Psychology Paper 2 - Approaches Flashcards
What is the Behaviourist Approach?
-Explains how people learn and behave through their interactions with the environment.
-Behaviourists focus on observable and measurable aspects of behaviour, and are not concerned with mental processes.
-Behaviourists often study animals because they assume that the laws of behaviour is similar for all species, so knowledge gained from studying animals can be applied to humans.
What is classical conditioning?
A form of learning which occurs by associating an unconditioned stimuli which produces an unconditioned response to a neutral stimulus which produces a conditoned response.
What is operant conditioning?
A form of learning by direct consequences of behaviour. Reinforcements likely increase the behaviour and punishment likely decrease the behaviour.
What is a strength of the Behaviourist approach?
Objective and scientific:
-High controlled lab settings
-Breaks behaviour into simple cause and effects relationships.
-Scientific credibilty
-can be repeated
What is another strength of the Behaviourist approach?
Real world application:
-high mundane realism
-token economy used in prisons
-used everyday
-can be generalised increasing validity
What is a weakness of the Behaviourist approach?
Ethical issues:
-Animals subjected to harm
-No consent
-Would not work today
-Would not work on humans
-Pavlov and Skinner violated ethical guidelines.
What is another weakness of the Behaviourist approach?
Reductionist:
-ignores complex emotions
-only looks at stimulus and responses
-doesnt anaylse thoughts
-decreases validity as not everyone reacts the same
-research may be ineffective
What is the Social Learning Theory?
A learning approach with combines the behaviourist ideas and cognitive ideas of involvement of mental processes. It proposes that new behaviours can be required by observing and imitating others. You can learn directly and indirectly.
What is Identification?
When an observer associates themseleves with their role model and wants to be like them. A person becomes a role model when they share similar characteristic with the observer or are attractive to them
What is a strength of SLT?
Focuses on cognitive factors unlike Behavoiourism:
-Both classical and operant conditioning ignore it
-Humans and animals store information about behaviour through others
-Make their own judgement on how to act
-Recognises mediational processes
What is another strength of SLT?
Real life application:
-Explains cultural differences
-Learning through social media and world around them
-Modelling, limitation, reinforcement
-Understand ranges of behaviours
-Increases validity
-Children understand gender roles
What is a weakness of SLT?
Conducted in lab settings: (Bobo Doll Study)
-Demand characteristics
-Low ecological validity
-Artifical setting
-Tells us little about everyday behaviour
What is another weakness of SLT?
Fails to consider biological factors:
-Found that boys are more aggressive than girls and blames it on SLT
-Doesnt consider testosterone levels for males
-Testosterone is linked to agressiveness
-Reductionist
-Decreases understanding and validity
What is the Cognitive approach?
-A learning process that focuses on mental processes, turning an input into an output (like a computer).
-Looks at memory, perception ad thinking
-Processes are ‘private’ and cant be observed.
-Studied indirectly making inferences.
What is Schema?
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive thinking. They develop from experience.
