Unit 2 Psychology Exam Flashcards
what is behaviourism?
the study of human behaviour
who developed the concepts of behaviourism?
researcher John.B Watson 91878-1958)
what did the behaviourist researcher try to argue?
that the mind could not be studied because its unobservable-its workings cannot be seen, documented or analysed. According to Watson the only aspect of the mind that can be studied is an individual’s actual behaviour.
what is scientific methodology?
a rational method of investigation based on recording observable and measurable evidence.
what was the behaviourist researchers theory based off of?
-behaviourism is concerned with how environmental factors affect observable behaviour
-the focus of behaviourism is on learning. the interaction between stimulus and response is how learning occurs
-the ultimate aim of behaviourism is to be able to predict and control behaviour
-there is no fundamental difference between the behaviour of humans and animals
what are the two main ways that learning occurs based on the behaviourist theory?
-classical conditioning
-operant conditioning
what is classical conditioning?
learning by association
what is operant conditioning?
learning from the consequences of behaviour
what are environmental factors called?
stimulus
what are observable behaviours called?
responses
what is the principle of classical conditioning?
that a stimulus which wouldnt ordinarily produce a response in an individual comes to do so by being linked or paired with a stimulus which does provoke a response.
who was the main theorist who came up with the principle of classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
what is an unconditioned response?
a behaviour we perform automatically
what is a conditioned stimulus?
an environmental factor that an organism can be taught to respond to in a certain way
what is a conditioned response?
behaviour an organism has learned to carry out in response to a conditioned stimulus
who created the work for operant conditioning?
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) and B.F Skinner (1904-90)
what did these two researchers do?
they built up the idea of positive and negative reinforcement.
what is positive reinforcement?
when the rate of a learned behaviour increases following the application of a conditioned stimulus
what is negative reinforcement?
when the rate of a learned behaviour decreases following the application of a conditioned stimulus
what does psychodynamic mean?
psyche means mind and psychodynamic theory views the mind as exerting a powerful influence on human behaviour in terms of an individual’s motivation and drives.
who developed the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Frued (1856-1939), he used and developed psychoanalysis
what we the three levels of mind that this researcher suggested?
conscious, unconscious and preconscious
what is the conscious?
this is the part of the mind that is currentlt aware of itself.
what is the unconscious?
this is the most substantial part of the psyche. it contains emotional experiences, ideas and memories that are repressed, or hidden from view.