Approaches in psychology AO3 Flashcards
1
Q
What is a strength of Wundt’s work?
Approaches
A
- Some of his methods were systematic and well controlled
- all introspections were recorded in the controlled environment, EV’s not a factor
- Procedures and instructions are standardised
- can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches
2
Q
What is a limitation of Wundt’s work?
Approaches
A
- It would be considered unscientific today
- Relied on self reporting mental processes, such data is subjective
- participants may have hidden some of their thoughts
- Difficult to establish meaningful ‘laws of behaviour’ from such data
- general laws are useful to predict future behaviour, one of the aims of science
3
Q
What is a strength of research in modern psychology?
Approaches
A
- Can claim to be scientific
- psychology has the same aims as natural sciences (to describe, understand, predict and control behaviour)
- The learning and cognitive approach rely on the use of scientific methods
- throughout the 20th century psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline
4
Q
What is one limitation with psychology?
Approaches
A
- not all approaches use objective methods
- humanistic approach rejects the scientific approach preferring to focus on individual experiences and subjective experience
- the psychodynamic approach makes use of the case study method which does not use representative samples
- demand characteristics
5
Q
What is a strength of the behaviourist approach?
The behaviourist approach
A
- it is based on well controlled research
- behaviourists focused on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings
- by breaking down behaviour into basic units all other possible ev’s were removed allowing cause and effect relationships to be established
- e.g skinner= reinforcement influences behaviour
6
Q
Describe how as a result of the behaviourist approach the principles of conditioning have real world application?
The behaviourist approach
A
- operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that have been used successfully in institutions
- these work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
- classical conditioning= treat phobias
7
Q
Describe ethical issues with investigations
The behaviourist approach
A
- although procedures such as skinner’s rats allowed psychologists to maintain a highdegree of control over their experimental subjects
- many have questioned the ethics of these investigations
- animals were housed in harsh, cramped conditions and were deliberately kept below their natural weight
8
Q
What is a strength of social learning theory?
Social learning theory
A
- the importance of cognitive factors in learning
- neither classical or operant conditioning ca offer an adequate account of learning on their own
- humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions
9
Q
What is a criticism of SLT
Social learning theory
A
- Making too little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning
- although Bandura claimed natural biological differences influenced our learning potential, he thought that learning itself was determined by the environment
- recent research suggests that observational learning may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain (allows empathy and imitation)
10
Q
What is a limiation on SLT being based on lab generated evidence?
Social learning theory
A
- Many of Bandura’s ideas were developed from observing young children’s behaviour in the lab
- lab studies are cticised for their contrived nature where p’s may respond to demand characteristics
- bobo doll= because the main purpose of the doll is to strike it the children were behaving in a way they thought was expected
11
Q
What can we say about objectiveness about the cognitive approach?
Cognitive approach
A
- Uses objective scientific methods
- psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study so inferring is possible
- emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two field of biology and cognitive psych to come together
12
Q
What is the issue with inference?
Cognitive approach
A
- As cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes rather than direct observation
- can suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature
- research studies of mental processes use artificial stimuli
13
Q
How does the cognitive approach have practical application?
Cognitive approach
A
- cognitive psych has made an important contribution in the field of AI and the development of thinking machines
- may revolutionise how we live in the future
- cognitive principles applied to the treatment of depression
- improve reliability of EWT
