Approaches

• Introspection

  Wundt and his co-workers analysed and recorded their own thoughts / experiences and broke them down into thought , images and sensations
• Emergence of psychology as a science

  1900s: behaviourism - behaviourists focus on behaviours they could see and used, and used carefully controlled experiments

  1950s : Cognitive approach - likened the mind to a computer and test their predictions about memory and attention using experiments

  1980s : Biological approach - use sophisticated scanning techniques such as fMRI to study the live brain
• Classical Conditioning

  Learning via association and is one of the core assumptions of the behaviourist approach.
• Operant conditioning

  behaviour is learnt by consequences through both negative and positive reinforcement and punishment .
• positive reinforcement

  when something desired is given so as to increase a desired behaviour.
• negative reinforcement

  when something is removed so it increases a desired.
• Punishment

  doing something unpleasant in order to stop an undesired behaviour
• Strength of the behaviourist approach - well controlled research

  scientific credibility due to its reliance on controlled , objective research . Behaviourists focus on observable behaviour that can be measured in lab settings , ensuring high reliability . E.g Pavlov’s experiments on classical conditioning and Skinners on operant conditioning used well-controllled conditions to study cause and effect relationships. This scientific approach makes findings more replicable and credible = strengthens psychology as a science . Therefore , behaviourism = highly respected due to controlled methods
• Strength of the behaviourist approach - practical application

  practical applications as it is used to modify behaviour in real world settings. The principles of operant conditioning have been applied to education and behaviour management. E.g token economy systems are based on reinforcement principles , used in prisons and psychiatric institutions to encourage desirable behaviours by rewarding individuals. demonstrate that behaviourist principles can be used to change behaviours. This increases the real-world value of behaviourism as it has practical benefits making it a useful approach.
• Limitation of the behaviourist approach - environmental determinism

  takes an environmentally deterministic view of behaviour , suggesting all actions are result of past conditioning experiences rather than choice . Skinner argued that free will is an illusion claiming that behaviour is shaped by reinforcement history . even when people believe that they are making choices , actions are actually determined by previous rewards and punishments . This ignored the possible influence that free will may have on behaviour . Therefore , its strict environmental determinism is a limiting perspective.
• social learning theory

  assumes that behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation

  • identifies with a role model
• Bandura’s research - bobo doll

  Aim - show that the expression of aggressive behaviour was learned .

  Participants - 36 boys and 36 girls from university nursery school in California . Ages 3 to 5.

  Procedure - lab experiment

  Phase 1 - participants exposed to a model - aggressive and non-aggressive condition.

  Phase 2 - children taken to another room and play with toys .

  Phase 3 - children exposed to bobo doll , observe through one way mirror.

  Results - children in aggressive condition produced many physical and verbal acts that they observed . Children in non-aggressive did not.
• Vicarious reinforcement

  Learning through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour.
• identification

  when we associate ourselves with a role model and want to be like the role model

  • also known as modelling
• strength of the learning approach - cognitive factors

  Considers cognitive factors in learning

  Behaviourism doesnt take cognitive factors into account . Humans and animals store information = help decide when to perform certain actions.

  Provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by considering meditational processes
• limitation of the learning approach- contrived lab studies

  SLT is based on on lab studies = risk of demand characteristics.

  • a bobo doll is designed to be hit so it may Argue that the children were behaving in a way that was expected .

  Therefore tells us little about how children learn aggression in every day life.
• strength of the learning approach - real world application

  SLT principles have been applied to the real world.

  principles such as modelling , imitation and reinforcement can explain how children learn from others = helps explain how children learn about gender roles

  increases value of the approach
• basic assumptions

  cognitive psychologist focus on internal mental processes .
• cognitive models

  cognitive psychologists use their research to develop model of how people proceed info

  infer mental processes and make predictions of behaviour
• inference

  reaching a logical conclusion based on evidence.
• Schemas

  • Small packages of info that are made up of past experiences we have encountered.
  • Schema for everything we do
  • Shortcuts to interpreting huge amount of info
• theoretical and computer models

  human mind is compared to a computer as cognitive processes select , code , store and retrieve information.
• cognitive neuroscience

  • scientific study of biological structure that underpin cognitive processes
  • can get detailed information on : brain structure , brain activity for processing information
  • done by PET scans and fMRI scans
• Strength of cognitive approach - scientific methods

  Uses objective scientific methods

  Use lab studies with highly controlled methods to infer mental processes - rise of cognitive neuroscience has strengthened its scientific creditability

  Ensures that cognitive psychology is based on reliable and valid research making it respected

  Therefore it has strong scientific basis making its findings more trustworthy
• strength of cognitive approach - real world application

  it has real world application

  has influenced AI , eyewitness testimony and treatments for depression.

  these show that cognitive psychology is useful beyond theory and impacts important areas of life.

  increases practical value of cognitive approach in improving technology , law and mental health
• limitation of cognitive approach - machine reductionism

  • the cognitive approach is machine reductionist
  • compares the human mind to a computer - ignoring the role of emotions and motivation in processing information.
  • e.g research shows that anxiety affects eyewitness memory , which is overlooked by the cognitive approach .
  • suggests that the cognitive approach oversimplifies human thinking = reduces validity