Approaches P2 Flashcards
what makes science a science?
- hypothesis testing
- experimental testing, produces observable evidence
- objective
- replicable
what did psychology start of as?
philosophy
who do we credit the development of psychology as a science to?
Wilihem wundt
what method did wundt use?
introspection
what are some features of introspection?
- feelings and sensations
- standardised instructions
- reflecting on your own mental experiences
what was a strength of using introspection?
- created scientific movement in psychology
- generated lots of futher research
what are some weaknesses of introspection?
produced subjective data rather than objective data - therefore results can’t be replicable
what are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- all behaviour is learnt
- all behaviour can be learned
- can generalise from animal behaviour to humans
- we are born as a blank slate —> do not inherit anything
what are 2 ways behaviourists believe we learn our behaviour through?
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
what is classical conditioning?
-learn behaviour by association which comes from a reflex response
what research went into classical conditioning?
pavlovs—> dogs have reflex response to produce salvia when they see food. Then pavlov rang a bell each time he gave them the dogs food which he repeated. then dogs began to salivate just when they heard the bell
what do they equations look like with classical conditioning?
unconditioned stimuli—>unconditioned response
unconditioned stimuli —> neutral stimuli —> unconditioned response X5
conditioned stimuli—> conditioned response
what is operant conditioning?
learn behaviour by the consequences — can be positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
in operant conditioning what is positive reinforcement?
something good happens therefore the behaviour is more likely to be repeated
in operant conditioning what is negative reinforcement?
when we remove the unpleasant stimulus— therefore it’s NOT punishment therefore behaviour is more likely to be repeated
in operant conditioning what is punishment?
something negative happens to you so your behaviour is less likely to be repeated
what research was there completed for operant conditioning?
skinners research —> isolated rat placed in box with a pellet button and electric grid on floor and signal lights. when the rat presses the lever receives a food pellet therefore continued to press it —> positive reinforcement
what is a strength of the behaviourist approach?
pavlovs dogs skinners rats & watsons little albert —> reinforces claims made and suggests it may be valid / correct —> helps psychology have further credibility and raises the status
what are the practical applications of the behaviourist approach?
therapies for mental health—> systematic desensitisation- treating phobias - learn new response to stimuli
what is a criticism of the behaviourist approach?
- too simplistic as it ignores other important possible causes of behaviour such as internal mental processes
- goes against biology
what is a issue of the behaviourist approach?
- deterministic view of behaviour—> never actively chooses our behaviour so it gives us no free will
- too much of a mechanistic view of humans
what are 3 assumptions the social learning theory believe in?
- all human behaviour is learned within a social context - role models
- reinforcement may be inclined as well as direct - learn by people getting praised / punished
- mental / cognitive processes are essential for learning to take place —> meditational processes
what do we mean about the first assumption in the social learning theory?
- imitation
- modelling
- role model- may have similar characteristics to observer
- identification
what do we mean by the second assumption of the SLT?
vircarious reinforcement- imitate behaviour depending on the reinforcement
what do we mean by the third assumption of the SLT?
the role of mediational processes —> come between the stimulus and response
what are the 4 mediational processes (ARMM)
- attention
- retention -how well behaviour is remembered
- motor reproduction- how able the observer is to perform the behaviour
- motivation - how much we want to perform the behaviour
what are the strengths of the SLT?
support claims are made - Bandura et al of the Bono research
what are the strengths of the Bobo research?
- all variables controlled as it was laboratory research - can determine cause and effect
- high levels of replicability
what are the weaknesses of the bobo research?
- lacks ecological validity
- only tells us about children
- ethics
what are more strengths of the SLT?
- less mechanistic view - suggests there are thinking processes between observation and imitation
what are some practical applications from the SLT?
- age certificates for films / video games
- modelling —> used to treat anxiety or OCD
what are the limitations from the SLT?
- slightly reductionist —> only focuses on learning no attention to biology eg genetics eg in bobo doll research boys may naturally be more aggressive
- difficult to measure influence of mediational processes
- doesn’t explain all behaviour —> can’t model morality
what are the assumptions made by the cognitive approach?
