Paper 2 - Approaches to Psychology Flashcards
What are the two types of learning in behaviourism and the definitions ?
Classical Conditioning - Learning through association
Operant Conditioning - Learning through consequence where behavior is influenced by reinforcement or punishment.
What is the behaviourists approach ?
Suggests that psychology should restrict itself to studying observable behaviours that can be measured directly . Therefore are not concerned with studying unobservable mental processes such as thoughts and feelings
Who first described classical conditioning?
The Russian physiologist Pavlov.
What are the two main components of natural reflexes in classical conditioning?
Reflexes are made up of a stimulus, referred to as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), and its naturally associated response, referred to as the unconditioned response (UCR)
What is a neutral stimulus (NS)?
A stimulus that would not naturally cause any response.
What happens when a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?
The NS can become associated with the UCS and trigger the unconditioned response (UCR).
What are the terms for the NS and the response after conditioning?
The NS becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS), and the response is called the conditioned response (CR)
What experiment did Pavlov conduct in 1927?
Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food
Before conditioning :
Food (UCS) > Salivation (UCR)
Bell (NS) > No response
During conditioning :
Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) > Salivation (UCR)
After conditioning :
Bell (CS) > Salivation (CR)
Animal is referred to as being classically conditioned
What are the two main types of reinforcement and definition ?
Positive reinforcement: Occurs when an animal receives something pleasant for performing a behaviour Negative reinforcement: Occurs when an animal avoids something unpleasant by performing a behaviour
What did Skinner develop in 1953 to study operant conditioning?
The Skinner box.
How did Skinner demonstrate positive reinforcement?
A rat received a food pellet for pressing a lever, leading to repeated lever pressing.
How did Skinner demonstrate negative reinforcement?
A rat avoided an electric shock by pressing a lever, leading to repeated lever pressing.
How did Skinner demonstrate punishment?
A rat received an electric shock for pressing a lever, leading to avoidance of the lever.
Who proposed Social Learning Theory (SLT) ?
Bandura
What is the Social Learning Theory ?
SLT is a development of behaviourism . Behaviourism suggests that learning occurs directly through classical and operant conditioning. SLT suggests that learning can also occur indirectly through the observation and imitation of models
What is modelling in SLT and what is the individual who performs a modelled behaviour called ?
The demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated and the individual who performs the behaviour is called a model.
When is imitation more likely to occur ?
If the observer identifies with the model eg. same characteristics (age, gender, ability) and high status.
What is the model called when the observer identifies with them?
A role model.
What is vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment?
VR : When an observer imitates a behaviour after seeing the model being reinforced for it.
VP : When an observer is less likely to imitate a behavior after seeing the model being punished for it.
What was the aim of Bandura’s “Bobo Doll” experiments?
To support Social Learning Theory by demonstrating how children imitate behaviors.
In the Bandura & Walters (1963) study, what did the children in Group 1 observe?
They observed an aggressive adult model being reinforced.
In the Bandura & Walters (1963) study, what did the children in Group 2 observe?
They observed an aggressive adult model being punished.
What were the findings of the Bandura & Walters (1963) study?
Children in Group 1 who observed the model being reinforced behaved more aggressively, while the children in Group 2 who saw the model punished behaved the least aggressively.
What was the main conclusion from Bandura’s experiments?
Children are more likely to imitate behavior if they observe reinforcement and less likely if they observe punishment.
What are mediational processes in SLT?
Cognitive processes that occur between observing a behaviour and imitating it.
Name the four mediational processes proposed by Bandura and define each ?
Attention: The extent to which an observer notices a modelled behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated, the observer must notice it.
Retention: The extent to which an observer remembers a modelled behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated, the observer must remember it.
Motor reproduction: The ability of an observer to perform a modelled behaviour. For a behaviour to be imitated, the observer must be able to perform it.
Motivation: The will of the observer to perform a modelled behaviour. This is often based upon whether the model was rewarded or punished for performing the behaviour.
What are Biological psychologists basic assumptions ?
Biological psychologists explain all psychological functioning in terms of physical factors in the human body
What physical factors do biological psychologists consider ?
Genes, biological structures and neurochemistry
What other factors aide from physical ones do biological psychologists consider ?
The influence of evolution on behaviour
What do behavioural geneticists study ?
Whether psychological traits, such as intelligence and personality can be inherited in the same way as physical traits like height and eye colour.
What are twin studies used for and how do they work ?
Investigating the influence of genes on behaviour.
What is a genotype ?
The genetic makeup of an individual
What is a phenotype ?
The observable characteristics if an individual and is the way an individuals genes are expressed.
What influences phenotype apart from genes?
Environmental factors.
