Assessment 1 APPROACHES Flashcards
(50 cards)
Origins of psychology
1
Who opened the first psychology lab and where?
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) founded the first psychology lab in in Leipzig, Germany.
Why is Wundt famous?
Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was the first person ever to call himself a psychologist. He is widely regarded as the “father of experimental psychology”
What technique did Wundt use to study the structure of the human mind?
What was his approach called?
Wundt technique was the technique of introspection.
His approach is called structuralism.
What is introspection?
The observation/examination of your own mental processes (conscious thoughts and feelings) in order to gain understanding.
Wundt attempted to break down thoughts into basic structures like feelings, sensations and perception.
Give an example of how Wundt used introspection?
In Wundt’s studies of perception, ppts would be presented with carefully controlled stimuli (visual/auditory tones).
Then they would be asked to provide a description of the inner processes they were experiencing as they looked at the image.
Then compared ppts’ reports in response to the same stimuli to establish general theories.
The emergence of psychology as a science.
What do empiricists believe?
Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone.
What 2 major assumptions was this new ‘scientific’ approach to psychology based on?
The technique used to explore these assumptions became known as a scientific method.
- All behaviour is caused (assumption of determinism).
- If behaviour is determined then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions (assumption of predictability).
What are 3 scientific methods in psychology?
- Objective
- Systematic
- Replicable
What is the scientific method objectivity to do with?
Why is it systematic?
Why is it replicable?
- Researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection of their data.
- Systematic that observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way.
- Replicable in that observations can be repeated, then if they are not replicable they can be not accepted as being universally true.
Why are Wundt’s methods unreliable?
Eval point.
A criticism of Wundt’s structuralist approach is that this approach relied primarily on ‘nonobservable’ responses.
Ppts could report on conscious experiences but the processes (memory/perception) were considered to be unobservable constructions.
Wundt’s approach ultimately failed because of the lack of reliability of his methods.
A scientific approach is not always appropriate (origins of psychology)
Eval point.
By focusing on objectivity mid control - situations may not replicate natural environments.
Much subject matter is unobservable and cannot be measured with complete accuracy.
Strength of Wundt’s scientific approach.
- Reliance on objective and systematic methods means knowledge acquired through it is reliable.
- If scientific theories no longer fit the facts, they can be altered - self-corrective.
Social learning theory
1
What is the social learning theory?
Learning through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded.
What is modelling in the social learning theory?
A form a learning where an individual learns a particular behaviour by observing another individual performing that behaviour.
What is imitation in the social learning theory?
Action of using someone/something as a model and copying their behaviour based on observed consequences.
What is identification in the social learning theory?
Form of influence where an individual adapts attitudes or beliefs because they work in association with a group. Shutts et al. (2010) suggests children are more likely to identify with models who are similar to them eg: sex.
What is vicarious reinforcement in the SLT?
Learning that is not a result of direct reinforcement of behaviour, but through watching someone else being reinforced for that behaviour.
What is the role of mediational processes?
Refers to the internal mental processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the response made by an individual to those stimuli.
What was Bandura et al. (1961) key study PROCEDURE into SLT?
- Involving children who observed aggressive or non-aggressive adult models and were then tested for imitative learning in the absence of the model.
- Half of the children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a life-sized bobo doll - other half exposed to non-aggressive models.
What was Bandura et al. (1961) key study FINDINGS into SLT?
- Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced a good deal of physically/verbally aggressive behaviour resembling that of the model.
- Children who observed the non-aggressive model exhibited virtually no aggression toward the Bobo doll.
- 1/3 children who observed the aggressive model repeated the model’s verbal responses while none of the children who observed the non-aggressive model made verbally aggressive remarks.
Strength of the social learning theory.
Eval point
Useful applications as it has been applied to increase our understanding of human behaviour and criminal behaviour.
- Akers (1998) suggests criminal behaviour increases when exposed to criminal models; develop the expectation for positive consequences for their own criminal behaviour.
- Fox and Bailenson (2009) found greater identification with models that were similar to the self. Used computer generated models that looked similar/dissimilar to ppts.
What is a limitation of the social learning theory.
Eval point
Problem of establishing causality - being associated with deviant peers increases the likelihood that an individual will adopt same values and behaviours.
Seigel and McCormick (2006) suggest that young people who possess deviant attitudes and values (low self-control) seek peers with similar attitudes. May not be social learning theory, but prior possession of deviant attitudes - What comes first?
