paper 2 - approaches

Question 1

define introspection

Answer 1

a scientific and systematic method of collecting data by observing the inner mental state to infer general theories about mind processes eg. perception or memory

Question 2

who was Wilhem Wundt (1832-1920)

Answer 2

• the first person to call himself a experimental psychologist
• believed the human mind could be studied scientifically and with strictly controlled experiments in his lab (Germany)

Question 3

what did Wundt mean by introspection

Answer 3

He used introspection to study mental processes as memory and used the data to infer about theories
- showed participants a controlled stimulus eg. hard puzzle and recorded data ( body language and participants described inner feelings and thoughts) to infer and gain insight

Question 4

describe the introspection we carried out in class

Answer 4

showing a student a hard maths equation and recording results to gain insight into mental processes

Question 5

why did Wundts approach fail

Answer 5

not reliable to reproduce by other scientists

Question 6

what are the weaknesses of introspection

Answer 6

1) results not reliable to reproduce by other scientists
2) we can not use this method on everyone eg. children, people with learning difficulties
3) ‘certain attitudes exist out of conscious awareness, self reports would not uncover and this challenges the value’ ~ Nisbett and Wilson (1977)

Question 7

what are the strengths of introspection

Answer 7

can be paired with another approach to give more reliable and accurate result
- used by hunter (2003) to study teenage happiness throughout the day and gave researchers a way of understanding more clearly the momentary conditions that affect happiness

Question 8

define paradigm

Answer 8

shared set of assumptions and beliefs about how behaviour is being studied and explained

Question 9

define paradigm shift

Answer 9

change in a paradigm/ thinking

Question 10

name 5 paradigm shifts within psychology

Answer 10

philosophical approach - Rene Descartes and lock
scientific - Darwin and Wundt
psychoanalysis - freud (1900) ‘talking cure’ not scientific
ideas of self ,philosophical - Rogers
cognitive neuroscience - modern day fMRI

Question 11

define science

Answer 11

knowledge about the natural world based on facts learnt through experiments and observations (empiricism)

Question 12

what are the major features of science (ocphre)

Answer 12

objectivity
control
predictability
hypothesis testing
replicability
empiricism

Question 13

define objectivity

Answer 13

observations and experiments should be unaffected by bias

• based on external facts
• universal
• absolutism

Question 14

define control

Answer 14

must be able to control variables

Question 15

define predictability

Answer 15

can the results of an experiment be used to say what will happen in the future

Question 16

define hypothesis testing

Answer 16

when you have a theory making a hypothesis and null hypothesis and choosing correct experiment to prove either

Question 17

what is deduction theory construction

Answer 17

reasoning from the general to the particular, starting with theory and looking for instances that confirm this

Question 18

what is induction theory construction

Answer 18

involves reasoning from the particular to the general, observe natural phenomenon and come up with general law or theory

Question 19

what is replicability

Answer 19

important that research can be repeated and similar results obtained. adds to reliability

Question 20

what is empiricism

Answer 20

information gained throughout direct observation or experiment

Question 21

what is generalisability

Answer 21

general statement obtained by inference from specific cases

Question 22

name the 2 types of behaviourist approach

Answer 22

1) classical conditioning - association (pavlov)

2) operant conditioning - reinforcement (skinner)

Question 23

name the 4 assumptions of behaviourism

Answer 23

1) all behaviour is learnt , believe in idea of tabula rasa (blank slate) everything from the moment your born is learnt , unlearning is just as easy as unlearning
2) animals and humans learn in the same way, can extrapolate (generalise) findings from animals to humans
3) science is essential indicating the direction of causality
4) free will is an illusion everything is environmentally determined

Question 24

what is classical conditioning

Answer 24

all animals are born with a number of natural reflexes eg. such as salivation when food is placed in the mouth

• reflexes are made up stimulus and a naturally occurring response
• when other stimuli are are consistently associated with this stimulus and predict its arrival then eventually trigger the same response we describe as being classically conditioned.

Question 25

explain pavolv's research

Answer 25

dogs salivation with food and bells - during the acquisition phase, a neutral stimulus which does not correspond to the UCR, is presented shortly after the UCS. After many pairings of the NS and the UCS the NS is now able to produce the same response in absence of the UCS. The NS is now a controlled stim (CS) and produces a conditioned response (CR)

Question 26

what is timing in relation to classical conditioning

Answer 26

If the NS cannot be used to predict the UCS (eg. if it occurs after the UCS or time gap is too large) then the conditioning does not take place

Question 27

what is extinction in relation to classical conditioning

Answer 27

pavlov discovered that unlike the UCR the CR does not become permanently established as a response, can loose ability to produce the CR

Question 28

what is spontaneous recovery in terms of classical conditioning

Answer 28

following the extinction, if the CS and UCS are paired once more the link between them is made much more quickly

Question 29

what is stimulus generalisation in terms of classical conditioning

Answer 29

once an animal has been conditioned, they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS

Question 30

explain the little albert research within classical conditioning

Answer 30

Watson and Rayner - 9 month old and showed him neutral stim eg. monkey, dog and rabbit - paired the neutral stim with a loud noise - classically conditioned an emotional response (phobia acquisition) - one month later in a different setting he had a spontaneous recovery (generalisation)

Question 31

give a real life example of spontaneous recovery

Answer 31

drug addiction with a cue or trigger eg. seeing a person they did drugs with connected to a happy feeling

Question 32

what is operant conditioning

Answer 32

positive and negative reinforcement pos = reward therefore likely to repeat the behaviour, by using variable schedule of reinforcement to get people addicted eg. gambling (£20 then £40 then £0 then £100) the concept of winning keeps people going and shaped behaviour neg= punishment or threatening to change or learn behaviour

Question 33

give application to real world with operant conditioning

Answer 33

1) in school punished for being late = stops people being late 2) speeding = threat of license revoked so stops people speeding 3) merit system in school = more good deeds to get more merits

Question 34

explain skinner's research with operant conditioning

Answer 34

The rat moves around the cage, when accidently presses the lever a food pellet (the reinforcement) is released, in no time the rat keeps pressing the lever to gain food Also experimented with an unpleasant environment eg. loud noise and could only be turned off by the lever final was punishment, if rat pressed the lever an electric shock was delivered, subsequently frequency decreased.

Question 35

explain evaluation of over reliance of non human animals within research in the behaviourist approach

Answer 35

Skinner's research has received criticism because experiments involved animals not humans - can tell us little about human behaviour as humans have free will Skinner argued free will is an illusion and is merely a product of external influences that guide our behavior

Question 36

explain the benefits of operant conditioning based on experimental work

Answer 36

skinner's reliance on the experimental method using controlled conditions to discover a possible causal relationship between variables - able to accurately measure the effects on the rat's behaviour, establish a cause and effect relationship

Question 37

explain how classical conditioning has been applied to therapy

Answer 37

applied in the development of treatment for the reduction of anxiety associated with various phobias. - works by eliminating the learnt anxious response