approches Flashcards
Who was Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)?
The first person to call himself a psychologist, believing all aspects of nature including the human mind, could be studied scientificically.
Biological approach
Views huamsn as biological organisms and so provides biological explanations for all aspects of psychological functioning
What is our environment NOT important in determining?
How are genes are made
Gene
A part of the chromosmes of an organisms that carries information in the form of DNA
Genotype
The genetic makeup of an individuals. A collection of inherited genetic material that is passed from generation to generation
Natural selection
The process by which inherited characteristics that enhance an individuals reproductive success as passed on to the next generation.
Neurochemistry
The study of chemical and neural processes associated with the nervous system
Phenotype
The characteristics that are displayed on an individual - A consequence of interaction of the genotype with the enviroment
What is introspection? (AO1 Knowledge and understanding)
The process by which a person gains knowledge of there mental and emotional states.
What is the scientific method?
Refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable.
What is Empriricism?
The belief that all knowledge is deprived from sensory experience.
What do Empiricits believe?
They believe that knowlege comes from oerservation and experience alone.
What was a limititaton about Wundt’s apporach? (AO3 Evalutation)
- Behaviourists stated that his approach was unreliable as it relied primarly on ‘nonobservable’ responses. - Introspection was not particulary accurate as Nisbett and Wilson (1977) found that participants were remarkably unaware of factors that had influenced their choice of a consumer item. The problem is particularly acute in the study of implicit attitudes i.e. attitudes that are unknown to us
What are the the strengths of the scientific approach to psychology?
- It’s reliance on objective and systematic methods of the observations, knowledge aquire using the scientific method is more than just passive acceptance of facts. - The scientific method rely on a belief in determinism it was possible for them to establish causes of behaviour through methods that were both emprica and replicable. - The scientific method is self-corrective as if theories no longer fit facts they can be refined or abandoned meaning that scientific knowledge is self-corrective.
What is a limitation of reductionalism?
Is that humans and their environments are so complex that the reductionist explanation falls short of giving the whole explanation of the behaviour.
What is a strength of reductionalism?
It can give a greater understanding of something by revealing evidence for a cause of behaviour.
What is Reductionalism?
An approach that reduces a complex phenomenon such as human behaviour to the simplest explanation possible.
What are the problems associated with introspection?
- There was very little agreement between individuals - The data is unreliable - The process is subjective.
What is Structuralism?
The attempt to understand the strucuture and characteristics of the mind.
What were Wundt’s goals of psychology?
To identify components of consciousness. - To identify how those components combined to result in our conscious experience
What are the the strengths of the scientific approach to psychology?
- It’s reliance on objective and systematic methods of the observations, knowledge aquire using the scientific method is more than just passive acceptance of facts. - The scientific method rely on a belief in determinism it was possible for them to establish causes of behaviour through methods that were both emprica and replicable. - The scientific method is self-corrective as if theories no longer fit facts they can be refined or abandoned meaning that scientific knowledge is self-corrective.
What are limitations of the scientific approach to psychology? (AO3 Evalutation)
- By concenration on objectivity and control in observations, scientific psychologists create contrived situations which tell us little on how people act in natural enviroments. - Subject matter of psychology is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured in any degree of accuracy. - Not all psychologists share the same view that all human behaviour can be explored by the use of scientific methods. If human behaviour is not subject to the laws and regularites implied by scientific methods, then predictions become impossible and these methods inappropriated.
What were Wundt’s goals of psychology?
- To identify components of consciousness. - To identify how those components combined to result in our conscious experience
What are the 5 approaches that explain behaviours ?
THE LEARNING APPROACH
COGNITIVE APPROACH
PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
HUMANISTIC APPROACH
How does NEUROCHEMISTRY affect behaviour ?
levels of neurotransmitters affect mood and behaviour
What is the FIRST ASSUMPTION that behaviourists believe ?
- psychology should be seen as a science - supported by evidence - objective and controlled observations
What is the SECOND ASSUMPTION that behaviourists believe ?
- psychologists should study OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOURS
What is the THIRD ASSUMPTION that behaviourists believe ?
- no FREE WILL - ENVIRONMENT determines BEHAVIOUR
What is the FOURTH ASSUMPTION that behaviourists believe ?
- when we are BORN our mind is TABULA RASA (blank slate)
What is the FIFTH ASSUMPTION that behaviourists believe ?
- little difference in the learning between ANIMALS and HUMANS - study animals generlaise to humans
What is CLASSICAL CONDITIONING ?
- learning through association - two stimuli (UCS) + (NS) - repeatedly paired
What does the COGNITIVE APPROACH argue ?
internal mental processes should be observed
