential
What is a strength of behaviourist approach
Principles of conditioning have been applied to real world behaviours and problems, like operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that have been successfully used in institutions(prisons/psychiatric wards)- work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens which are exchanged for privileges. Also classical conditioning has been applied/used to treat phobias which increases vale of behaviourist approach as it has wide spread application
What is a limitation of behaviourist approach
It sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences, Skinner suggested everything we do is sum total of money ur reinforcement history, when something happens we may think ‘I decided to do that’ but according to Skinner our past conditioning history determined outcome. This ignores any influence that free will has on behaviour (Skinner said free will is an illusion). This is an extreme position and ignores influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour suggested by cognitive approach
Who was little Albert
A orphan baby who originally wasn’t scared of mice but they used classical conditioning to create a fear. He associated loud banging noise with white mouse creating a fear of mice
Did psychologists Bandura agree or disagree with behaviourist what did Bandura propose
Bandura agreed w behaviourist that behaviour is learnt from experience but his social learning theory proposed a different way in which people learn- through observation and imitation of others- social(involving others)
What does social learning theory suggest
That learning occurs directly through classical and operant conditioning but also indirectly
What must happen for indirect learning to happen
An individual observes behaviour of others, learner may imitate this behaviour
What does imitation occur
Generally only occurs if behaviour is seen to be rewarded (reinforced) rather than punished
Give an example of imitation
Vicarious reinforcement occurs so learner observes a behaviour but more importantly observes consequences of a behaviour
Why is social learning theory often described as a bridge between behaviourist learning theory and cognitive approach
As it focuses on how mental factors are involved in learning, these mental factors mediate (intervene) in learning processes to determine if a new response is acquired
What are the 4 mental/meditational processes in learning theory identified by Bandura
1.attention(extent we notice certain behaviours) 2.retention (how well behaviour is remembered) 3.motor reproduction (ability of observer to perform behaviour) 4.motivation (will to perform behaviour, often determined by if behaviour was rewarded or punished)
What do each of the the 4 meditational processes relate to
First 2 relate to learning behaviour and last 2 relate to performance of behaviour
How is social learning theory different to traditional behaviourism
Learning and performance of behaviour don’t need to occur together which is different from traditional behaviourism and observed behaviours may be stored by observer and reproduced at a later time
Who are more likely to imitate behaviours and what’s this process called
People, esp kids, are more likely to imitate people they identify with in a process called identification
In identification what is the person they identify with called and what is the process of imitating a role model called
Role model and modelling
When does a person become a role model
If they’re seen to have similar characteristics to observer or/and are attractive and have high status
