Approaches L1-4

Question 1

Define psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially affecting behaviour in a given context

Question 2

Define science

Answer 2

A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim is to discover laws.

Question 3

Describe in detail Wilhelm Wundt’s role in the emergence of psychology as a science

Answer 3

• wundt was the first person to call himself a psychologist, aka ‘the father of psychology’ and his ideas stem from philosophical roots
• (1897) he opened the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany, controlled conditions allowed replication of results + scientific
• Wundt also devised introspection
• Wundt focused on perception and structuralism (a theory of consciousness developed by Wundt). He wanted to document and describe the structure of human consciousness (introspection) so him and his workers recorded their own conscious thoughts and broken down into parts like sensations or emotions
• He also wanted to investigate psychology, the way that biology/physics/chemistry was investigated and he used to scientific methods to investigate introspection. He also help to develop cognitive psychology.
• introspection was recorded under strict conditions in a lab, using the same stimuli, and they had to focus on the present experiences. Introspection involves the person saying everything that is going to their mind and they must keep talking even if the ideas are fragmented, they must not hesitate.
• This made introspection highly reliable so that application could be possible
• This process marked psychology as separate from psychology.
• Won’t did later, realise that mental processes are difficult to study, which encouraged alternative methods like brain scanning

Question 4

What are the strengths of introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science

Answer 4

• Strength: introspection has helped to develop other approaches in psychology, for example, behaviourism by Watson, and the cognitive approach by Beck. Introspection is useful because it has formed the basis of other approaches/methods.
• Strength: introspection can be considered extremely scientific because it shows the same qualities as subjects, such as chemistry, biology and physics, because all of the subject to make predictions (hypotheses), and there is a high level of control variables, because many of the studies take place in laboratory settings
• Strength: introspection can help establish what causes behaviour and this is useful because it can help to predict future behaviour. This can be used in treatments.
• Strengths: introspection has the advantage that it is still used today in areas of therapy which study emotional states, e.g. it is used in cognitive therapy to help alter negative thinking. Hence, it can still be applied to contemporary therapy.
• Strength: Wundt supports, reductionism, and believes consciousness can be broken down to basic elements without sacrificing any properties. He studied internal mental processes by deconstructing them into measurable units, like perception and senses. However, a possible weakness: introspection being reductionist can be criticised because it can be difficult to measure experiences they can be overlooked elements as well as overlap between categories.

Question 5

Define behavioural approach

Answer 5

A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observed in terms of learning (suggests that all behaviour is lerned thorugh CC or SLT)

Question 6

What are some assumptions that the behavioural approach makes?

Answer 6

All behaviour is learned from the environment and can be reduced to a stimulus-response association.

The behaviourist approach is an approach to explaining behaviour which suggests that all behaviour is acquired and maintained through classical and operant conditioning.

Only behaviour which can be objectively measured and observed is studied, e.g. Skinner’s Box. This is due to the founders of behaviourism, Watson and Skinner, disagreeing with the subjective nature of Wundt’s introspective methods, and the inability to formulate general laws and universal principles based on his observations.

the basic laws governing learning are the same across both non-humans and humans. Therefore, non-human animals can replace humans in behaviourist experimental research.

Question 7

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 7

This is learning by association for neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus will eventually produce the same response that was produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone

Question 8

What are the A01 points for the behaviourist approach?

Answer 8

• define the behavioural approach
• Define classical conditioning
• Describe assumptions that the behavioural approach makes
• Describe classical conditioning and the work of Ivan Pavlov (1904)

Question 9

What are the A01 points for the origins of psychology

Answer 9

• define psychology
• Define science
• ## Describe Willhelm Wundt’s role in psychology and introspection

Question 10

Describe research into classical conditioning (behaviourist approach)

Answer 10

• this research was undertaken by Ivan Pavlov (1904)
• Classical conditioning involves building up an association between to stimuli so that learning takes place
• Dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if the bell is presented at the same time as food repeatedly

1. Food (unconditioned stimulus) produces unconditioned response of salvation.
2. A neutral stimulus is presented (bell) and the dog does not salivate (no conditioned response is observed).
3. The unconditioned stimulus (food) is repeatedly paired with the neutral stimulus (bell ringing) to produce salivation (unconditioned response).
4. After this conditioning, we can present the conditioned stimulus (Bell) alone, and the dog will begin to salivate (conditioned response is produced). Learning has taken place by classical conditioning and an association has been established.