- all behaviour derives from thinking processes
- cognitive processes is affected by schemas
- uses models —> theoretical & computer
what is schema?
mental package of information we hold about the research these grow as our experiences do with the world
how can schemas help us?
allows us to fill gaps in memory
can help us reach decisions quickly
how can schemas negatively help us?
we may mistakes in our memory by trying to fill in the gaps
what is a theoretical model used in the cognitive theory?
multi store model of memory
what about a computer model?
mind is compared eg. input - process - output
what are the strength of the cognitive approach?
- research to support the claims - bugelski and alampay - ray man study - makes assumptions more believable
- study uses humans rather than animals - more valid
what practical applications does the cognitive approach have?
CBT—> successful therapy for mental health
what are the limitations of the cognitive approach?
- too mechanistic - reduces humans down to computers
- making inferences - may be a leap too far in explaining as it’s only an estimation
- tells us thoughts cause behaviour but doesn’t tell us where they originate from
where is the broca in the brain and what is it responsible for?
left hemisphere at the front —> allows us to produce speech
where is wernickes area and what is it responsible for?
left hemisphere right at front —> involved in understand speech
what is the frontal lobe responsible for?
responsible for conscious though and decision making
what part plays an important part in memory?
hippocampus
what are the strengths of the cognitive neuroscience approach?
raire et al study - murder study - lower levels of activity their ore frontal cortex
—> wanted to scan children’s brains to prevent future crimes
what are the practical applications from the cognitive neuroscience approach?
brain scanning techniques—> MRI and PET scans
-prefrontal cortex is activated when people feel guilty - brains scans to see it people are guilty in court
what are the weaknesses of the cognitive neuroscience approach?
-socially sensitive issue - eg scanning children’s brains —> controversial
what are the 4 parts of the biological approach?
genes, evolution, biological structure and neurochemistry
what is the first assumption of the biological approach?
behaviour is influenced by our genes - gene responsible for a disorder is called a candidate gene - investigate this through twin studies which compares frequency of behaviour between identical and non identical twins
how do we measure the frequency in twin studies?
concordance rate
what are problems with twins studies?
cannot separate our genes from environment
limited generalisability
concordance rates are never 100%
what is the second assumption of the biological approach?
genetically determined behaviour that improves an individuals survival will continue for further generation
what is the third assumption of biological approach?
influence of neurochemistry on behaviour eg. seratonin too little = depression
what is the fourth assumption of the biological approach?
schizophrenia have an abnormal structure of brain - enlarged ventrides
what are the problems with 3 and 4?
difficult to determine cause effect —> which came first?
what is a genotype?
specific genetic makeup of any individual
what is a phenotype?
how the genes are expressed in physical and psychological characteristics
what are the strengths for influence of genes of the biological approach?
research found concordance rate of MZ twins 68% where DZ Twins 31%
what Are the problems for the influence of genes of the biological approach?
The concordance rate isn’t 100 percent so gene aren’t all responsible for abnormality for example it could be life experiences
How does evolution influence our behaviour with the biological approach?
assumes that modern behaviour is the result of natural selection so genes are inherited for survival
How can the brain scans show us a schizophrenic patient?
They will have enlarged ventricles
What are the strengths for the role of evolution in the biological approach?
Humans hated bit of food because it was poisonous therefore we only like sweet food
What are the problems of the role of evolution in the biological approach?
Lacks testability as it is impossible to test our evolutionary history therefore doesn’t meet the criteria for science
What is the weakness of the biological structures in neurochemistry of the biological approach?
Difficult to determine cause and effect e.g. what came first did schizophrenia come first or in enlarged ventricles
What is a strength of the biological approach?
Very scientific way of investigating behaviour therefore it greatly contributed to the emergence of psychology
help to develop drugs e.g. SSRIs for OCD
What are the limitations of the biological approach?
Reductionist because it only looks his jeans not experiences
emotions or thought processes
deterministic approach because it doesn’t except humans make conscious decisions therefore guilty conviction could say that they couldn’t help their behaviour
what are the 2 learning theories called?
behaviourist approach and social learning theory
