Learning approach: behaviourist approach + origins of psych

Question 1

Who attempted to study human consciousness for the 1st time?

Answer 1

Wundt

Question 2

What did Wundt do?

Answer 2

Opened the 1st experimental psych lab in Germany
- Introspection
- Wrote the 1st academic journal and textbook

Question 3

What is introspection?

Answer 3

1st systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations

Question 4

What did Wundt study?

Answer 4

Language and perception process
- Used different stimuli like objects and sounds
- recorded experiences
- divided observations into 3 categories (thoughts, images and sensations)

Question 5

What is there to note about Wundt’s study?

Answer 5

• Isolating the structure of consciousness is called structuralism
• Highlighted the importance of standardization
  > a lot of self report measures used

Question 6

What are some assumptions about the behaviorist approach?

Answer 6

• Only interested in studying behavior that can be observed and measured
• Not concerned with mental processes
• Watson rejected introspection
• Rely on lab studies
• Babies minds are a blank slate
• Learning processes are the same in all animals
• Classical and operant conditioning

Question 7

What study represents the theory of classical conditioning?

Answer 7

Pavlov’s dog

Question 8

What is classical conditioning simply?

Answer 8

Learning through association

Question 9

What was Pavlov’s dog study?

Answer 9

Dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell
- Works if the sound is presented at the same time as food
- Dogs learn to associate the sound of the bell with food
- Neutral stimulus = bell
- Created a new learned response (conditioned response)

Question 10

What is a stimulus and what are the types of stimulus?

Answer 10

Stimulus - things in your environment that trigger a reaction from your brain or body

Neutral stimulus - something that produces no response

Unconditioned stimulus - something that naturally causes a response

Conditioned stimulus - something that was learned to cause a response

Question 11

Who did operant conditioning?

Answer 11

B.F Skinner

Question 12

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 12

• Learning is an active process
• Behavior shaped by consequence
• Positive and negative reinforcement

Question 13

What is positive and negative reinforcement?

Answer 13

Positive: reward or praise
Negative: avoiding something unpleasant
Punishment: unpleasant consequence

Question 14

What study was there for operant conditioning?

Answer 14

The Skinner box

Question 15

What is the Skinner box?

Answer 15

• Put a rat or a pigeon in the box
• If they lifted the lever = received food
• If they didn’t lift the lever = electrocution
• If the animal is fed everytime, get too full to pull the lever
• Variable ratio schedule would prolong the behaviour
• Reinforcement given after an unpredictable amount of responses (every 10, 12 and 15 times of pulling it)

Question 16

What are strengths of the behaviorist approach?

Answer 16

• Based on well controlled research
• Measurable, observable data
• In controlled lab conditions
• Clear demonstration of how reinforcement effects animal behavior
• Has scientific credibility
• Applied to real world behaviours and problems

Question 17

What are limitations of behaviourist approach?

Answer 17

• May have over simplified learning processes
• Completely ignored mental processes
• Learning more complex than observable behaviour
• Views all behaviour as conditioned by past experiences
• Ignored free will
• Ignored influence of conscious decision making
• Animal studies are unethical

Question 18

What about behaviourism and gaming?

Answer 18

Wong used Skinnerian principles to explain gaming addictions
- A video game environment is the same as a Skinner box
- Reinforce certain behaviours
- shooting zombies = completing the lever
- the controller = the lever