the origins of psychology and the behaviourist approach

Question 1

What was Wilhelm Wundt nickname?

Answer 1

the father of experimental psychology

Question 2

What were the contributions Wundt made to Psychology?

Answer 2

• in 1879 Wundt establishes the first experimental psychology lab
• he founded the institute of experimental psychology at the Uni of Leipzig
• he taught the first university course in Psychology
  -he wrote the Principles of Physiological Psychology
• he devised introspection - a scientific method to study sensation and perception

Question 3

What is the definition for introspection?

Answer 3

Introspection is the process of gaining knowledge about one’s own mental and emotional states - observing one’s inner world. It involves the systematic examination of one’s own thought processes feelings, emotions and sensations - reporting PRESENT conscious experiences

Question 4

Describe the process of introspection:

Answer 4

• observers might be shown an object and asked to reflect upon how they were perceiving it - e.g describe the inner processes they are experiencing when watching a stimulus such as ticking metronome which can be used to gain insight into the nature of mental processes involved in perception
• researchers can then compare different participants reports in response to the same stimuli and so establish general theories about perception and other mental processes

Question 5

Key assumptions of the Behaviorist Approach:

Answer 5

• behaviour is learnt from experience
• only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically and should be studied i.e stimuli and responses.
• we were born a blank slate (tabula rasa) - there is no genetic influence on behaviour
• the same laws apply to human and non-human animal behaviour. It is therefore valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning.

Question 6

what is Classical Conditioning?

Answer 6

Assumes that learning occurs through Association

Question 7

What is an Unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 7

something that produces a natural response

Question 8

unconditioned response

Answer 8

the natural response to the uncontrolled stimulus

Question 9

neutral stimulus

Answer 9

A stimulus which does not elicit a response on its own

Question 10

conditioned stimulus

Answer 10

A stimulus that produces a reflexive response (previous neutral response) but in the absence of the ucs

Question 11

What are empirical methods?

Answer 11

Empirical methods involve careful observation and measurement i.e. methods that rely on direct sensory experience.

Therefore, thoughts, feelings and subjective experiences can only be studied if they can be made observable, hence why introspection is said to lack empiricism.

Question 12

What is objectivity and why is it an important feature of science?

Answer 12

Unbiased in that all sources of bias are minimised and personal or subjective ideas are eliminated.

Question 13

systematic meaning

Answer 13

Observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way.

The measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately and with consideration for the possible influence of other factors on the results obtained.

Question 14

What is replicability and why is it an important feature of science?

Answer 14

Replicability is the ability to repeat a study to verify the validity of the results.
If the outcome is similar or the same, then this affirms the reliability and validity of the original results.
Researchers should be able to repeat a study to avoid basing policy, practice and actions on findings that are either unreliable or based on a ‘fluke’ occurrence.

Question 15

what is ecological validity?

Answer 15

a type of external validity. It is the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other real-life situations, beyond the experimental setting.

Question 16

what is mundane realism?

Answer 16

It is the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other real-life situations, beyond the experimental setting.

Question 17

two strengths of a scientific approach to psychology

Answer 17

• Objective and systematic methods of observation enable psychologists to establish the validity of an idea or concept, rather than passively accepting it to be true.

-Scientific methods are underpinned by a belief in determinism, therefore enabling them to establish the causes of behaviour and make predictions

Question 18

two limitations of a scientific approach to psychology

Answer 18

• Not all psychologists share the view that human behaviour can be studied using scientific methods.
• Scientific psychologists strive for objectivity and control in their research, which ultimately leads to contrived situations that do not always tell us much about how people behave in the real world.
  Research tends to lack ecological validity.

Question 19

what is reliability?

Answer 19

-measure of consistency
-how much we can depend on a particular measurement
- easily replicable and there will be a similar or the same result

Question 20

why were Wundts methods considered unreliable?

Answer 20

• Wundt’s approach relied on ‘non-observable’ responses - which are prone to bias and highly subjective as they are based on thoughts and feelings
  -introspective results were not reliably reproducible by other researchers in other labs - not replicable
• results vary from person to person , making it difficult to generalie

Question 21

What is a strength of Wundt’s work?

Answer 21

Wundt’s work can be seen as a forerunner of the cognitive approach.
this is because he focused on the study of mental processes i.e thoughts, through the use of introspection.
Therefore, Wundts ideas are still relevant to modern scientific psychology, because cognitive psychology today still aims to understand mental processes, and the study of thoughts and reaction times continues to inform this understanding.

