Approaches

• What are the 4 parts to the origins of psychology?

  1) Descartes and dualism

  2) Wundt and introspection

  3) Watson, Skinner and behaviourism

  4) Future progress w/ other Approaches
• How did Descartes and dualism contribute to psychology?

  - In the 17th c. Descartes proposed that the mind and body are 2 different things, and they interact in 2 different ways to produce behaviours and thoughts - basis for nature vs nurture debate.
• How did Wundt contribute to psychology?

  - Set up first laboratory, adopted the use of introspection

  - Method of data-recording was highly scientific (eg. Used same stimulus each time, allowing for high reliability)
• How did Watson and Skinner (behaviourism) contribute to psychology?

  - Disagreed w/ vague nature of introspection, aimed to create general, objective laws around human behaviour

  - Marked the start of psychology as a discipline.
• Behaviourism - the learning approach ...
• What are the assumptions of behaviourism?

  - 'Tabula rasa': everyone is born as a blank slate

  - Environment: behaviour is learned from the environment

  - Stimulus/response: behaviour can be understood using a stimulus-response approach

  - Reinforcement determines whether a behaviour is repeated

  - Only observable behaviours can be measured and investigated

  - Lab-based, scientific methods are favoured

  - Animal research can help us understand human behaviour

  - Classical + operant conditioning are responsible for all behaviours
• What are the 2 key pieces of research for behaviourism?

  - Pavlov's dogs: classical conditioning

  - Skinner's box: operant conditioning
• What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

  - Good reliability: use of scientific methods

  - Nomothetic approach: seeks to establish general laws of behaviour, which can be applied universally
• What are the weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?

  >REDUCTIONIST- IGNORES THE INFLUENCE OF NATURE AND COGNITION ON BEHAVIOUR.

  >ETHICAL CONCERNS FROM USING ANIMALS.
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through association: NS is substituted for the original UCS (eg. Person for food) to produce a conditioned response.
• What was the process of Pavlov's study?

  1) UCS (food) = salivation (UCR)

  2) NS (bell) = no response

  3) NS (bell) + UCS (food) = UCR (salivation)

  repeat 3)

  4) CS (bell) = CR (salivation)
• What is operant conditioning?

  learning through consequences:

  - punishment: behaviour LESS likely to be repeated

  - positive reinforcement (reward): MORE likely to be repeated

  - negative reinforcement (stopping something negative): MORE likely to be repeated
• What are consequences also called?

  Reinforcers
• What was the method of Skinner's box?

  Tested rats and pigeons:

  - Box contained a lever + food dispenser

  - When rats pressed down on lever, they received food (+) - learnt to repeat this

  - Rats given electric shocks, which stopped when they pressed the lever (-)
• What are the strengths of Skinner's research?

  + Highly controlled conditions reducing EV's and CV's, increasing reliability + internal validity of findings.

  + Real life application: led to development of treatments for serious issues eg. Token economies as a way of dealing with offending behaviour: inmates who carry out good behaviour receive tokens which can be traded for privileges (eg. Extra TV time)
• What are the weaknesses of Skinner's research?

  - Environmental determinism: sees all behaviour as a result of the environment; different for humans, who have emotions, motivations and reasoning - limited explanation

  - Cost-benefit analysis w/ use of animals: Skinner's box caused significant physical harm to rats
• How does SLT believe we learn behaviour?

  • Learning occurs directly (through classical and operant conditioning) and indirectly (through vicarious reinforcement)
• What is the process of learning?

  1. Identify with a role model

  2) Observe them (if they're being rewarded, this is vicarious reinforcement)

  3) Imitate their behaviour (direct reinforcement)

  *repeat 3)*

  4) Internalisation of role model's behaviour/beliefs
• Why is a person more likely to identify (aspire to be like) with a role model?

  "Modelling"- role model usually is attractive, has high status and has similar characteristics to the observer.
• What are the 4 mediational processes?

  Attention

  Retention

  Motor reproduction 

  Motivation
• What do the 4 mediational processes do?

  Increase the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated.
• What can SLT's theory of learning be applied to?

  Bandura's Bobo Doll Study
• Who was the sample in Bandura's study?

  36 boys

  • 36 girls

  All aged between 3 and 6 years.
• What was the method of Bandura's study?

  • 3 experimental groups: 1 - exposed to real-life aggressive models, 2 - exposed to aggressive models on film, 3 - viewing an aggressive cartoon character
• What were the results of Bandura's study?

  • Children who had observed an aggressive role model behaved more aggressively towards the Bobo doll than the control group - links to process of SLT
• What are the weaknesses of SLT?

  Reductionist: ignores biological factors, for example boys and girls don't always learn from experience, and boys actually have innate hormones (testosterone) linked to increased aggression 

  • Lacks internal validity: Bobo doll is specifically designed to be hit, so people who are not influenced by aggressive role models may have still hit it. Also lacks mundane realism, because it isn't representative of day-to-day tasks, so might not accurately measure children's replication of role models.
• What are the strengths of SLT?

  Less reductionist than behaviourism - recognises a role for cognitive + conscious processes, recognises the role of mediational processes.
• What does the cognitive approach look at to explain behaviour?

  • Study of internal mental processes (eg. Memory)
• How do cognitive psychologists reach conclusions about behaviour?

  Make inferences based on observable behaviours
• What are the main components to the cognitive approach?

  Computer + theoretical models

  • Schemas
• What are theoretical and computer models used for?

  To provide testable theories about mental processes
• What are theoretical models?

  diagrams representing the steps involved in internal mental processes eg. MSM
• What are computer models?

  Where the mind is compared the a computer thus suggesting similarities in its processing.
• What are the similarities between computers and the mind?

  Encoding/coding

  Storage

  • Output
• What are the strengths of the study of internal mental processes?

  Use of lab experiments: increases the reliability of the cognitive approach w/ controlled conditions and replicable standardised procedures 

  • Good scientific validity- cognitive neuroscience
• What does the biological approach assume?

  Everything psychological is first biological, so to fully understand human behaviour, we must look to biological structures eg. Genes, neurochemistry and the nervous system.
• What is used to study the genetic basis of behaviour?

  Twin studies: - compare the concordance rates between pairs of twins - the extent to which both twins share the same characteristics. If identical (monozygotic) twins have higher concordance rates than non-identical (dizygotic) twins, this suggests a genetic basis.
• Genotypes and phenotypes

  • A person’s genotype is their actual genetic make-up
  • A person’s phenotype is the way that genes are expressed through physical characteristics - affected by environment.
• Darwin - natural selection

  Genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individual’s survival will continue in future generations (be naturally selected.)
• What are the strengths of the biological approach?

  • Scientific methods: precise and highly scientific eg. EEG’s, fMRIs - not open to bias
  • Real life application: increased understanding of biochemical processes in the brain has led to the development of psychoactive drugs, helping people get back to work sooner.