Approaches Flashcards
(83 cards)
Origins of Psychology:
Outline Wilhelm Wundt’s work
- Believed that all aspects of behaviour could be studied scientifically
- ‘principles of physiological psychology’ (1873)
- institute of experimental psychology - first experiment
- created approach called ‘structuralism’ (early form of reductionism) and used introspection
Origins of Psychology:
What is introspection
- reflecting on cognitive processes, feelings, sensations and thoughts
- zoning in on a metronome to ‘look into yourself’
- bunch of hippy shit - Keiran Shipperley 2024
- later known as meditation/mindfulness
Origins of Psychology:
What is empiricism
- all knowledge and abilities come from observation and experience alone, rather than being innate
- all behaviour has causes, and is therefore predictable
Origins of Psychology:
what is the hypothetico-deductive model
empirical observations
theory formulation
hypotheses generation
hypotheses testing
repeat
Biological Approach:
what are the assumptions made by the biological approach
- all behaviour is driven by physical or physiological factors
- behaviour is caused by genetic biological or neurochemical factors
- emphasises our nature (internal forces) in shaping behaviour
- most scientific approach
Biological Approach - Evolution and Behaviour:
define evolution
the gradual change within a species over several generations in response to environmental pressures
Biological Approach - Evolution and Behaviour:
define natural selection
the survival of a species due to specific traits - often caused by random mutations
Biological Approach - Evolution and Behaviour:
define adaptive
physical changes to a change in environment or other external stimuli - often mutation caused by the environment
Biological Approach - Evolution and Behaviour:
define Seligman’s 1971 theory
there is a biological preparedness to phobias of certain things. this explains phobias of potentially threatening things such as heights, spiders, snakes etc
Biological Approach - Genes and Behaviour:
define a genotype
genetic constitution of an individual - what genes make up our physical appearance
Biological Approach - Genes and Behaviour:
define a phenotype
occurred behaviour as a direct result of environment stimuli activating genotypes
Biological Approach - Genes and Behaviour:
define an interactionist approach
combination of how nature (biology) and nurture (environment) interact with each other when determining behaviour
Biological Approach - Neuroanatomy:
Outline Raine et al’s study into neuroanatomy
- 1997
- used PET scans on murderers who pleaded not guilty for reasons of insanity (NGRI)
- found reduced activity in parietal lobe (abstract thinking)
- increased activity in occipital lobe (vision)
- reduced activity in corpus callosum
- imbalance between hemispheres
Biological Approach - Neuroanatomy:
What is neuroanatomy
mapping the relationship between various ares of the brain and their functions
Biological Approach - Neuroanatomy:
Give examples of neuroanatomy
Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas
Biological Approach - neurochemistry and behaviour:
What is neurochemistry
all the chemical processes that take place specifically in the brain
Biological Approach - neurochemistry and behaviour:
What is the role of GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid)
- amino acid - primary inhibitory neurotransmitter
- reduced likelihood of reactive response
- reduces brain activity
Biological Approach - neurochemistry and behaviour:
What is the role of adrenaline
initiates fight or flight response
- released by the adrenal module
(see biopsychology)
Biological Approach - neurochemistry and behaviour:
What is the role of serotonin
- ‘feel good’ hormone
- associated with depression, OCD and other mental health disorders
- long lasting hormone
Give evaluations for the biological approach
- research support - Davis et al (1980) looked into the effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs. found relapse occurred 55% of the time when drugs replaced by placebo. 19% when left on medication
- a lot of research conducted on non-humans animals - Harlow and Lorenz
- extremely scientific
- social insensitivity - destined to be ill
- biologically reductionist
- ignorant to cognitive processes
Learning Approach - introduction:
state the assumptions of the learning approach
- all behaviour is learned and we all have the capacity to learn from birth
- tabula rasa - born a blank slate
- extreme nurture side of the nature-nurture debate
- states in order for psychology to be scientific it must only measure observable behaviour - big fuck off to the infamous cocaine addict Freud
Learning Approach - behaviourism classical conditioning:
Outline Pavlov’s research
- 1902
- through association, taught his togs to associate a bell with food
- initially, dogs only produced saliver when given food
- by end, they produced saliver when hearing bell ring
Learning Approach - behaviourism classical conditioning:
outline the processes of classical conditioning
-before conditioning:
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = unconditioned response (UCR)
- during conditioning:
neutral stimulus (NS) + unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = unconditioned response (UCR)
- after conditioning:
conditioned stimulus (CS) = conditioned response (CR)
Learning Approach - behaviourism classical conditioning:
outline the term extinction in terms of classical conditioning
if the CS is continually presented without the UCS then the CR gradually dies out