origins of psychology Flashcards
where was the first psychology opened?
Leipzig, Germany
who opened the first psychology lab
Wundt
what did Wundt introduce?
introspection to study the human mind systematically (scientific)
what were the standardised procedures?
he used observations of objects and sounds which were recorded
what categories was consciousness divided into?
thoughts
images
sensations
two strengths of wundt and introspection
- carefully controlled environment
- carefully standardised
limitation of wundt and introspection
general laws not possible as all introspection are different
1900
Behaviourists
what did the behaviourists do?
researchers (Skinner and Watson) conducted controlled experiments on behaviours that were directly observable
1950s
Cognitive Approach
what did the cognitive approach do
made the study of the mind legitimate and scientific, experiments tested the computer metaphor (e.g multi-store model)
1980s
Biological Approach
what did the biological approach do?
studied observable behaviours using controlled measures (e.g fMRI).
genetic testing studies relationship between genes and behaviour
strengths of the emergence of psychology as a science
learning, cognitive and biological approaches all use scientific methods (e.g lab research)
weakness of the emergence of psychology as a science
humanistic and psychodynamic approaches rely on unscientific case studies.
research hampered by demand characteristics
what was the behaviourist approach?
all behaviour is learned through association or consequences
assumptions of the behaviourist approach
only observable behaviour needs to be studied.
basic processes same in all species.
what is classical conditioning?
learning by association
who studied classical conditioning?
pavlov 1927
outline pavlov’s study into classical conditioning
- pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell
- sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food
- pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (stimulus) with the food (another stimulus)
- would produce salivation as a response every time it heard the sound of
classical conditioning diagram
(food) UCS -> (salivation) UCR
(bell) NS -> (no salivation) no response
(bell) + (food) -> salivation
(bell) CS -> (salivation) CR
what is operant conditioning?
learning through consequences
who conducted research into operant conditioning?
Skinner 1953
outline skinner’s study into operant conditioning
- conducted experiments with rats in cages
- everytime the rat activated a lever within the box it was rewarded with a food pellet
- rats would be electrically shocked if an unpleasant behaviour was shown