Paper 2 - Approaches

Question 1

outline Wundt and the emergence of psych as a science

Answer 1

• wundt thought the human mind could be studied scientifically
• he used systematic standerdised procedures and used the scientific method to generate theories
• his work allowed for psych to be viewed as a distinct science

Question 2

what was the approach wundt adopted called and the technique used within this

Answer 2

apporach - structuralism - an experience is analysed in terms of its component parts
technique - introspection - systematic analysis of your concious using controlled studies

Question 3

outline introspection

Answer 3

• there is a focus on being objective in order to gain knowledge about your mental and emotional states
• isolating the human mind’s structure (conciosuness) is structuralism
• wundt would give standardised instructions and ask people to look inwards and notice sensations and feelings
• he would also ask ppl to focus on objects or sounds to help this process ie a ticking metronome
• this process is systematic and allows wundt to use the same procedure for all and therefore form general theories

Question 4

what are the 2 strands of the behaviourist approach

Answer 4

classical conditioning - learning through association
operant conditioning - learning through consequences

Question 5

what is the basis of behaviourism

Answer 5

empiricism and the idea of tabula rasa - use of lab experiments to maintain objectivity

Question 6

outline pavlov’s research

Answer 6

• 1927
• the bell (ns) originally led to no response
• however food (ucs) leads to salivation (ucr)
• then the bell and the food were paired around 20 times and the dogs salivated (ucr)
• after that, the bell (cs) led to salivation on its own (cr)
• pavlov also said that there could be no distractions for this to take place

Question 7

what are the 4 other concepts of CC and describe

Answer 7

• extinction - when a CR becomes a CS after a while because it hasnt been paired with the UCS for a while - pavlov found that after a while the dogs stopped salivating to the sound of a bell
• spontaneous recovery - when an exticnt response suddently reappears even without any new pairings with the UCS
• stimulus generalisation - if a different stimulus is similar to the CS then the association may be transferred over - ie Little Albert transferred his fear of rats to rabbits and other white animals
• stimulus discrimination - when stimuli similar to the original CS dont produce a CR because they are too different

Question 8

outline skinner’s research and the 2 variations

Answer 8

• 1938
• he studied operant conditioning by putting rats into Skinner boxes which were designed to deliver a food pellet when a lever was pressed by the rat
• in one variation, electric shocks were continuous given until the lever was pressed
• in another, when the lever was pressed, a shock was given

Question 9

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 9

when you add in a good thing to get someone to repeat a behaviour

Question 10

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 10

this is when you take away something bad when something good is done to increases the chances that it is done again

Question 11

what is positive punishment

Answer 11

this is when you add in an unpleasent action when an undesried action is done - ie giving a rat a shock (unpleasent action) when it presses a lever (undesired action)

Question 12

what is negative punishment

Answer 12

this is when something good is taken away because of an undesired behaviour happens

Question 13

what is primary reinforcement

Answer 13

this takes place when a primary reinforcer has biological significance - ie a child is given sweets (satisfies our biological need for nutrition)

Question 14

what is secondary reinforcement

Answer 14

takes place when the secondary reinforcer has the potential to satisfy a biological need, it has become associated with it - ie a child is given stickers for tidying their room which can be exchanged for sweets

Question 15

what are the 5 schedules of reinforcement

Answer 15

• fixed interval
• variable interval
• fixed ratio
• variable ratio
• continuous reinforcment - not really a schedule

Question 16

describe fixed and variable interval

Answer 16

interval refers to time
fixed interval - when the reward is given within a fixed time priod after the desired behaviour has been shown - ie 5 mins
variable interval - when the reward is given at varied time periods - ie first after 2 mins, then 5 mins

Question 17

describe fixed and variable ratio

Answer 17

ratio refers to numbers
fixed ratio is when the reward is given after a certain no of desired responses - ie after every 3 times
variable ratio is when the reward is given after a different no of desired responses - ie a reward after 3 correct answers, then 6 correct answers

Question 18

what is continous renforcement

Answer 18

this is when each desired behaviour recieves the consequence
ie rat is given pellet every time it presses the lever
leads to rapid change in behaviour
but also leads to extinction (rat gets full and stops pressing lever)