Approaches Flashcards
(50 cards)
What is introspection according to Wundt?
Introspection is the process by which a person examines their own conscious thoughts and emotions. Wundt used this to study the structure of the mind in a controlled environment.
What was Wundt’s contribution to psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab in 1879. He separated psychology from philosophy, using scientific method like introspection to study the human mind.
What are controlled methods in Wundt’s research?
Standardised instructions and controlled conditions allowed replicability. This marked a move toward making psychology a scientific discipline.
What is the significance of 1879 in psychology?
1879 is the year Wundt opened the first psychology lab in Germany. It is considered the formal beginning of psychology as a scientific discipline.
Name two early philosophical influences on psychology
Descartes: dualism - mind and body are separate
Locke: Empiricism - all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
What was Darwin’s contribution to psychology?
Darwin proposed the theory of evolution and natural selection. This influenced the biological approach and idea of adaptive behaviour.
What did Watson contribute to psychology?
In 1913, Watson rejected introspection and introduced behaviourism, focusing on observable and measurable behaviour only.
What event marked the emergence of psychology as a science?
The adoption of the scientific approach by behaviourists like Watson in the early 20th century.
What is the scientific approach in psychology?
Use of objective, systematic methods such as experiments to observe and record behaviour. Encouraged replicability and data-based conclusions.
What was the key development in psychology in the 1950s?
The rise of the cognitive approach, which focused on mental processes like memory and perception, using scientific methods.
What happened in psychology during the 1980s onwards?
The biological approach became dominant. This included studying brain structure and biochemistry, using techniques like brain scans.
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
The behaviourist approach assumes that:
everyone is born as a ‘blank slate’ which life writes upon (Watson, 1930)
all behaviour is learned from the environment e.g. upbringing, neighbourhood, peers, education
behaviour can be understood via
a stimulus-response approach (classical conditioning)
the mechanisms of reward and reinforcement(operant conditioning)
Behaviours which can be directly observed only can be measured
Imitation of specific aggressive behaviours can be observed and measured
Memory cannot be measured as it cannot be directly observed
Lab-based, scientific methods are the only way that behaviour can be studied
Animal research may be used as a basis for understanding human behaviour
Repeated behaviours become internalised and automatic e.g.
hearing the bell ring for the end of the lesson triggers packing away and moving to the next lesson without any real thought involved
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning underpin the principles of behaviourism
What is classical conditioning (pavlovas research)?
Classical conditioning is learning through association and was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov revealed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food. Gradually, Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (a stimulus) with the food (another stimulus) and would produce the salivation response every time they heard the sound.
Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus, in this case a bell, can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association (see diagram below left).
What is operant conditioning (skinner’s research)?
BF Skinner (1953) suggested that learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment. In operant conditioning there are three types of consequences of behaviour:
• Positive reinforcement is receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed; for example, praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly in class.
• Negative reinforcement occurs when an animal (or human) avoids something unpleasant. When a student hands in an essay so as not to be told off, the avoidance of something unpleasant is the negative reinforcement. Similarly, a rat may learn through negative reinforcement that pressing a lever leads to avoidance of an electric shock (below).
• Punishment is an unpleasant consequence of behaviour, for example being shouted at by the teacher for talking during a lesson. (Finding a way to avoid that would be negative reinforcement.)
Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated. Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.
What is the behaviourist approach?
A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
What is reinforcement?
A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated. Can be positive or negative.
What is the social learning theory?
A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
What is identification?
When an observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model
What is imitation?
Copying the behaviours of others
What is modelling?
From the observer’s perspective modelling is imitating the behaviour of a role model. From the role model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behaviour that may be imitated by an observer.
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour. This is a key factor in imitation.
What is mediational processes?
Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response.
- Attention - the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
- Retention - how well the behaviour is remembered
- Motor reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
- Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.
What are the assumptions of the social learning theory?
It agrees with the behaviourist that much of our behaviour is learned from experience. However, his social learning theory proposed a different way in which people learn: through observation and imitation of others within a social context. SLT suggests that learning occurs directly, through classical and operant conditioning, but also indirectly.
What is the cognitive approach?
The term ‘cognitive’ has come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes after behaviour.
