Approaches key people and studies

• When was Pavlov's dog experiment?


  1902
• What did Pavlov do?


  Every time Pavlov fed his dogs, he rang a bell (a neutral stimulus). When the dogs saw the food (unconditioned stimulus) they salivated (unconditioned response). Over time and repetition, the dogs began salivating at the sound of the bell, and it had become a conditioned stimulus, as they has learned to associate the bell with being fed.
• When did Skinner do his experiment with animals in a box (operant conditioning)?


  1938
• What was Skinner's experiment into operant conditioning?


  He put a rat in a box, and every time it pressed a lever, food was released into its box (positive reinforcement). Over time and repetition, it learned to press the lever if it wanted food. In another experiment, the rat was electrically shocked until it pressed the lever (negative reinforcement). It learned to press the lever as it wanted the shocks to stop.
• Who did the Little Albert study?


  Watson and Rayner
• When was the Little Albert study conducted?


  1920
• What happened in the Little Albert study?


  Albert was a nine-month-old baby. They placed a rat in front of him and he showed no fear. Then, they hit a bar with a hammer behind his head and he cried. Every time he saw the rat, the investigators would hit the bar to make him cry. Eventually, they stopped hitting the bar but every time he saw the rat, Albert cried, as he had been classically conditioned to fear the rat. However, he had generalised this fear to anything white and fluffy.
• Who was Wilhelm Wundt and what did he do?


  He is considered the father of psychology and his most well known contribution is introspection.
• When did Bandura et al.'s study take place?


  1961
• What happened in Bandura et al.'s study?


  Children observed aggressive or non-aggressive models with bobo dolls. They were then taken to a room with toys in, including a bobo doll.
• What did Bandura et al. find?


  Children who observed more aggressive models were more aggressive than those who observed a non-aggressive model. In a follow up study, they found that children who saw the aggressive model being rewarded were more likely to display aggressive behaviour.
• What did Sigmund Freud believe?


  He came up with the psychodynamic approach to psychology. He believed that lots of behaviour was determined by the unconscious and the psychosexual stages of development.
• When was the Little Hans study?


  1909
• What happened in the Little Hans study?


  Freud believed Little Hans fear of horses was a displaced fear of his father due to an unresolved Oedipus complex. His father sent Freud letter when Hans was 3-5 about the interactions he had with his son, as well as his dreams.
• When was Maslow's theory made?


  1943
• What was Maslow' theory?


  The hierarchy of needs, with the most basic on the bottom and the more complex needs higher up. You cannot progress to the next stage in the hierarchy until you have satisfied the needs lower down.
• When was Rogers study on the self?


  1951
• What did Rogers investigation into the self find?


  Humans have two basic needs - positive regard from others and a feeling of self-worth.
• When was Rogers study that influenced counselling psychology?


  1959
• What did Rogers 1959 study show?


  An individual's psychological problems are a result of their conditions of worth and the conditional positive regard they receive. He also says that people tend to hinder self-actualisation themselves.