Topic 1: Approaches Flashcards
(82 cards)
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
- Known as the ‘father of psychology’, he was the first person to call himself a psychologist.
- He opened the first institute for experimental psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany 1879.
-He was important because he separated psychology from philosophy by analysing the workings of the mind in a more structured way, with the emphasis being on objective measure and control. - Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience. He used “internal perception” or introspection to examine this experience. He broke down the conscience experience into it’s basic elements (I.e. sensation, perception, feelings) to measure (structuralism)
Introspection
- A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible.
The scientific method
Refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable, and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses based on these methods.
Empiricism
- The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience. It is generally characterised by the use of scientific method in psychology.
- Knowledge comes from observation and experience.
- All behaviour has a cause
- We should be able to predict behaviour
Determinism
The doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes regarded as external to the will.
Passive acceptance
Accepting without proof. Passive acceptance requires no action beyond documenting the decision.
Strengths of the scientific method
- Relies on objective and systematic methods of observation, which is more than just the passive acceptance of facts.
- Because scientific methods rely on a belief in determinism, they are able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods that are both empirical (based on observations or experience) and replicable. Believes behaviour yo have a cause and therefore it can be predicted so bad behaviour can be prevent. Allows for development of treatments.
- Scientific knowledge is self-corrective (If scientific theories no longer fit the facts they can be refined or abandoned).
Limitations of a scientific approach to psychology
- Scientific psychologists create contrived situations that tell us little about how people act in more natural environments - low ecological validity.
- Much of the subject matter of psychology is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured with any degree of accuracy. Psychology is highly inferential (characterized by or involving conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning).
-Not all psychologists share the view that human behaviour can be explored by the use of scientific methods. If human behaviour is not subject to the laws and regularities implied by scientific methods, then predications become impossible and methods inappropriate.
Evaluate Wundt’s method of introspection
Strengths:
- Introspection is still used in psychology. Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter (2003) used introspective methods as a way of making happiness a measurable phenomenon.
- Use of scientific methods (Wundt used controlled experimental conditions to carry out his research - he used highly trained assistants, and the same stimulus and physical surroundings were given to each person.) Counter argument: different observers provided significantly different responses to the same stimuli and even the most trained observers were not consistent in their answers. - shows introspection is subjective.
- Introspection can be a great source of personal knowledge. The process provides knowledge that is not possible in any other way.
- It can help people make connections between different experiences and responses.
Weaknesses:
- Lacks scientific reliability and objectivity as it is based primarily on no observable responses.
- Self-report is subjective and unreliable (the very act of analysing one’s own thoughts play a role in changing the experience- demand characteristics.)
- Introspection is limited in it’s use; complex subjects such as learning, personality, mental disorders and development are difficult or even impossible to study with this technique.
- Difficult to use with children and impossible to use with animals.
The behaviourist approach assumption
- believes that we were all born ‘blank slates’ (tabula rasa).
- All behaviour is learnt behaviour.
- Assumes that the environment and social norms form our personality.
-Focuses on observable behaviour and the relationship between stimuli and response - empiricism
The behaviourist approach key theorists
Ivan Pavlov - Classical conditioning
B.F Skinner - Operant conditioning
Classical Conditioning
- Associated with Pavlov (salivating dog research 1927)
-Learning through association - Involves pairing of NS with UCS so that eventually NS becomes CS, capable of eliciting a CR.
- NS+UCS = UCR
- After many pairings NS(CS) = CR
- Timing - NS must be shortly before UCS
- Extinction - CS loses it’s ability to produce CR after a few trials if no reinforcement
- Spontaneous recovery - CS + UCS paired again, link made much more quickly.
- Stimulus generalisation - CR also to stimuli that are similar to CS.
Operant Conditioning
- Associated with B.F Skinner
- Learning through reinforcement or punishment. The likelihood of repeating a behaviour depends on its consequence.
- Positive and negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour enforcing
- Pleasant consequences = positive reinforcement
- Removal of unpleasant stimulus = negative reinforcement
- Continuous reinforcement effective for establishing a behaviour, partial reinforcement for maintaining it.
- Adding unpleasant consequence= positive punishment or removing pleasant stimulus = negative punishment.
Outline B.F Skinner’s Research into operant conditioning 1938
Skinner’s Box:
Positive Reinforcement:
1) Behaviour - Rat presses lever
2) Positive reinforcement - Food pellet falls into cage
3) OC - Rat repeats behaviour. If food pellets stop the rat abandons the level (extinction)
Negative Reinforcement:
Electric current t
1) Behaviour - Rat presses lever
2) Negative Reinforcement - electric current stops
3) OC - The rat goes straight to the lever when placed back in the box.
Outline Pavlov’s research into classical condition (1927)
Making dogs salivate to the sound of a bell:
1) NS (bell) = NR (no salivation)
2) UCS (food) = UCR (salivation)
3) NS (bell) + UCS (food) = UCR (salivation)
4) CS (bell) = CR (salivation)
Evaluation points for the Behaviourist Approach
Strengths:
- Real life applications: Classical conditioning has been applied to therapy e.g. in the treatment of phobias (systematic desensation). It is also used daily in advertisement. Operant conditioning is also used in real life for example school reward/punishment systems, gambling, token econonmy’s.
