approaches to psychology

Question 1

what year did the origin of psychology emerge and how?

Answer 1

• in 1879, Wilhelm Wundt opened the first experimental psychology lab in Germany, and psychology emerged

Question 2

what happened in the 1900’s?

Answer 2

• Sigmund Freud emphasised the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour ( the psychodynamic approach )
• he also developed his personal centred therapy, psychoanalysis, and showed that physical problems can be explained in terms of conflicts within the mind

Question 3

what happened in 1913?

Answer 3

• John B Watson wrote ‘psychology as the Behaviourist views it’
• later on in the year B.F. Skinner establishes the behaviourist approach, where the behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches dominated the 20th century

Question 4

what happened in the 1950’s?

Answer 4

• Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow developed the humanistic approach, rejecting the behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches view that human behaviour is determined by outside factors
• humanistic psychology emphasises the importance of self-determination and free will

Question 5

what also happened in the 1950’s?

Answer 5

• the introduction of the digital computer which gave scientists a metaphor for the operations of the human mind
• the cognitive approach reintroduces the study of the mental processes to psychology, but in more detail than Wundt’s investigation

Question 6

what happened in the 1960’s?

Answer 6

• Albert Bandura proposed the social leaning theory, which drew attention to the role of the cognitive factors in learning

Question 7

what happened in the 1980’s and onwards?

Answer 7

• the biological approach begins to establish itself as the dominant scientific perspective in psychology
• this was due to advances in technology that have increased the understanding of the brain and biological processes e.g. brain scanning

Question 8

what happened on the eve of the 21st century?

Answer 8

• cognitive neuroscience emerged bringing the cognitive and biological approach together
• cognitive neuroscience investigates how biological structures influence mental states

Question 9

who is Wundt and what is his connection with psychology?

Answer 9

• in 1879, Wundt opened the first ever lab dedicated to psychological examination, this was the beginning of scientific psychology separating it from philosophy
• he aimed to analyse consciousness and studied the mind under controlled conditions which was known as introspection

Question 10

what is meant by the term introspection?

Answer 10

• introspection comes from Latin and means ‘looking into’ and is where participants were asked to reflect on their own mental and emotional processes and describe them

Question 11

what was Wundt’s scientific assumptions?

Answer 11

Wundt established psychology as a science by using the scientific method
Wundt’s approach to psychology was based on 2 assumptions:
- all behaviour is seen as being caused ( determined )
- if behaviour is determined, then is should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions
( predictability )

Question 12

how did Wundt carry out his method?

Answer 12

• Wundt recorded experiences participants had with various stimuli such as different objects
  ( the stimuli presented was always the same and the same instructions were issued to all ppts which is called standardisation )
• the observation was divided into 3 different categories: thoughts, images and sensations

Question 13

write a positive evaluation on Wundt’s method.

Answer 13

P- one strength of his work was that his methods were well controlled ( scientific )
E- all introspections were recorded in the controlled environment of the lab ensuring that possible extraneous variables were not a factor
- procedures were standardised so all ppts were tested in the same way
E- Wundt paved the way for future scientific approaches such as behaviourism

Question 14

write a negative evaluation on Wundt’s method?

Answer 14

P- a lot of his work is actually considered unscientific by today’s standards
E- relied on ppts reporting their own mental processes which can be argued to be subjective as it’s influenced by their own perception
- also some ppts may have hidden their thoughts, meaning general laws cannot be made which is a feature of science
E- some of Wundt’s early efforts to study the mind were flawed and unscientific

Question 15

what is meant by structuralism?

Answer 15

• breaking down the structure of consciousness into basic and simple parts

Question 16

what is meant by the term science?

Answer 16

• science involves building knowledge through systematic and objective measurement, the aim is to create general laws

Question 17

what were Skinner Watsons views on introspection?

Answer 17

• skinner disagreed with the subjective nature of introspection as it produced subjective data meaning general laws could not be created
• so in the 1930’s Watson came up with the idea of radical behaviourism, posing that truly scientific psychology should only study observable phenomena that allows for objective measurements to be made
• he focused on behaviours that could be seen and controlled in experiments to provide reliable data, by controlling extraneous and confounding variables

Question 18

write a positive evaluation on modern psychology.

