topic 5: approaches in psychology part 1 Flashcards
who was Descartes and what were his ideas
- 17th century french philosopher
- “I think, therefore I am”
- Cartesian dualism - the idea that the mind and body are independent of each other
- he said that the ways that they interact produced different behaviours and thoughts
- made one of the first suggestions that the mind could be an object of study
John Locke
philosopher in mid to late 1600s
talked about empiricism
empiricism - a method of study relying on empirical evidence (facts/evidence/research, things you’ve actually experienced)
Charles Darwin
1810 to 1880
evolutionary explanation of people’s behaviour
behaviour changes over successive generations
who is Wilhelm Wundt and what were his ideas
- first psychologist - established the first psychological research lab in Germany, 1879
- used introspection
- he isolated conscious thoughts into the basic structures of thoughts, processes and images via structuralism
- his data recording methods was highly scientific and produced reliable data
introspection
a research method used by Wilhelm Wundt
used to document and describe human nature and consciousness
an examination of your own thoughts and feeling
Introspective knowledge is often held to be more immediate or direct than sensory knowledge
Freud
early 1900s
the psychodynamic approach - the influence of the subconscious mind
dominated psychology with bhevaiourism for the next 50 years
who put forward behaviourism
v briefly outline it
Watson, Skinner, Pavlov
a learning theory
disagreed with the subjective nature of introspection which made establishing general laws and unifying principles of behaviour and cognition difficult
1930s introduced behaviourism to make it more objective
who looked at operant conditioning
skinner
who looked at classical conditioning
pavlov
what are the learning theories
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
social learning theory
Carl Rogers/ Maslow
1950s
humanistic approach - became the third force in psychology
focused on how behaviour differs between individuals
cognitive approach
1960s
psychologists became increasingly interested with the processing abilities of the human brains with the introduction of the computer
Bandura
1960s
social learning theory
combines cognitive approach+behaviourism
biological approach
1980s
now the dominant scientific perspective on psychology
cognitive neuroscience
eve of 21st century
combines the biological and cognitive approaches
what is classical conditioning
it is the association of the 2 stimuli - unconditioned and neutral
UCS –> UCR
NR + UCS –> UCR
pair them repeatedly leads to
CS –> CR
because they have learnt to associate the two stimuli
how did skinner investigate operant conditioning
when the rat pressed the lever in the box they got food
the food acts as positive reinforcement, and the rats do it more
reinforcing a behaviour makes it more likely
the also learnt using negative reinforcement
by pressing the lever when the light came on, they learnt to avoid the electric shock
- we know it works, But is it ethical?
what is operant conditioning
learning through consequences
the consequences reinforce the behaviour
what is positive reinforcement
when something is given to increase the likelihood of repeating that behaviour
what is negative reinforcement
when something is taken away to increase the likelihood of repeating that behaviour
it’s to do with avoidance behaviour
what is positive punishment
when something is given to decrease the likelihood of repeating that behaviour
what is negative punishment
when something is taken away to decrease the likelihood of repeating that behaviour
is punishment or reinforcement more effective
reinforcement because it actually shows what you should do whereas punishment just shows what you shouldn’t do
what are the 5 types of reinforcement schedules
continuous schedule
fixed-ratio schedule
fixed-interval schedule
variable-ratio schedule
variable-interval schedule
what is ratio schedule reinforcement
when the reinforcement occurs after a certain number of responses
what is interval schedule reinforcement
reinforcement occurs after a certain time period passes
when is continuous reinforcement most beneficial
most beneficial when initially learning, can become annoying later on
how does a fixed interval reinforcement schedule affect behaviour
as reinforcement is dependant on fixed time intervals, activity often increases near the deadline making it less useful because it doesn’t change behaviour overall
pros of the behaviourist approach
+ scientific rigour
strictly controlled conditions reduce effects of extraneous variables
standardised procedures mean that experiments can be repeated
increases the scientific credibility of psychology because it relies on observable behaviour
+ real life applications
more understanding of c+o conditioning has led to therapy and treatment development for serious mental disorders
token economies with inmates - get token (secondary reinforcer) for desirable behaviour which can be traded for tv time (primary reinforcer)
cons of the behaviourist approach
– environmental determinism
it sees all behaviour as learnt from last reinforcement contingencies and leaves no room for conscious choices/free will
makes it more appropriate for animal behaviour but humans have emotions, motivation and reasoning skills
– using animals
skinners box breaches BPS ethical guidelines of protection from harm
watson and rayners classical conditioning failed to protect little albert from psychological harm and didn’t give him the voice to withdraw
a lot of behaviourist research would now be unethical but maybe a cost-benefit analysis would show that the benefit of our current understanding outweighs the ethical costs
what is social learning theory
Bandura’s theory that behaviour is learnt through the observation and imitation of others (usually a role model; someone of same sex, same characteristics, high status etc.) in a social context
it suggests that learning happens via ARRM; attention, retention, reproduction, motivation
outline the method of the Bobo doll study - Bandura, Ross and Ross
lab experiment
