approaches lessons 1-4 Flashcards
what is the definition of psychology
scientific study of human mind and its functions, especially affecting behaviour
what is the definition of science
means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation
what is Wundt’s introspection and psychology emerging as a science
the first systematic and experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking down conscious awareness into basic structures of reflections, images and thoughts.
Wundt used scientific methods to investigate introspection. father of psychology. opened first lab in leipzig.
evaluation of introspection by wundt
advantages: establishes what causes behaviour and if we know what causes behaviour then we can predict future behaviour. wundt broke mental processes down into measurable units.
disadvantages: watson criticised wundts introspection and whether psychology is a science as introspection is subjective and fails to explain how the mind works so it is not reliable.
what is the behavioural approach
a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observed through of learning
what is classical conditioning
learning by association. neutral stimulus paired with UCS which produces the same response
what is pavlovs classical conditioning
food (ucs) produces salivation (ucr). bell (ns) paired with food multiple times to produce salivation alone (cr)
what are 3 principles of classical conditioning in relation to pavlovs research
generalisation: stimuli similar to original conditioned stimuli will produce conditioned response
discrimination: stimuli similar to original conditioned stimuli will not produce conditioned response
extinction: the conditioned response is not produced because of bell being rung
evaluation of classical conditioning
advantages: research support by watson and reyner with little albert which is scientific so is accurate
disadvantages: only successful to explain in children or animals and can’t be applied to adults. can be viewed as deterministic and ignores the role of free will. Little albert was a lab study so can lack ecological validity
what is the work of skinner in relation to operant conditioning
method of learning by positive or negative reinforcement. skinner put pigeons and rats in a device called the skinner box which had speakers, lights, a lever and an electrified floor. rat could press lever to give food pellet or press lever to stop electrocuting floor.
extinction would be when rat presses lever and doesn’t give anymore food so rat stops.
spontaneous recovery would be the pellet appearing again so rat starts pressing again.
continuous reinforcement is every time rat presses = always give food pellet.
fixed interval is the rat receiving pellet at fixed times only.
fixed ratio is the rat pressing lever fixed number of times to then produce pellet.
evaluation of operant conditioning
advantages: research support by paul and lentz who used token economy to treat patients with schizophrenia and found their behaviour became more appropriate. skinner experiment has highly controlled variables
disadvantages: skinner ignores concept of free will which is a deterministic view of behaviour. has ethical issues as animals were electrocuted. also results can’t be generalised to humans
what is social learning theory by bandura
explains how behaviour is learnt through 4 key points.
modelling: social learning requires a model to carry out behaviour either live or symbolic.
imitation: learnt by copying significant others.
identification: how much the observer relates to the model for example same gender
vicarious reinforcement: the observation of punishment or reward which causes a decision to copy
what are the mediational processes
a mental representation of the behaviour being displayed and the likely consequences
attention: observer has to pay attention
retention: observer must remember behaviour
motor reproduction: observer must be able to perform behaviour
motivation: observer must be willing to perform in light of rewards
evaluation of social learning theory
advantages: It provides understanding into how criminal behaviour is learnt. Akers found criminals engage in criminal behaviour more when they have a model they identify with doing the same. social learning theory recognises the importance of both behavioural and cognitive factors.
disadvantages: ignores other factors such as the role of biology or genetics for example bandura found boys are more aggressive than girls. doesn’t take into account cause and effects.
Banduras bobo doll experiment:
72 children had to observe either an aggressive/non aggressive female or male model interacting with bobo doll. one condition model had to strike bobo doll with mallet and shout pow. after this children were shown attractive toys but told not to play to make them frustrated. then they were taken to room with toys and were observed for 20 minutes. found that children who observed aggressive model reproduced aggressive acts to bobo doll and vica versa. 33% of children also said pow. when the model was rewarded for aggression the children were more aggressive. boys were more aggressive and when model was same gender, imitation was greater.