Answer 18

P- modern psychology can claim to be scientific
E- psychology has the same aims as neutral sciences- to describe, predict and control behaviour
- the 3 approaches use scientific methods such as the lab experiment to investigate theories in a controlled and unbiased way
E- throughout the 20th century and beyond psychology has established itself as a science

Question 19

write a negative evaluation on modern psychology.

Answer 19

P- not all approaches use objective methods
E- there are other approaches such as humanistic psychology who rejects the scientific method and rather care about subjective experiences
- also, as psychologists study behaviour there will always be a risk of demand characteristics
E- the scientific approach to human thoughts and behaviour isn’t always possible

Question 20

what is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 20

• an approach that explains behaviour and suggests that all behaviour is acquired and maintained through classical and operant conditioning

Question 21

what are the assumptions of the behaviouristic approach?

Answer 21

• it’s only interested in studying observable and measurable behaviours, behaviourists tried to maintain more control and objectivity and relied on lab studies
• behaviourists assume that all behaviour is learnt, and a baby’s mind is a blank slate and is written on by experience
• the basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species which means animals replace humans in experiments- two forms of learning

Question 22

what is meant by classical conditioning?

Answer 22

• this refers to learning through association

Question 23

what was Pavlov’s experiment of classical conditioning?

Answer 23

1. before conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) produced an unconditioned response (salvation)
2. during conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus was repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus (the bell), to produce the same unconditioned response of salvation
3. an association was made between the unconditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus
4. after conditioning, the bell becomes the controlled stimulus and the dog performs a controlled response of salivating over the sound of the bell, now with no food present

Question 24

what is operant conditioning?

Answer 24

• a type of learning where behaviour is acquired and maintained based on it’s consequences and Skinner argues this as well
• it refers to learning as an active process

Question 25

what are the 2 types of reinforcement?

Answer 25

• positive reinforcement
• negative reinforcement

Question 26

what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 26

• receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed which makes behaviour more likely
• this doesn’t always have to be positive it is just when a stimulus is added

Question 27

what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 27

• avoiding something unpleasant and the outcome is a positive experience- behaviour is more likely
• stimulus is removed

Question 28

what is a punishment?

Answer 28

• unpleasant consequence of behaviour e.g. being shouted at for not doing homework, decreasing the likelihood that this behaviour will happen again

Question 29

what is an example of operant conditioning?

Answer 29

• this condition is demonstrated by Skinner called the ‘Skinners box’ and this was when he specially designed cages that when every time the rat activated a lever within the box it was rewarded with a food pellet
• from then on the animal would continue to perform the behaviour
• skinner also showed how rats could be conditioned to perform the same behaviour to avoid an unpleasant stimulus e.g. an electric shock

Question 30

write a positive evaluation on the behaviouristic theory.

Answer 30

P- based on well-controlled research
E- focus is on measuring observable behaviour in highly-controlled lab settings
- behaviour is broken down into stimulus-response units, all other extraneous variables were removed
E- behaviourist experiments have scientific credibility

Question 31

what is another positive of the behaviouristic theory?

Answer 31

P- behaviourist approach has real world application
E- operant conditioning has formed the basis of token economies successfully used in intuitions such as prisons
- these work by rewarding appropriate behaviours with a token that can be exchanged for privileges
E- this increases the value of behaviourist approach

Question 32

write a negative evaluation on the behaviourist theory.

Answer 32

P- a limitation is that it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past experiences only and overlooks internal factors such as thoughts and emotions, which can strongly influence behaviour
E- skinner stated that everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history, behaviourism ignores free will
E- this ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes

Question 33

what is meant by the social learning theory / approach?

Answer 33

• “learning takes place by observing and imitating role models”
• it suggests that learning occurs both directly, through classical and operant conditioning, and indirectly through vicarious reinforcement

Question 34

what is meant by vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 34

• a type of indirect learning which occurs when an individual observes someone else being rewarded for a certain behaviour
• for example, seeing someone get a reward which reinforces behaviour to be imitated
• or seeing someone get in trouble for certain behaviour which reinforces the behaviour being avoided

Question 35

what is meant by identification?

