Approaches P2 Flashcards
(68 cards)
what makes science a science?
- hypothesis testing
- experimental testing, produces observable evidence
- objective
- replicable
what did psychology start of as?
philosophy
who do we credit the development of psychology as a science to?
Wilihem wundt
what method did wundt use?
introspection
what are some features of introspection?
- feelings and sensations
- standardised instructions
- reflecting on your own mental experiences
what was a strength of using introspection?
- created scientific movement in psychology
- generated lots of futher research
what are some weaknesses of introspection?
produced subjective data rather than objective data - therefore results can’t be replicable
what are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- all behaviour is learnt
- all behaviour can be learned
- can generalise from animal behaviour to humans
- we are born as a blank slate —> do not inherit anything
what are 2 ways behaviourists believe we learn our behaviour through?
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
what is classical conditioning?
-learn behaviour by association which comes from a reflex response
what research went into classical conditioning?
pavlovs—> dogs have reflex response to produce salvia when they see food. Then pavlov rang a bell each time he gave them the dogs food which he repeated. then dogs began to salivate just when they heard the bell
what do they equations look like with classical conditioning?
unconditioned stimuli—>unconditioned response
unconditioned stimuli —> neutral stimuli —> unconditioned response X5
conditioned stimuli—> conditioned response
what is operant conditioning?
learn behaviour by the consequences — can be positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
in operant conditioning what is positive reinforcement?
something good happens therefore the behaviour is more likely to be repeated
in operant conditioning what is negative reinforcement?
when we remove the unpleasant stimulus— therefore it’s NOT punishment therefore behaviour is more likely to be repeated
in operant conditioning what is punishment?
something negative happens to you so your behaviour is less likely to be repeated
what research was there completed for operant conditioning?
skinners research —> isolated rat placed in box with a pellet button and electric grid on floor and signal lights. when the rat presses the lever receives a food pellet therefore continued to press it —> positive reinforcement
what is a strength of the behaviourist approach?
pavlovs dogs skinners rats & watsons little albert —> reinforces claims made and suggests it may be valid / correct —> helps psychology have further credibility and raises the status
what are the practical applications of the behaviourist approach?
therapies for mental health—> systematic desensitisation- treating phobias - learn new response to stimuli
what is a criticism of the behaviourist approach?
- too simplistic as it ignores other important possible causes of behaviour such as internal mental processes
- goes against biology
what is a issue of the behaviourist approach?
- deterministic view of behaviour—> never actively chooses our behaviour so it gives us no free will
- too much of a mechanistic view of humans
what are 3 assumptions the social learning theory believe in?
- all human behaviour is learned within a social context - role models
- reinforcement may be inclined as well as direct - learn by people getting praised / punished
- mental / cognitive processes are essential for learning to take place —> meditational processes
what do we mean about the first assumption in the social learning theory?
- imitation
- modelling
- role model- may have similar characteristics to observer
- identification
what do we mean by the second assumption of the SLT?
vircarious reinforcement- imitate behaviour depending on the reinforcement
