Developmental Area Flashcards
What are the 5 areas in psychology?
• social
• biological
• cognitive
• individual differences
What are the 2 perspectives in psychology?
• behaviourist perspective - external factors in our environment.
• psychodynamic perspective - unconscious motives - stem from our childhood experiences.
Assumptions of the behaviourist perspective:
• they believe that all behaviour is learnt through the environment. ‘Tabula Rasa’ - we are born a blank slate.
• they believe that everything is scientific/psychology is a science.
•they believe that behaviour is the result of a stimulus - response association.
• objectivity (facts) is obtained by observable and measurable behaviour.
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is a type of learning that happens unconsciously.
An automatic conditioner response is paired with a specific stimulus. This creates a behaviour.
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is a type of learning that happens unconsciously.
An automatic conditioner response is paired with a specific stimulus. This creates a behaviour.
What is meant by the term: unconditioned stimulus?
An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that leads to an automatic response.
What is meant by the term:
Unconditioned response?
And unconditioned response is an automatic response to a stimulus.
What is meant by the term:
Neutral stimulus?
A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that at first elicits no response (e.h Pavlov’s Dogs)
What is meant by the term:
No response?
No response is when a stimulus doesn’t elicit a response.
What is meant by the term:
conditioned stimulus?
A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that can eventually trigger a conditioned response.
What is meant by the term:
Conditioned Response?
A conditioned response is a behaviour that does not come naturally, but must be learned by the individual by pairing a neutral stimulus with a potent stimulus.
What are the assumptions of the Developmental Area?
The assumptions of the developmental area include:
• change and development is an ongoing process which continues throughout our lifetime.
• behaviour is learned (nurture) or may be innate (biological)
• Early experiences later affect development.
• Development may happen in predetermined stages.
What are the four types of operant conditioning?
• Positive Reinforcement (the addition of a reward)
• Negative Reinforcement (the removal of a punishment)
• Positive Punishers (the addition of a punishment)
• Negative Punishers (the removal of a reward)
What does operant conditioning argue?
Operant conditioning argues that the consequences of a response determine the probability of it being repeated.
What are some strengths within the developmental area?
• Research within the area can help improve our understanding of human behaviour especially with regards to maturing/aging.
• Research in this area can be extremely useful when applied to the real world (e.g education and childcare) as it can help us positively influence our children’s behaviour.
• It sheds light on the nature/nurture debate.
• Can be holistic as it considers various factors that influence behaviour (e.g both nature and nurture)