Answer 35

• the process by which an observer relates to or associates themselves with a role model and aspires to become more like that role model
• this association can be based off of: similar interests, similar age, same gender or background or something you want e.g. smartness

Question 36

what is the meditational processes?

Answer 36

• cognitive processes which mediate between stimulus and response
• it consists of 4 processes and behaviour cannot be imitated if not all the cognitive mediators are passed

Question 37

what are the 4 mediational processes?

Answer 37

attention- how much someone notices a behaviour
retention- how well the behaviour is remembered
motor reproduction- the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
motivation- the will to perform the behaviour ( if they like the reward or not )

Question 38

what is the Bobo Doll study?

Answer 38

• this is a study by Bandura that was carried out in 1961 under two conditions with children aged 3-5
  condition 1 (experimental) -participants observed an adult being violent towards the Bobo Doll
  condition 2 ( control ) - participants observed an adult playing nicely with the Bobo Doll

Question 39

what were the findings of the Bobo Doll experiment?

Answer 39

• when the adult left the room the participants imitated the behaviour that they observed the adult displaying e.g. the ppts that observed aggressive behaviour, imitated aggressive behaviour and the ppts who experienced calm behaviour imitated that
• ppts were more likely to imitate the observed behaviour if they were the same gender as the adult ( identification )

Question 40

what did Bandoura also discover?

Answer 40

• bandura repeated this study in 1963- but this time the adult was either praised or told off after attacking the doll
• the children who saw the adult being praised were significantly more likely to be violent to the doll

Question 41

write a positive evaluation on the SLT.

Answer 41

P- SLT can be used to explain cultural differences in behaviour
E - SLT principles can account for how children learn from others around them ( Bobo Doll )
E- this has proved useful in understanding a range of behaviours, which in turn increases the value of the approach

Question 42

write a negative evaluation on the SLT.

Answer 42

P- the evidence for SLT was gathered through lab studies
E- lab studies are often criticised as ppts may respond to demand characteristics e.g. in the bobo study the children were attacking the doll because that is what they thought was expected
E- suggesting that the research may tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life meaning it lacks internal validity and mundane realism as it isn’t in a day-to-day environment

Question 43

write a negative evaluation on the SLT.

Answer 43

P- SLT makes little reference to the influence of biological factors on social learning
E- Bandura believed that learning itself is determined by the environment, however recent research suggests that observational learning may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain allowing us to empathise with and imitate other people
e.g. boys may produce more aggressive behaviouristics, but can be down to them having higher levels of testosterone which can link to the increased aggressiveness

Question 44

what is the cognitive approach?

Answer 44

the cognitive approach is in direct contrast to the behaviourist, as it argues that mental processes should be studied

Question 45

what are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?

Answer 45

• it is in direct contrast to the behaviourist approach as it argues that internal processes can be studied
• the cognitive approach can be linked and compared to computers
• as these processes cannot be seen, cognitive psychologists make inferences about what is going on

Question 46

what is a schema and how is it central to the cognitive approach?

Answer 46

• schemas are packages of information developed through experience and they act as a ‘mental framework’ for when interpreting new incoming information e.g. your idea of a builder
• we can process vast amounts of information quickly stopping us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
• however, schemas can distort sensory information leading to perceptual errors or even lead to certain biases about people e.g. political bias, race bias, class bias, gender bias

Question 47

what is an innate behaviour?

Answer 47

• these are actions or responses that occur naturally, without the need for learning or experience

Question 48

how do our schemas change overtime?

Answer 48

• babies are born with a simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as grasping and sucking
• as we get older, our schema becomes more detailed and sophisticated through experience

Question 49

what is a theoretical model?

Answer 49

• theoretical models are a framework of system of ideas that help explain various aspects of human thoughts, behaviours and emotions
• they are created to describe, predict and modify human behaviours

Question 50

how are computer models used to explain mental processes?

Answer 50

• computer models are concrete, this meaning that a computer is programmed to see if their are similar processes going on in the human mind
• by running such a programme psychologists can treat their ideas about information processing

Question 51

what is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 51

• the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes ( it is not the same as the cognitive approach it is the newer version of it )
• advancements in brain scanning technology has allowed psychologists to study the neurological basis of mental processes e.g. OCD
• computer generated models are also being used to ‘read’ the brain and create mind maps of the brain known as ‘brain fingerprints’

Question 52

what are the strengths of the cognitive approach?