- Operant conditioning is based on experimental work - allows establishment of cause-effect relationship.
Limitations:
- Ethical issues
- Over-reliance on non-human animals in research. While rats and dogs are mammals, and thus share fundamental charactersitics with humans, humans are still much more complex making it difficult to apply findings to humans due tosignificant differences in brain structure, cognitive abilities, and social complexities between humans and other animals. While animal research provides valuable insights into basic principles of behavior, learning, and cognitive processes it fails to explain more complex behaviours and processes, and fails to acknowledge that humans have evolved in a unique social and cultural context, which influences their behaviors and psychological processes in ways that animals do not.
- Deterministic and doesn’t account for free will - negative and lacks face validity (i.e. the justice system is based around the concept of free will)
- Limited perspective - Behaviourists ignore the role played by emotional and cognitive factors.
- Environmentally reductionsit - Behaviorists believe that all behavior, including complex human behaviors, can be explained through stimulus-response (S-R) associations. The reductionist approach can be helpful in identifying simple causes for behavior and in developing treatments to modify those behaviors, as seen in therapies like systematic desensitization or aversion therapy.However, this approach can also be criticized for oversimplifying human behavior and ignoring other factors, such as biological, cognitive, or social influences.It may not fully capture the complexities of human experience and may lead to incomplete explanations of behavior.
Social Learning theory main assumption
- New patterns of behaviour acquired as the result of observation of other.
- Learning through observing and imitating behaviours that are rewarded
Key theorist of the Social Learning theory
Bandura, 1986
Outline Bandura’s social learning theory
- New patterns of behaviour are required as a result of the observation of others.
- Models (live, symbolic or verbal) provide examples of behaviour that can be observed and imitated.
- Key determinants: 1) characteristics of the model; 2) observers ability to perform the behaviour; 3) It’s observed consequences.
- Identification with the model based on perceived similarity.
- Vicarious Reinforcement - Individuals learn about the likely consequence of behaviour by observing others. This may encourage imitation.
- Individual undergoes mediational process. They must form mental representations of the behaviour and its probable consequences.
Stages of the mediational process
1) Attention
2) Retention
3) Replication
4) motivation
Key Study (Bandura ET AL., 1961)
Bobo Doll Experiment:
Aim:
-To demonstrate that if children were witnesses to an aggressive display by an adult they would imitate this aggressive behaviour when given the opportunity.
procedure:
- Children observed aggressive or non aggressive models interacting with bobo doll.
- The aggressive model displayed distinctive physical and verbal aggressive acts towards the doll.
- Children then allowed to interact with the Bobo doll.
Findings:
- Children who observed the aggressive model imitated their aggression.
- Children who observed the non-aggressive model showed little aggression.
Conclusion:
- Children may learn aggression through observation.
Evaluation:
Strengths:
- Bandura used controlled experimental methods. Controlled variables meant a cause and effect was established. Bandura and other psychologists have found the same results repeatedly.
- Used matched pairs design to reduce participant variables.
Weaknesses:
- Bandura’s experiment has low ecological validity. It uses artificial form of violence (on a doll instead of a human). Ignores the novelty value of the doll - Cumberbatch found that children who had not played with a bobo doll before were 5X as likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour than those who were familiar with it.
- Bandura’s experiment only used children so his findings cannot necessarily be applied to adults.
- Bandura did not measure long-term effects. The Bobo Doll experiment was unethical as children may have suffered long-term effects.
Evaluation Points for the Social Learning Theory
Strengths:
- Applicable to real life (e.g. advertisement). Offers of a way of understanding criminal behaviour (Ulrich, 2003, found that the strongest cause of violent behaviour in adolescents was association with delinquent peer groups, where violence was both modelled and rewarded.)
- Recognition of cognitive factors (perception, memory etc)
- Research support for identification (Fox and Bailenson, 2009, found that participants who watched a virtual model, who looked similar to them, exercising were more likely to engage in exercise.)
- Andsager et al. (2006) health campaign study found that perceived similarity to a model in an anti-alcohol advertisement was positively related to the message’s effectiveness
- Increase influence of positive role models and decrease influence of negative role models (watershed for aggressive content in TV shows).
weaknesses:
- Problems of complexity - SLT ignores other potential factors on behaviour such as biological factors like genetics.
- Problem with establishing causality (Siegel and McCormick (2006) suggests that the cause of delinquency may be the possession of deviant attitudes and values (e.g low self control) prior to contact with deviant peers.
- Lack of accountability
- Ignores developmental milestones
The Cognitive Approach assumes…
- The mind actively processes information from our senses (touch, taste etc.).
- Between stimulus and response are complex mental processes, which can be studied scientifically.
- Humans can be seen as data processing systems.
- The workings of a computer and the human mind are alike – they encode and store information, and they have outputs
- Schemas
Theoretical models
Simplified representations based on current evidence. E.g the information processing model
