approaches

• Origins of psychology:

  • In 1879 Wundt opened the first psychology lab in Germany
  • He is often considered the 'father of psychoology'
  • He developed introspection (individuals examining and reporting on their own mental processes)
• Introspection Evaluation:

  ☺ Introduced scientific principles to research - precise measurements under controlled laboratory conditions. Helped to establish psychology as a science
• Introspection Evaluation:

  ☹ Wundts methods dont meet scientific methods, introspection relies on non-observable responses. Impossible to measure reliably
• Introspection evaluation:

  ☹Very subjective, difficult to generalise to other people and establish principles
• Introspection evaluation

  ☹Other researchers have been unable to replicate Wudnts findings, questions the reliability of his results
• Behaviorism assumptions:

  • All behavior is learnt from the environment, it provides stimuli for us to respond to
  • Basic processes of learning are the same in all animals
  • Only interested in studying observable behavior, not mental processes
• Classical Conditioning; Pavlov

  • Learning via association
• Classical Conditioning; Pavlov

  1. Before: UCS produces an UCR, a NS produces no response
  2. During: The NS is paired with the UCS resulting in the UCR. This needs to happen several times for learning to occur
  3. After: NS becomes the CS resulting in the CR even when the UCS isnt there
• Additional features of classical conditioning:

  • One trial learning: acquiring a new behaviour in a single pairing of the NS and UCS
  • Extinction: if the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS, the strength of the CR gradually declines and becomes extinct
  • Spontaneous recovery: as above but if the pairing ever occurs again the response reappears
  • Genralisation: stimuli similar to the CS can also trigger the CR
• Pavlovs dogs; classical conditioning

  • Before: dogs would salivate (UCR) in response to food (UCS) but not to a bell (NS)
  • During: the bell (NS) was rung when food (UCS) was presented
  • After: the dog would salivate (CR) to the sound of the bell (CS)
• Evaluating Pavlov:

  • P- tightly controlled
  • E- no other stimuli present, dogs kept in social isolation, researcher administered stimuli from outside the room
  • E- control over extraneous variables, enhances internal validity . control over replication, enhances reliability
• Evaluating Pavlov:

  • P- Criticised ethically
  • E- The dogs had saliometers inserted into their oesophegus
  • E- Couldnt actually swallow food, many died
• Evaluating Pavlov:

  • P- Issues with genrealisability
  • E- the human brain is more complex than that of dogs
  • E- higher cognitive processes such as problem solving
• Evaluating Pavlov:

  • P- Research evidence, watson and raynor
  • E- 11 month old 'Little Albert' was given a white rat to play with which he was not initially scared of, as he reached out for the rat a loud noise was made which scared him. Eventually when Albert saw the rat he would cry, roll over and crawl away
• Operant conditioning; Skinner

  • We learn via consequences
• Reinforcers: Stimuli that increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.
• Positive reinforcement: behavior is followed by a pleasent consequence, increases behavior - we are motivated to repeat
• Negative reinforcement: if behaviour is not partaken in it leads to something unpleasant, increases liklehood of behaviour
• Punishment: behaviour is follwed by an unpleasent consequence, frequency of behviour decreases
• Additional feautures of operant conditioning:

  • Behaviour shaping: complex behaviours can be conditioned by reinforcing behaviours which closely resemble the desired behaviour
  • Schedules of reinforcement: (reinforcing every nth time)more effective at maintaining a response and avoiding extinction
• Skinner box; operant conditioning

  Controlled environment where an animal can be placed, theres a lever which delivers a food pellet if pressed. In a variation, can also receive electric shock when lever is pressed

  • positive reinforcement: receiving the pellet
  • negative reinforcement: avoiding the electric shock
  • punishment: receiving the electric shock
• Evaluation skinner:

  ☺tightly controlled - no other stimuli present, animals were socially isolates. Results can be replicated to test for reliability
• Evaluation of skinner:

  • P- Issues with genrealisability
  • E- the human brain is more complex than that of dogs
  • E- higher cognitive processes such as problem solving
• Evaluating behaviourism:

  • Evidence: watson and raynor
  • Applications: token economy and systematic desensitisation
  • Credibility: objeective and controlled
  • Incomplete: ignores nurture and cognitive processes
• Evaluating behaviourism:

  • P- research; watson and raynor
  • E- Albert aquired a phobia to a white rat (NS) when paired with a loud bang (UCS)
  • E- demonstrates learning of phobias through classical conditioning
• Evaluating behaviourism:

  • P- Applications
  • E- Token economy; implemented in prisons and schools based upon operant. Therapies for phobias such as systematic desensitisation based on classical
  • E- demonstrates contributions
• Evaluating behaviourism:

  • P- Credibility
  • E- Testable and supported by rigorous research, objective and highly controlled - very reliable
  • E- influence on the development of psychology as a scientific discipline
• Evaluating behaviourism:

  • P- Incomplete
  • E- ignores biological factors and ignores the role of mental processes
  • E- incomplete, other influences should be considered
• Social Learning Theory assumptions;

  • Behaviour is learnt from the environment
  • learning takes place through observation and immitation
  • known as the 'bridge' between behaviourism and cognitive
• SLT Immitation:

  • Models are more likely to be immitated if the child or adult identifies with them in some way
  • We are more likely to immitate someone we see being rewarded for a behaviour, this is called vicarious reinforcement
• SLT; before we imitate we undergo mediational processes to understand if we can properly imitate

  1. Attention
  2. retention (awareness)
  3. reproduction
  4. motivation
• What are the four mediational processes

  Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation
• Bandura, Bobo experiment:

  Nursery school age children observed aggressive or non-aggressive adults and then were tested for imitative behaviour in the absence of the adult. Half of the children were shown aggressive adults - hitting bobo with a mallet aswell as verbal agression. After exposure to the adults children were left in a state of frustration (shown toys they couldnt play with) Then taken to Bobo
• Bobo findings:

  • Children who observed aggression imitated the physical aggression and 1/3 imitated the verbal
  • Children who observed the non-aggressive model showed virtually no aggression towards bobo
  • Children were more likely to imitate a model of the same sex
• Bobo follow up study: vicarious reinforcement

  Adult behaved aggressively to bobo, in group A children saw the adult praised (told well done), in group B children saw adult punished (being told off), in group C children saw no consequence

  • A showed most agression, then C, then B
• Bandura, Bobo evaluation:

  • Controlled lab experiment, standardised - pre-recorded behaviour of the adults, same toys, same room
  • Poor ecological validity, use of video clip, inflatable doll, artificial environment, model was a stranger
• EVALUATING SLT:

  • Research- bandura
  • Applications- age ratings
  • Credibility
  • Incomplete
• EVALUATING SLT:

  • P- research evidence, bandura bobo doll study
  • E- children exposed to an aggressive model almost always imitated the physical aggression shown whereas the group with a non-aggressive model did not - also found children were more likely to imitate a model of the same sex (identification). In a follow up study children who were vicariously reinforced were more likely to imitate
  • E- children imitated what they observed, emphasises identification and vicarious reinforcement
• EVALUATING SLT:

  • P- applications. Supports argument that media violence contributes to violence in wider society
  • E- influential in age ratings on violent films as well as the watershed for tv programmes; limiting young peoples exposure to violent models
  • E- implications for the economy and reduction of violence
• EVALUATING SLT:

  • P- scientific cred, has been tested in lab context enabling control of specific variabales
  • E- relies heavily on evidence collected from artificial settings. Bobo study lacks ecological validity- doesnt reflect a real life task
  • E- could be different in real life settings