Question 11

Describe some principles of classical conditioning in relation to Pavlov’s research

Answer 11

1) Generalisation: Stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimuli (bell) will cause the conditioned response (salivation) e.g. a bell with a different pitch or sound will cause salivation

2) Discrimination: Stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimuli (bell) will not produce the conditioned response (salivation). This can be done by withholding the unconditioned stimulus (food). For example a similar sounding bell is rung but food is not presented at the same time. Therefore salivation will not occur

3) Extinction: The conditioned response (salivation) is not produced because of the bell being rung. This occurs when the conditioned stimulus (bell) is presented without the unconditioned stimulus of food

Question 12

What are the strengths of classical conditioning
(Lesson two of approaches)

Answer 12

– Strength and weakness: there is research evidence to support classical conditioning. This evidence comes from Pavlov and his research, as well as the little Albert study although little Albert was conducted in a laboratory setting, therefore results may be different than in a more natural setting. Lacks ecological validity, when considering how important classical conditioning is.

• strength: it can be easily tested and measured in a scientific way by using laboratory observations. This model relies on observing behaviour that can be directly seen and measured in a highly controlled setting, which helps aid, objectivity and replication.
• Strength: (of Pavlov’s research) it has helped apply classical conditioning, two treatments of psychological disorders, for example, flooding and systematic desensitisation

Question 13

Define operant conditioning

Answer 13

A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by consequences. The consequences include punishment, positive/negative reinforcement

Question 14

Define positive reinforcement

Answer 14

When you receive something positive upon carrying out a behaviour
For example, getting a reward sticker when you complete your homework means you will continue to complete your homework

Question 15

Define negative reinforcement

Answer 15

This is when you perform a behaviour in order to avoid something unpleasant, and therefore the behaviour continues in the future
For example, you complete your homework to avoid getting a detention there for you always aim to complete your homework

Question 16

Define punishment
For lesson, three of operant conditioning

Answer 16

This is an unpleasant consequence caused by certain behaviours

Positive Punishment – This is when something unpleasant is added to a person’s
life that was not there before. For example, such as giving a student detention.
Negative Punishment – This is when something pleasant is removed from a
person’s life. For example, confiscating a student’s mobile phone

Question 17

Describe in detail, the work of Skinner (1953)

Answer 17

• operant conditioning focuses on behaviour which produces consequences such as punishment/positive reinforcement/negative reinforcement
• Skinner conducted research on pigeons and rats in a device called “the Skinner box” This was a cage which had loudspeakers lights, a lever, a door, and a floor which could be electrified. One hungry rat at a time would be placed in the box and allowed to freely run around. They would then accidentally press the lever and receive food (positive reinforcement). The rat would continue to do this, and would learn that pressing the lever leads to a reward, the rat would also learn that they could avoid something unpleasant, by pressing the lever, the rat could avoid receiving an electric shock through the floor (negative reinforcement)

Question 18

What are the strengths of operant conditioning

Answer 18

– Strength: there is research evidence to support operant conditioning in real life. A token economy is used in institutions like prisons and hospital to modify behaviour. This works by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges. Paul and Lentz use this kind of economy to treat patients with schizophrenia, and it was found that behaviour became more appropriate.

– Strengths: skinner box, relied on an experimental method, and the conditions were highly controlled to discover the relationship between variables to establish the cause and effect relationship

– Strength: the research by Skinner is on the nurture side of the nature nurture debate. This would state that learning occurs due to environmental factors and external stimuli. Therefore, by manipulating factors in the environment. This has an effect on learning and behaviour. This is supported by nurture.

Question 19

Define social learning theory

Answer 19

New patterns of behaviour can be acquired/learned by observing the behaviour of others. During learning people perform behaviours and observe different consequences such as punishment or reinforcement. Behaviour is learnt from the environment and also considers cognitive processes to

Question 20

Describe social learning theory by Bandura (1977)
(5 key points)

Answer 20

• Modelling: social learning requires a person to model behaviours so that the observer can learn the behaviour. The model can be live (e.g. a parent), symbolic (e.g. TV character). models provide behaviours which can be learned by imitation.

– Imitation children learn behaviours via imitating modelled behaviours. This process is more rapid in classical/operant conditioning. Key characteristics include factors of the characteristics of the model E.g. age/ gender/ the observers perceived ability to perform that the behaviour shown / the observed consequences of behaviour.

• identification: this is the extent to which the observer relates to the model and feel they can experience the same outcomes. The person would aim to be like the model children usually identify with same-sex models as themselves for social learning to be effective.
• Vicarious reinforcement: children, who observed a model who got rewarded. For showing aggressive behaviour were more likely to imitate this compared to children who observed a model being punished for showing aggressive behaviour. This is vicarious reinforcement and shows individuals do not need to experience rewards/punishment directly. In order to learn new behaviour. They can observe the consequences of behaviours and are more likely to imitate depending on the reinforcement.

– Internal cognitive mediational processes. The observer must form a mental representation of the behaviour being displayed by the model and the likely consequences of the behaviour in terms of expectancies. The observer might display the learned behaviour, provided there is the expectation that positive consequences are more likely to occur than negative consequences. Mediational processes involve:
Attention: the observer must pay attention and notice the model behaviour
Retention: the observer must remember the behaviour
Motor reproduction: the observer must be able to perform the behaviour
Motivation: the observer must be willing to perform the behaviour in light of rewards

Question 21

What are the strengths of social learning theory by Bandura

Answer 21

• strength: Akers (1998), found that criminals seem to engage more in criminal behaviour when exposed to models that they can highly identify with this mean social learning theory helps to provide an understanding of criminal behaviour
• Strength: it is very effective when the model is similar to the observer as it makes it easier for the observer to visualise themselves in place of the model. Fox (2009), found evidence to suggest that when an observer played a computer game, whose model looked similar to themselves they were more likely to engage in similar behaviours.
• Strength: this theory gives a comprehensive view of human learning when compared to operant/classical conditioning, because it recognises the importance of behavioural and cognitive factors in learning new behaviours

Question 22

Describe Bandura’s study on social learning theory
The bobo doll experiment (1961)

Answer 22

• this was an observational study involving 36 mail and 36 female children. They were aged 37 to 69 months of age.
• The child had to observe an aggressive/non-aggressive female/male model, who was interacting with a bobo doll
• In one condition, the aggressive model displayed acts like striking it with a mallet and shouting at it. After the children observed these acts of aggression. They were made to feel frustrated and were shown attractive toys, but were not allowed to play with them. The children were then taken to a room which had some toys, including a Bobo doll amongst other toys, included a mallet, a dart gun and some non-aggressive toys and the children were observed for 20 minutes
• The results found that children who observed the aggressive model reproduced, the same aggressive behaviour towards the bobo doll. Children who had not observed aggressive behaviour showed no aggression towards the bobo doll.
• 33% of children who observed and had verbal aggression repeated “pow”. 0% of children in the non-aggressive group displayed, verbal aggression.
• In a follow-up study, children observed a model being rewarded for aggressive behaviour, and this increase the likelihood of aggression towards the bobo doll
• Boys seemed more aggressive than girls and imitations of aggression were the greatest when the model was the same gender as observer.

Question 23

What are the strengths of Bandura’s bobo doll experiment (social learning theory)

Answer 23

• strengths: the study was conducted in laboratory settings. Therefore, it was highly controlled to ensure the independent variable impacted the dependent variable. Therefore, the study is highly reliable, and the results are likely to be replicated.
• Strength: this study provides good evidence to support SLT. This has the implication that we should be very aware of the role of media because young children can be very easily influenced by what they see on TV.

Question 24

Describe introspection

Answer 24

• Introspection is a systematic analysis of our own conscious experiences of a stimuli. An experience is examined in terms of its component parts e.g. sensations, feelings, images etc.
• Wundt claimed that with sufficient training an individual’s conscious mental processes, such as perception, could be objectively reported by the individual as they occurred.
• Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object (such as a metronome) and encourage them to look inwards and reflect on the sensations, feelings and the images that came to mind. This information could then be used to gain insight into the mental processes involved in perception

Question 25

What are the weaknesses of introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science

Answer 25

• Weakness: Watson (1913) criticised the idea of introspection because it provides subjective data. Therefore it is not objective or reliable.
• weakness: introspection has been criticised because it is not very scientific/accurate and Wilson claims that psychologist have little knowledge about behaviours and attitudes which might exist outside of conscious awareness like racism. Introspection would not be able to help us understand these processes.
• weakness: introspection can be criticised because it fails to explain how the mind works as well as processes involved in thinking about topics/doing activities. Psychologist can’t see her thoughts are generated so introspection can’t be properly observed. (Not scientific).

Question 26

What are the weaknesses of classical conditioning
(Lesson two of approaches)

Answer 26

– Weakness: Menzies criticises this model because, after studying hydrophobia, he found only 2% of the sample had a negative experience with water, hence 98% had not. Therefore they had not learnt to become frightened.. other findings show that 50% of people who have a phobia of dogs have never had a bad experience involving a dog. Therefore it is not a complete explanation.