sample: 72 children between 3 and 6 from Stanford uni nursery - opportunity sample
8 experimental conditions: g/b watch agg. male, g/b watch agg. female, g/b watch non agg. male, g/b watch non agg. female (6 in each condition)
stage 1 - child was given toys and in the corner of the room, the model either played with tinker toys/did a set aggressive routine with the Bobo doll (physical +verbal aggression)
stage 2 - child is shown attractive toys but told that they can’t play with them
stage 3 - child is taken to room with bobo doll, mallet, dart gun, tea set, crayons
observed every 5 seconds by two people; there’s a researcher inside but they didn’t interact
what types of aggressive behaviour were observed in the Bobo doll study
imitative (physical and verbal)
partial (eg, child bouncing on doll vs sitting+hitting)
non-imitative aggression
what were Bandura’s hypotheses and did he prove them? (results)
- subjects exposed to aggressive model will reproduce their aggressive acts
- yes, they produced sig. more aggressive acts than control/non-aggressive - observing non aggressive models will inhibit aggressive behaviour
- boys had sig. less aggressive than boys control (girls didn’t have a sig. difference) - subjects will imitate a same sex model more
- yes - boys will be more aggressive than girls
- slight evidence
boys displayed more physical aggression
girls displayed more verbal aggression
what were the conclusion of the Bobo Doll study - bandura, Ross and Ross
observing a role model showing aggressive behaviour could motivate a child to imitate that behaviour in a different setting
what is vicarious reinforcement
an idea in social learning theory
when someone learns through the reinforcement of someone else’s behaviour; it suggests that observing the consequence of the behaviour is more important than the observed behaviour alone
what approach considers mediational factors/processes and what are they?
social learning theory
they are mental events that determine whether the behaviour is worth imitating
- attention - to what extent the behaviours are noticed/observed
- retention - how well is the observed behaviour remembered
- reproduction - how able is the observer to reproduce it
- motivation - the will to replicate it; usually determined by whether the behaviour was punished/rewarded
positives of social learning theory
+ it can explain cultural differences in behaviour because kids learn through modelling which depends on how different cultures give consequences for behaviours
+ acknowledges that human cognitive and decision making processes could be considered more complex than animals
because recognises mediational processes as the conscious, cognitive insight that humans have into their behaviour, this means it could be a more comprehensive explanation of human behaviour than behaviourism
+ bobo was a well-controlled observational study with a clear IV, so the procedure is replicable and can repeated to test for reliability
negatives of social learning theory
- bobo doll - ignores boy vs girl differences
it suggests we learn from experience and ignores all other factors; adopts environmental determinism
Bandura ignored that boys exhibited much more of both imitative and non-imitative behaviour; maybe bc they have more T which has been linked to aggression
so, SLT may not be a complete explanation for gender+behaviour differences - bobo doll - demand characteristics
its designed to be hit; the effect of the aggressive role model wasn’t investigated fully and the study lacks some internal validity
lacks mundane realism/ecological validity - may not represent how children would react with things that shouldn’t be struck
generalisability may be reduced bc p’s may have been more aggressive to please the experimenter (demand characteristics)
what is the biological approach
the idea that humans are biological organisms that are made up of physiological processes
the idea that the mind lives within the brain, it isn’t separate
what are concordance rates
the probability of both twins having a particular trait if one does
they are compared between MZ and DZ twins
monozygotic twins
when one fertilised egg splits (identical)
dizygotic twins
when two separate eggs are fertilised
what is your phenotype
the way that your genes interact with your environment
evaluate the evolutionary explanation of the biological approach + what is it
developing characteristics suited to the environment will lead to natural selection and survival of the fittest
disorders may have been advantageous at one point - anorexia may have meant being able to survive with minimal supplies
although evolution is a well regarded theory in itself we have no way to confirm this
what is the lateralisation of function
the 2 sides to the brain
what is the localisation of function
locating what the different functions are in your brain
what is brain plasticity
the way that your brain can grow and change
case study for the biological approach
phineas gage 1848
his frontal cortex (manages+/regulates emotions) was cut off from his lymbic system (emotion source) due to a pole in his head
he went from being well-balanced to rude
what study methods are used in the biological approach
- twin studies
- case studies - usually only exceptional cases though
- post mortems - access the diff between a person with and without difficulty, but you cant prove causation between the difficulty and the damage
- brain scans
positives of the biological approach
+ uses EEG, PET and fMRI scans - objectively and systematically measures the biological/neural factors for behaviour
increases the scientific credibility of psychology through strict control of extraneous variables
+ practical applications - drug development
increased understanding of biological processes behind mental health diseases leads to development of psychoactive drugs (e.g. for depression/schizoprenia)
they can target genes directly/reduce dopamine action etc.
drug treatment is less invasive, time consuming and effort needing than cognitive treatments
negatives of the biological approach
- biological determinism
suggests that we don’t have free will and only internal biological forces cause behaviour.
