Approaches to psychology Flashcards
What were the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measure
Why did John Watson reject introspection?
(behaviourist)
Hard to measure as it was based on processes of the mind that cannot be viewed or proved
What were the ethical issues associated with the behaviourist approach?
animals housed in harsh, cramped conditions and deliberately kept under weight
What is classical conditioning?(behaviourist)
Where a behaviour is learned through association
What is the three stage process of classical conditioning?(behaviourist)
Before conditioning
During conditioning
After conditioning
What does Pavlov’s experiment show and how was the experiment carried out?(behaviourist)
Pavlov’s experiments show how classical conditioning is applied to animals. The experiments consisted of attaching a tube to a dogs salivary glands. He would present the dogs with food(unconditioned stimulus) and ring a bell at the same time (neutral stimulus). The result was that through association when the dog would hear the bell it would salivate(conditioned stimulus) as it associates the sound of bell with food.
What does operant conditioning state?(behaviourist)
Behaviour is shaped by consequence.
What were the three aspects of operant conditioning and what they consist of?(behaviourist)
Positive reinforcement: receive reward when certain behaviour performed
Negative reinforcement: animal or human avoids something unpleasant by doing act
Punishment: unpleasant consequence of behaviour such as being yelled at
What does the skinners box test test and how is the experiment carried out? (behaviourist)
Tests operant conditioning. Rat was placed in box and by pulling lever it learned it would release a reward (food). Also discovered if lever was pulled it would avoid an unpleasant electric shock. (shows both negative and positive reinforcement)
What are positive evaluations of the behaviourist approach?
well controlled research (by breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus removed other variables creating cause and effect relationship)
Have been applied to real world behaviour problems (token economy systems used in prisons and psychiatric wards where you receive tokens for good behaviour)
What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?
Didn’t take into account other influences on learning (“private mental processes” make things more complex)
Sees all behaviour as conditioned from past experiences (ignores free will effect on behaviour and ignores influence of conscious decisions making decisions as well as disorders -skinner suggested everything we do is the sum of our conditioned history- )
What are the assumptions of the Cognitive approach?
The internal mental processes should be studied, these processes are private and so are studied indirectly via making inferences about what’s happening inside mind (thinking, memory, perception)
How are theoretical and computer models used in the cognitive approach?
Theoretical models: are used to visualise how information goes through the brain in a sequence ( input, storage, retrieval) referencing that out brains work similarly to computers
Computer models: involve programming a computer to see if computer develops a similar response to a human
USED TO DEVELOP THINKING MACHINES AND AI
What is soft determinism?
The view that human behaviour is determined by internal and external factors with free will
What is hard determinism?
views say all our behaviour is determined by factors other than our will e.g genes, conditioning
What did Bronca discover about the brain
Realised damage to the frontal lobe (Broncas area) can alter speech production
What do FMRI’s and PET scans allow (cognitive)
allow systematic observation (allows data to be collected accurately)
What research did Buckner and Peterson carry out (cognitive)?
research involving episodic and semantic memory, saw how different types of long term memory were located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex as well as central executive (working memory) in similar areas
What did scanning techniques help to recognise? (cognitive)
Helped to recognise mental disorders and finding links in how they process unpleasant emotions ( OCD and Para hippocampal gyrus)
How have computer models been applied to real life situations? (cognitive)
have been designed to read the brain to create a mind mapping techniques known as brain fingerprinting
also analysis of brain waves to see if eyewitnesses lie in court
What is schema? (cognitive)
Schema is the packages of ideas and information developed through experience, acts as mental framework for interpretation of incoming information
What are positive evaluations of the cognitive approach?
+ uses objective scientific methods
uses lab studies which are highly controlled and produce reliable, objective data also the emergence of cognitive neuroscience where both biology and cognitive psychology have come together
What are the limitations of the cognitive approach?
- uses objective scientific methods- suffers from being to abstract and theoretical
relies upon the inference of mental processes rather than direct observation on behaviour and lacks external validity
-machine reductionism
What specifically were the stages of classical conditioning? (behaviourist)
Before Conditioning
Neutral Stimulus - Bell. No conditioned response
Unconditioned Stimulus - Food
Unconditioned Response - Salivation
During Conditioning
Neutral Stimulus - Bell
Unconditioned Stimulus - Food
Unconditioned Response- Salivation
After Conditioning
Conditioned Stimulus - Bell
Conditioned Response- Salivation
What was Rene Descartes quote?
“i think therefore i am”- the mind and body are separate (cartesian duality)
What was Charles Darwin’s quote?
survival of the fittest, weakest genes weeded out
What was John Locke’s quote?
All information can be obtained through the senses, human beings don’t inherit knowledge or instinct, behaviour can be observed and measured (empiricism)
What is introspection?
recording the conscious thoughts of people and breaking them down into their constituent parts. Looking at structure of consciousness is called structuralism
What was Wilhelm Wundt’s research?