• weakness: this model views, animals and humans as passive recipients, and it minimises their free. Will this means that classical conditioning can be viewed as deterministic, because it anticipates that individuals will respond to a condition stimulus with no variation.. this can lead to incomplete and inconsistent explanations because people are not passive and they do have control over responses

– Weakness: this model would be criticised by the biological approach, because it ignores the jeans/hormones/evolution/neural mechanisms which are responsible for behaviour . There is no evidence to suggest that genetics have been the main cause of illness for example in schizophrenia. The biological approach makes more sense because it is very unlikely for someone to learn to be schizophrenic

Question 27

What are three principles within the work of skinner (1953)

Answer 27

– Extinction means that when the rat press is the lever, but doesn’t receive a reward it learns that pressing the lever needs to know rewards and the association will be forgotten
– Spontaneous recovery is when, if the rat presses the lever and does receive food pallet, the rat will quickly learn that pressing the lever results in food, they will learn this very quickly and spontaneously recover the association
- Schedules of reinforcement is when there are different methods of reinforcement, which might occur. Some examples are:
A), continuous reinforcement, where, every time the rat press the lever, they will always receive food, pellet
B) fixed interval, the rat presses the lever and only receives a food pallet during a fixed time
C) fixed ratio, where the rat must press the lever a fixed number of times to receive a food pallet

Question 28

What are some strengths of the behaviourist approach

Answer 28

+ The behaviourist approach enhanced the scientific status of Psychology by using strict scientific methods, being objective, and producing verifiable findings.

+ The behaviourist approach has developed laws and principles that have enabled psychologists to predict and control behaviour. However, it also raises ethical concerns because the approach could be used to control people against their wishes.

+ The behaviourist approach has led to several useful treatments such as systematic desensitisation (classical conditioning) and token economy (operant conditioning). However, focusing solely on behaviour neglects the whole person.

Question 29

What are some weaknesses of the behaviourist approach

Answer 29

• The behaviourist approach is environmentally reductionist because it focuses on a lower level of explanation than other approaches. Stimulus-response associations lack meaning when attempting to explain complex human behaviours, such as attachment.
• The behaviourist approach is also environmentally deterministic. According to behaviourism, human behaviour is entirely determined by the environment, there is no account taken of a person’s free will to decide how to behave.
• The behaviourist approach has been criticised because it uses non-human animals. Critics claim this tells us little about human behaviour because humans have cognitive factors and emotional states that influence their behaviour.
• Treatments using conditioning do not get to the root cause of a patient’s problem, and so it is likely that when the therapy has ended the patient will return to their original behaviour

Question 30

What are the weaknesses of operant conditioning

Answer 30

– Weakness: skinners research ignores the concept of free will, and this suggests that past experiences involving operant conditioning will affect future behaviour and that people/animals have no control over their actions/free will. This is highly deterministic.

• Weakness: the skinner box has been criticised because of ethical issues as the conditions were both stressful and aversive for the rats and pigeons. This may have had a negative effect on the psychological and physical health.. there are also issues surrounding generalising the results because humans are obviously very different to animals

– weakness: operant conditioning is rooted in the behaviourist approach and ignores the biological approach, which would argue that behaviour cannot be learnt, but is rather heavily influenced by genes/hormones/biochemical/neural mechanisms. Hence, other approaches must also be considered when examining influences upon behaviour and operant conditioning/learning cannot explain all kinds of behaviour.

Question 31

What are the weaknesses of social learning theory by Bandura

Answer 31

• Weakness: it does not take into account cause and effect, e.g. if research has found that increased associations with peers increases the likelihood of delinquent behaviour we cannot assume that delinquency is caused by social learning theory. Other factors could cause this such as deviant and poor attitudes that they previously held.
• Weakness: this theory ignores the other potential influences on behaviour, for example, the role of biology or genetics, which could cause people to be more aggressive because of (testosterone)
• Weakness: this theory sees behaviour as being determined by the environment (environmental determinism) rather than other factors, like genetics or innate behaviour. This can be criticised because genetics play a large role in human behaviour and this theory completely ignores that

Question 32

What are the weaknesses of Bandura’s bobo doll experiment (social learning theory)

Answer 32

• Weakness. This experiment only shows the short-term effects of social learning which occur within the experiment itself. We don’t know whether the children left the experiment and continue to behave aggressively. Therefore we do not know how powerful or influential this theory is as a method of learning
• Weakness: ethical issues can be a problem in the study, because the children need to be protected from psychological harm. If they behave aggressively in real life, they may face negative consequences and punishment.. there is also the risk of physical harm whereby children may wish to harm others because they have seen a model perform similar behaviours. All of the children should have been debriefed afterwards to ensure they acknowledge the true aim, purpose and implications of SLT.
• Weakness: the study by Bandura was conducted in laboratory settings. This means the results gained may not be generalised to wider populations. It may also lack ecological validity. Also, observational research has the limitation that participants may show demand characteristics by guessing the aim of the study and distorting their behaviour giving invalid results.
• Weakness: the use of a boodle in the experiment has been criticised because it is supposed to be hit and thrown around because it bounces back into the same position. Therefore critics have stated that the boodle encourages aggressive play and therefore the results gained do not tell us much about social learning behaviour. Perhaps a Teddy Bear should have been used.