this could cause severe consequences - discovering a criminal/mental illness gene could give them less social/judicial responsibility and even shorter prison sentences
if gene info was made public people could be denied health insurance/jobs on that basis - twin studies can’t differentiate between nature and nurture
twin studies ignore that MZ twins are more likely to grow up in the same household, be exposed to similar experiences and be raised with the same parenting styes
what is the cognitive approach
the study of internal mental processes and use of schema, the theoretical and computer models to explain mental processes
how does the cognitive approach look at internal mental processes
the brain is manipulated, but as the processes are private and unobservable, inferences are made on what is going on in there mind on the basis of their behaviour
what are some mental processes that the cognitive approach focuses on that were neglected by behaviourism
attention
memory
perception
thinking
what is schema
it’s a hypothetical brain structure that organises and stores information topically
it informs you on what to expect in a situation based on relating past experiences
how can your schema cause prejudice
your schema could cause prejudice towards a situation due to having a pre-established mental framework - a bad past experience could make you think a similar future situation will be the same
positives of the cognitive approach
+ increased understanding of mental processes
- designing and manufacturing modern technology relies on understanding behavioural science + human-computer interactions
eg. cognitive neuroscientists can study a child’s performance in phonological tests to get more accurate predictions of reading ability
+ CBT; cognitive behavioural therapy
+ scientific rigour and methods
- objective collection of reliable data through direct observation of the neural processes underlying cognition ( as seen in PET, CT, MRI and fMRI scans)
+ (unlike behaviourism) soft determinism
sees humans as able to reason and make decisions within the limits of their cognitive system, whilst recognising that we can make our own decisions
allows humans conscious insight into their behaviour
this is a more flexible and so better approach as it separates us from animals
negatives of the cognitive approach
- extensive use of schemas and analogies for indirect study of behaviour’s cognitive basis
– may not be enough empirical observational evidence of these mechanisms, a lot of the evidence is inference and so open to bias
as it is fairly theoretical this reduces potential applications - tasks are often unrealistic - low ecological validity
-
alternative explanations
eg biological says depression is caused by low dopamine and cognitive says depression is caused by focusing on negative aspects + twisting things negatively
what did Lorenz say was the critical period
32 hours
how do each of the approaches fit into nature vs nurture
psychodynamic: interactionist bc it says our innate bio instincts are heavily modified by upbringing
behaviourism: learn through experiences (nurture)
SLT: learn through observation and imitation of an identified role model in a social context (nurture)
cognitive: babies are born with some innate schemas (eg sucking) but develop more sophisticated ones with time
biological: activity of genes, hormones and neurotransmitters are innate but epigenetics can also influence
humanism: lack of unconditional +ve regard as child bc of conditions of worth lowers self esteem and makes feeling of worthlessness
what are the things to think about when comparing approaches
nature vs nurture
holism vs reductionism
free will vs determinism
explanation of mental disorders
how do each of the approaches fit into holism vs reductionism
behaviourism: env. reductionism
SLT: reductionist but not super because it considers mediational processes but not free will
cognitive: reductionist and says can explain with schemas
bio: biological reductionist
humanism: holistic and uses the whole, subjective human experience to study behaviour without forming general laws
psychodynamic: relatively holistic because he considered childhood experiences, other factors and various aspects of psyche interacting (id ego superego)
how do each of the approaches fit into free will vs determinism
behaviourism: env. determinism says we have no conscious insight into behaviour
SLT: deterministic bc even tho it considers mediational factors, these only exist from previous learning
cognitive: soft determinism, we are free to make conscious decision and reason within the limits of what we know/our cognitive system
biological: bio determinism
humanism: free will we are free to reject external forces because we are masters of our own development
psychodynamic: psychic determinism
how do each of the approaches explain mental disorders
behaviourism: negative reinforcement of avoidance behaviour in ocd
slt: observe and imitate inappropriate role models
cognitive: faulty schemas from certain experiences that lead to perceptual errors and sensory stimuli distortions
biological: certain genes eg CDH13
humanism: lack of unconditional positive regard bc of conditions of worth form parents which causes in congruence and inability to self actualise
psychodynamic: says it’s the result of conflict between unconscious urges and conscious desires
what are the features of social learning theory
arrm
learning from a role model
vicarious reinforcement
outline the biological approach
1980s
all innate and governed by biology
genotype and phenotype
darwin and natural selection; passing on of any useful genetic info
use of twin studies
outline the cognitive approach
assumes that internal mental processes can be scientifically studied, unlike behaviourists thought —> studied areas that they neglected, like memory MSM
MSM by atkinson and schiffrin is an example of a computer analogy
schemas hold understanding of an object, person, or idea and get more complex as we get more info abt an object or idea
cognitive neuroscience: underlying neural basis of cognitive functions
became prominent after use of fMRI and PET scans to find regions that might be used in language comprehension and speech
outline the origins of psychology timeline
- Wundt 1979
- freud 1900s
- behaviourism 1930s Watson and skinner
- humanism 1950s
- cognitive 1960s
- biological 1980s brain scans
- cognitive neuroscience 2000s and now
evaluate the origins of psych
+ beh. brought a scientific basis via objectivity that we still use today
+ bio added brain scans which helped us to look at both structure And function
– introspection is more idiographic and less scientific
+ behaviourist is more nomothetic and so, more scientific