He tried to be very controlled in what he did. He would do his research in controlled (the same each time) conditions using a stimulus which was the same each time (such as the ticking of a metronome). This meant that the team had the same instructions each time so it could be replicated.
Who opened the first psychology lab and in what year?
Wilhelm Wundt
1879
What are the assumptions of social learning theory?
learn through observation and imitation. SLT suggests learning occurs through conditioning (directly) and observation + imitation(indirectly)
what is vicarious reinforcement?(SLT)
where an individual observes a behaviour and imitates it usually is the behaviour is seen to be rewarded
What is identification? (SLT)
the idea that people are more likely to imitate someone if they have similar characteristics (such as attraction, status) Process of imitating a role model is called modelling
What is Banduras research about?
Study A: behaviour of young children who watched an adult be aggressive towards a bobo doll. Recorded the children also showed aggression towards the doll when playing
Study B: three groups shown video, one with adult praised for abusing bobo doll, one punished and one without consequence. In order of aggression: 1,3,2
What is imitation? (SLT)
copying the behaviours of others
What is identification? (SLT)
When an observer identifies with a role model and wants to be like them
What are mediational processes? (SLT)
Cognitive factors that influence learning and comes between stimulus and response
What are the real world applications of Social Learning Theory?
advantage of being able to explain cultural difference principle (modelling, imitation, reinforcement) accounts for how children are influences by others and social media
What is reciprocal determinism?
not merely influenced by external environment but we also exert an influences, This shows we have some sort of free will in the way we behave contrasting the Behaviourist approach
Example of this determinism is Social Learning Theory
What are the positive evaluations of Social Learning Theory?
+ recognises importance of cognitive factors (e.g how we process and store information) suggesting SLT has a more comprehensive explanation of human learning
What are the limitations of Social learning theory?
- too little refences to biological factors (says learning was determined by environment however may be result of mirror neurons in the brain allow to empathise and imitate others)
-contrived lab studies means results are gathered through lab studies (observed young people , criticized for contrived nature and respond to demand characteristics meaning children only perform task because it was expected not that they learned it)
What is the role of the conscious part of the mind? (psychodynamic)
the part of the consciousness we are fully aware of
What is the role of the preconscious part of the mind? (psychodynamic)
contains thoughts and memories that can be accessed if desired but not in awareness
What is the role of the unconscious part of the mind? (psychodynamic)
store house of biological drives and instincts, contains threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed
Can be accessed through dreams or slips of the tongue (parapraxes)
What are defence mechanisms? (psychodynamic)
unconscious and ensure the ego is able to prevent us from being overwhelmed by temporary threats or traumas
What is a negative of defence mechanisms? (psychodynamic)
often involve distortion of reality and are regarded as unhealthy long term
What are the three types of defence mechanisms? (psychodynamic)
displacement: transferring feelings onto another substitute target
Denial: refuse to acknowledge aspect of reality
Repression: force memory out of conscious mind into unconscious
What is the structure of personality? (psychodynamic)
composed of three parts (tripartite)
Id, super ego and ego
What does the super Ego do? (psychodynamic)
Formed at end of phallic stage (5)
Internalised sense of right and wrong
Represents moral standard of child’s same gendered parent
Punishes Ego for wrong doing
Moral principle
What does the Id do? (psychodynamic)
Primitive part of personality
Operates on pleasure principles
Seething mass of unconscious drives and instincts
Only one present at birth
Selfish
What does the Ego do? (psychodynamic)
Works on reality principles and mediator between Id and superego
Develops around 2 years old
Used to reduce conflict between Id and superego by employing defence mechanisms
Rational principle
What are the positive evaluations of the psychodynamic approach?
+ introduces idea of psychotherapy- first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically instead of physically by bringing repressed feelings into consciousness to deal with
+ ability to explain human behaviour- explains personality development, origins of psychological disorders, moral development, gender identity also childhood connection between family and child
What are the limitations of the Psychodynamic approach?
- regarded as harmful for those with more serious mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia)- patients cannot articulate thoughts as required for psychoanalysis also doesn’t apply to all disorders
- much is untestable- doesn’t meet scientific criteria of falsification as it is not open to empirical testing (possibility of being disapproved) also only studied single individuals (e.g. little hans)
what is stage one of the psychosexual stages? (psychodynamic)
Oral stage (0-1)
What is the description of the oral stage?(psychodynamic)
focus of pleasure in the mouth, mothers breast may become primary object of desire
What is the consequence of being stuck in the oral stage?(psychodynamic)
oral fixations- smoking, biting nails, sarcastic and critical
What is stage two of the psychosexual stages? (psychodynamic)
Anal stage (1-3)