psych approaches definitions

• what is control 


  holding variables constant in order to establish cause and effect
• what is objectivity 


  where researchers are unbiased and not influenced by their own thoughts/feelings/experiences
• what is predictablility

  being able to predict future behaviour from research findings
• what is falsifiability


  the theory that a proposition could only be considered scientific if it is possible to be proved as false which helps to develop new theories
• what is introspection 


  where a person gains knowledge about his / her own mental and emotional states
• what is structuralism 


  breaking down a persons observations of objects, images, events into separate parts
• what is generalisation 


  the tendency for a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit the same response
• what is discrimination

  having a response to some stimuli but not others ( especially is not similar to the CS )
• what is extinction 


  when the CS no longer elicits the CR ( due to numerous presentations of the CS without the UCS )
• what is spontaneous recovery 


  the sudden reappearance of the CR after a period of apparent extinction
• what is positive reinforcement 


  providing something unpleasant which results in the behaviour being repeated e. g praising
• what is negative reinforcement

  taking away something unpleasant which results in the behaviour being repeated e. g. removing a headache by taking a tablet
• what is positive punishment 


  providing something unpleasant which results in the behaviour not being repeated e. g. being told off
• what is negative punishment 


  taking away something pleasant so that behaviour isn’t repeated e. g. having phone confiscated
• what is environmental determinism 


  the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside of an individual
• what is attention


  the person noticing the behaviour
• what is retention 


  remembering the behaviour
• what is reproduction 


  imitating the behaviour
• what is motivation 


  person deciding whether they believe they should and they’re willing to imitate the behaviour