Answer 52

• cognitive approaches use scientific and objective methods for reliable data, meaning methods are carried out in a lab so that it is highly controlled and enable researchers to infer cognitive processes
• cognitive neuroscience has also brought together cognitive and biological approaches, giving the study of the mind a credible scientific basis
• cognitive approach can be applied to a wide range of contexts (real life application) such as contribution to AI, improved police questioning and has been used in the treatment of depression through cognitive behavioural therapy

Question 53

what is a counter point to some of these strengths?

Answer 53

• the use of inference means cognitive psychology can occasionally be too abstract and theoretical, therefore research on cognitive processes may lack external validity and not represent everyday experiences

Question 54

what are the limitations of the cognitive approach?

Answer 54

• the cognitive approach is based on machine reductionism, which is reducing human personality and behaviour to the level of a computer by neglecting the role of emotion and actions
• this means the computer analogy has been criticised for ignoring the influence of emotion and motivation on the cognitive system and how we process information, meaning machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the approach e.g. anxiety or trauma has been found to affect eyewitness testimony

Question 55

what is the biological approach and what are it’s assumptions?

Answer 55

• the belief that everything psychological is at first biological
• it is understanding that behaviour, structures and processes within the body should be studied
• and that the mind lives in the brain meaning thoughts, feelings and behaviours have a physical basis

Question 56

what is neurochemistry?

Answer 56

• refers to the action of chemicals in the brain that is split into hormones and neurotransmitters
• thoughts and behaviours rely on chemical transmission in the brain and occurs through neurotransmitters
• an imbalance of neurochemicals in the brain is a possible cause of mental disorders e.g. low levels of serotonin in OCD or too much dopamine in schizophrenia

Question 57

what is the genetic basis of behaviour?

Answer 57

• psychological characteristics e.g. intelligence or eye colour, that are inherited
• twin studies are used to investigate genetic influence as concordance rates between twins are calculated- the extent to which twins share the same characteristics
• there are higher concordant rates among identical ( monozygotic twins ), 100%, than non-identical twins ( dizygotic twins ), 50%, this is evidence of a genetic basis

Question 58

what is the concordance rate?

Answer 58

• the proportion ( % ) of pairs of individuals that share a particular attribute e.g. if a characteristic is entirely genetic the concordance rate should be 100%

Question 59

what is the difference between a genotype and a phenotype?

Answer 59

genotype- a persons actual genetic makeup
phenotype- the way that genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics
- the expression of genotype is influenced by environmental factors e.g. phenylketonuria ( PKU ) is a genetic disorder, that can be prevented by a restricted diet, and if not treated can be changed by the environment to cause learning difficulties

Question 60

how is the theory of evolution used by the biological approach to explain behaviour?

Answer 60

• evolution of plants and animals is a fact and to prove this is the theory of natural selection
• genetics that enhance survival will continue in future generations and the possessor of these genes is more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their traits
• such genes are described as adaptative e.g. attachment behaviours in new-borns promote survival and are therefore adaptive and naturally selected

Question 61

what are the strengths of the biological approach?

Answer 61

scientific methods- the use of scanning techniques such as fMRI provides an unbiased way of measuring human behaviour, providing reliable and objective
data
real-life application- the increased understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain has led to the use of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders e.g. drugs that treat clinical depression increase levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin at the synapse and reduce depressive symptoms

Question 62

what is a counterpoint for this strength?

Answer 62

• antidepressant drugs do not work for everyone, which challenges the value of the biological approach as it suggests that brain chemistry alone may not account for all cases of depression

Question 63

what are the limitations of the biological approach?

Answer 63

casual conclusions- when a particular drug reduces symptoms of a mental disorder, the biological approach assumes that the neurochemical in the drug causes the disorder, which does not always apply to every individual
determinist view of behaviour- the biological approach focuses too much on the ‘nature’ side of the nature/nurture debate and ignores the role of environmental factors shaping behaviour