Question 22

Procedure of Pavlov (1927) classical conditioning:

Answer 22

He inserted a small test tube into the cheek of each dog to measure saliva when the dogs were fed.
In his experiment, Pavlov used a metronome as his neutral stimulus. By itself the metronome (NS) did not elicit a response from the dogs.
Next, Pavlov began the conditioning procedure, whereby the clicking metronome (NS) was introduced just before he gave food (UCS) to his dogs.
After a number of repeats (trials) of this procedure (i.e. presenting the food and ticking metronome at the same time) he presented the metronome on its own.

Question 23

Findings of Pavlov (1927) classical conditioning

Answer 23

The sound of the clicking metronome (CS) on its own now caused an increase in salivation (CR).
The dog had learned an association between the metronome and the food and a new behaviour had been learned.

Question 24

definition of stimulus generation

Answer 24

Once an animal has been conditioned, then they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS
e.g. a bell with a different pitch/tone.

Question 25

definition of timing in classical conditioning

Answer 25

If the NS occurs after the UCS or the time interval between the two is too great, then conditioning does not take place.
Time contiguity – when the NS and UCS are presented at the same time, or around the same time.

Question 26

definition of extinction in classical conditioning

Answer 26

After a few presentations of the CS in the absence of the UCS, it loses its ability to produce the CR.

Question 27

definition of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning

Answer 27

Following extinction, if the CS and UCS are then paired together once again, the link between them is made much more quickly.

Question 28

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 28

learning through consequence

Question 29

reinforcement definition

Answer 29

a consequence that means a behaviour is more likely to be repeated in the future. The response is therefore strengthened.

Question 30

what is positive reinforcement?

Answer 30

a positive consequence in the form of a reward

Question 31

what is negative reinforcement?

Answer 31

removal of a negative/aversive stimulus

Question 32

What is the procedure for the skinner box?

Answer 32

skinner designed a device to test learned response(in animals) capable of adding and removing positive and negative stimuli. the key features of this box were pellet dispenser, signal lights, speaker, electric grid etc

Question 33

key finding to do with positive reinforcement in skinner box

Answer 33

When the rat pressed the lever it prompted the release of a food pellet (reward) into the box for the rat to eat - the rat then repeated this behaviour i.e. the action of pressing the lever.

Question 34

key finding of negative reinforcement in skinners box:

Answer 34

the floor was capable of administering an electric shock (punishment). The rat was then shocked until it pressed the lever , therefore removing the unpleasant and painful electric shock. It quickly learned to press the lever to stop the shock

Question 35

what is continuous reinforcement?

Answer 35

the behavioural response is reinforced every time that it occurs. its most effective in establishing a particular response.

Question 36

what is partial reinforcement?

Answer 36

the behaviour is only sometimes reinforced

Question 37

A limitation of the behaviourist approach is that could be considered reductionist…

Answer 37

… because behaviourists reduce the complexities of human behaviour to overly simple ideas such as stimulus, response and reinforcement. This means that other important factors may be overlooked e.g. the role of genes, cognitive factors.

Question 38

PEC: scientific evidence supports the principles of classical and operant conditioning

Answer 38

skinner demonstrated positive and negative reinforcement as he found that the action of pressing the lever was positively reinforced by food pellets dispensed into the box, as well as negatively reinforced by its ability to remove an unpleasant and painful electric shock. Skinner’s experiments were conducted under controlled conditions, which allowed for a cause-effect relationship to be established between the consequences he was manipulating and their effects on behaviour , thus supporting operant conditioning.

Question 39

PEC: Classical conditioning has led to the development of treatments that have been used to help change behaviour e.g. overcome phobias…

Answer 39

Systematic desensitisation and flooding work be creating a new non-fearful association with the feared object or situation, thus eliminating the elarned anxious response. This is known as counter- conditioning . Therefore, the behaviourist approach has led to treatments that can help people to unlearn behaviours that may be causing them distress, supporting the assumption that the behaviour was learnt in the first place.

Question 40

PEC:However, behaviourists rely mostly on animal research

Answer 40

Arguably, this doesn’t tell us much about human behaviour, because there are both psychological and physiological differences between rats/dogs and humans e.g. arguably, humans have free will and a more sophisticated intelligence than other species and much more of our behaviour is the outcome of a conscious decision than the product of an instinct or drive.
Therefore, the findings of animal research are difficult to extrapolate to human behaviour.

Question 41

PEC: Behaviourists do not consider the influence of inherited and cognitive processes as they are not observable – the approach is therefore reductionist and environmentally deterministic.

Answer 41

Animals are seen as passive and machine-like responders to the environment, with little or no conscious insight into their behaviour. However, it is likely that in humans our thoughts do have an effect on how we behave and mediate between stimulus and response i.e. thinking before acting.

Therefore, this approach does not give a complete explanation for behaviour and could be considered reductionist as it reduces the complexities of human behaviour down to overly simple ideas such as stimulus, response and reinforcement. People may play a more active role in their learning.