Week 1 Learning & behavioural psychology/ principles of behaviour analysis (learning theory) Flashcards
What is psychology?
- Study of the human mind & behaviour
- Science, behaviour & mental processes
Define what behaviours are
actions that can be directly observed
Define ‘mental processes’
Experiences that cannot be observed directly, such as thoughts and feelings.
What is the scientific approach to psychology?
The systematic and formalised study of thought and behaviour employing the methods and institutions of empirical science
- painstakingly learned
- built on rigorous methods
- researchers and practitioners
- designed for testable accuracy
What if folk psychology?
Our everyday tendency to form intuitive theories about ourselves and those around us, to predict or explain the things they do
- Intuitive & partially innate
- Built upon biases
- Culturally informed & reinforced
- Designed to be ‘useful’, not true
What are the Sub disciplines in psychology?
* biopsychology
* Developmental
* Social
* Clinical
* Personality
* Organisational
* Educational
* Health
* Counselling
* Sport
* Forensic
* Conservation
* Neuropsychology
Name the 5 contemporary psychology perspectives
- Psychodynamic
- Behaviourist
- Humanistic
- Cognitive
- Evolutionary
Psychodynamic Perspective - key figure
Sigmund Freud
Psychodynamic Perspective - basic principles
Behavior largely the process of unconscious processes, motivation and early experiences
There are different parts of the mind - the mind is not a unitary entity, but is comprised of functional parts that can sometimes come into conflict with each other (hence, a ‘dynamic’ within the ‘psyche’)
Psychodynamic Perspective - metaphor
Consciousness is like the tip of an iceberg; the mind is like a battleground for warring factions
Psychodynamic Perspective - methods
Interpretation of verbal discourse. Eg slips of the tongue, dreams, fantasies, actions - case studies (psychoanalysis)
Behaviourism - key figure
B. F. Skinner
Behaviourism - basic princliples
Behaviour is learned and selected by its consequences
All psychological activity explained by making reference to observable behaviours
Human and animal behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without reference to thoughts or feelings
* Classical Conditioning – all animals with nervous systems can learn to predictively associate stimuli in the environment
* Operant Conditioning – animals adaptively shape their behaviours by increasing frequency of reinforced actions, and reducing frequency of punished actions
* Stimulus Generalisation – learning can extend to new contexts
Behaviourism - metaphor
Humans and other animals are like machines; the mind is like a black box
Behaviourism - methods
Experimentations with humans and other animals
Humanistic perspective - key figure
Carl Rogers
Humanistic perspective - basic principles
Behaviours and experiences are shaped by the need to self actualise, to fulfill ones inner potential.
Focuses on the individual, their feelings, experience, and understanding of themselves in order to solve problems.
Humanistic perspective - metaphor
Life is like a bottle of milk. The cream alwasy rises to the top. An optimistic view of behaviour - that everyone aims to be the ‘best’ person they can be.
Humanistic perspective - methods
Person centres therapeutic approach that emphasises empathy, acceptance and respect for the individual.
Cognitivism - key figure
Rene Descartes
Cognitivism - basic principles
* The mind is like a computer
* The brain as an information processing device
* Steps of information processing the brain must perform in order to accomplish the various abilities of mental life (object recognition, memory, attention
* Correlates with literal neural circuitry in different regions of the brain
* Behaviour is the product of information processing, storage, transformation and retrieval of data.
* Brain damage offers an insight into how function is regionalised
Cognitivism - metaphor
The mind is like a computer, enduring patterns of thought are like software
Cognitivism - methods
Experimentation with humans, computer modelling
Evolutionary perspective - key figure
Charles Darwin
Evolutionary perspective - metaphor
Life is like a race for survial and reproduction
Evolutionary perspective - basic principles
Psychological processes reflect evolutionary process of natural selection
Survival of the fittest
Evolutionary perspective - methods
Deductions of explanations for traits and behaviours; cross species and cross cultural comparisons, limited experimentation
What is health? How is it measured? (tute)
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity “
