behaviorism,SLT,cognitive,biological Flashcards
APPROACHES
what are the 3 types of consequences of behavior in operant conditioning?
positive reinforcement- receiving a reward for a certain behavior
negative reinforcement- when you avoid something unpleasant (e.g. handing in essay to avoid detention)
punishment- an unpleasant consequence of behavior
what is operant conditioning?
form of learning in which behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences
when does classical conditioning occur?
when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together- an unconditioned and new neutral stimulus. the neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone
who suggested the theory of operant conditioning?
Skinner
what did Pavlov use in his research and what were the findings (outcome) of the research?
dogs
he was able to show how a neutral stimulus (the bell) can come to illicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association
what type of experiments do behaviorists rely on, as it helps to maintain more control and objectivity?
lab experiments
what is classical conditioning and who first demonstrated it?
classical conditioning- learning through association
Pavlov
what is the behaviorist approach?
a way of explaining behavior in terms of
what is observable and
in terms of learning
5 evaluative points for social learning theory
SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning
over-reliance on evidence from lab studies
underestimates the influence of biological factors
explains cultural differences in behavior
less deterministic than behaviorist approach
do role models have to be physically present in the environment for people to imitate their behavior?
no
how does a person become a role model in terms of ‘modelling’ and identification? (3 ways)
possess similar characteristics to the observer
are attractive
have high status
are people (especially children) more likely to imitate the behavior of people with whom they identify (role models)?
yes
what are the 4 mediational processes in learning identified by Bandura?
- attention- the extent to which we notice certain behaviors
- retention- how well the behavior is remembered
- motor reproduction- ability to perform behavior
- motivation- the will to perform the behavior, determined by whether the behavior was rewarded or punished
when does vicarious reinforcement occur?
indirect learning
learner observes the behavior of someone, and may imitate it if the behavior is seen to be rewarded (reinforced) rather than punished
who proposed social learning theory as a development of the behaviorist approach?
Bandura
does SLT suggest that learning occurs directly, through classical and operant conditioning, but also indirectly?
yes
what is social learning theory?
combines behaviorist approach (behavior is learnt from experience) with SLT- people learn through observation and imitation of others within a social context
5 evaluation points for the behaviorist approach
it has scientific credibility
it has real life applications (e.g. operant conditioning is the basis of token economies)
mechanist view of behavior- SLT/cognitive argue for mental process- behaviorist may apply more to animals
deterministic
ethical/practical issues issues in animal studies
what is the cognitive approach?
how our mental processes affect behavior
what areas of human behavior does the cognitive approach investigate that SLT and behaviorists ignore?
memory, perception and thinking
how does the cognitive approach observe these processes?
they study them indirectly by making inferences based on their behavior
one way to study internal processes according to the cognitive approach
theoretical methods
what does the informational processing approach suggest and what is it?
a theoretical method
information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that includes input, storage and retrieval, as in the multi-store model
what is the computer model?
the mind is compared to a computer by suggesting there are similarities in the way information is processed
there is a central processing unit (the brain), coding (to turn information into a usable format), and stores to hold information
what has the concept of the computer model been useful in developing?
artificial intelligence
what is ‘schema’?
‘packages’ of information or ideas developed through experience
what does the ‘schema’ act as?
a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system
what do schemas help us to do?
respond to the object appropriately
what are babies born with (schema)?
simple motor schema for innate behaviors
what is schema useful for?
processing lots of information quickly, which prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
what is cognitive neuroscience?
the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
what did Broca identify?
how damage to an area of the frontal lobe (Broca’s area) could permanently impair speech production
what have scanning techniques (PET, fMRI etc.) proved useful for?
establishing the neurological basis of some mental disorders
what have scientists been able to do only in the last 20 years or so?
they have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes
what could ‘brain fingerprinting’ be used for in the future?
analysing the brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to determine whether they are lying in court
is the cognitive approach deterministic?
based on soft determinism- a more interactionist approach
in what way can the cognitive approach be applied to real life?
it has made an important contribution in the field of AI
the development of ‘thinking machines’- robots
CBT- therapies
why is cognitive psychology sometimes too abstract or theoretical in nature (which makes it lack external validity)?
because its based on inferences of mental processes
why is the computer analogy criticised?
it shows machine reductionism
the use of lab experiments and the emergence of cognitive neuroscience gives the cognitive approach what?
a credible scientific basis
what is the biological approach?
a perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body
what does ‘the mind lives in the brain’ mean?
all thoughts, feelings and behavior ultimately have a physical basis
what do behavior geneticists study?
whether behavioral characteristics, such as intelligence, personality, mental disorders, are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics, such as height and eye colour
what type of studies are used to determine the likeliness that certain traits have a genetic basis?
what is compared in these studies?
twin studies
concordance rates
what are monozygotic (MZ) twins?
what percentage of genes do they share?
identical twins
100%
what are dizygotic (DZ) twins?
what percentage of genes do they share?
non-identical twins
50% (the same as normal siblings)
what is a genotype?
the particular set of genes a person possesses
what is a phenotype?
the characteristics of a person determined by both genes and the environment
what do many biological psychologists accept in terms of geno/phenotypes?
much of human behavior depends on an interaction between inherited factors (nature) and the environment (nurture)
what is the theory of natural selection?
any genetically determined behavior that enhances an individuals survival or reproduction will continue in future generations
where does natural selection take place?
in nature- ‘naturally’
what happens if an individual survives but does not reproduce?
the traits gained do not remain in the gene pool
definition of neurochemistry
relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functioning
definition of evolution
the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
what highly scientific, reliable and unbiased methods does the biological approach use?
scanning techniques, such as fMRI’s and EEG’s
family and twin studies
drug trials
how does the biological approach have real life application?
it has lead to the development of psychoactive drugs that can help treat serious mental illnesses
is there a cause and effect issue in terms of the action of neurotransmitters in the brain?
yes
is the biological approach deterministic?
yes
in what way does the biological approach have implications for the legal system and wider society because of it’s determinism?
one of the rules of law is that offenders are seen as legally and morally responsible for their actions. the discovery of a ‘criminal gene’, if there is such a thing, may complicate this principle
what is the important confounding variable in family/twin studies?
you cannot tell what is nature and what is nurture- families usually live in the same/ similar environments
