the origins of psychology and the behaviourist approach Flashcards
What was Wilhelm Wundt nickname?
the father of experimental psychology
What were the contributions Wundt made to Psychology?
- 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
What is the definition for introspection?
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
Describe the process of introspection:
- 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
Key assumptions of the Behaviorist Approach:
- 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.
what is Classical Conditioning?
Assumes that learning occurs through Association
What is an Unconditioned stimulus?
something that produces a natural response
unconditioned response
the natural response to the uncontrolled stimulus
neutral stimulus
A stimulus which does not elicit a response on its own
conditioned stimulus
A stimulus that produces a reflexive response (previous neutral response) but in the absence of the ucs
What are empirical methods?
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.
What is objectivity and why is it an important feature of science?
Unbiased in that all sources of bias are minimised and personal or subjective ideas are eliminated.
systematic meaning
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.
What is replicability and why is it an important feature of science?
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.
what is ecological validity?
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.
what is mundane realism?
It is the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other real-life situations, beyond the experimental setting.
two strengths of a scientific approach to psychology
- 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
two limitations of a scientific approach to psychology
- 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.
what is reliability?
-measure of consistency
-how much we can depend on a particular measurement
- easily replicable and there will be a similar or the same result
why were Wundts methods considered unreliable?
- 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
What is a strength of Wundt’s work?
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.
Procedure of Pavlov (1927) classical conditioning:
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.
Findings of Pavlov (1927) classical conditioning
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.
definition of stimulus generation
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.