Approaches

• 17th~19th century

  Psychology is seen as a branch of philosophy,defined at this time as experimental philosophy.
• Wilhelm Wundt~1873

  Wilhelm Wundt published the first book on Psychology

  1879 - He opened the first Experimental Philosophy lab in Germany

  He studied the structure of the mind by breaking behaviours down into basic elements (like sensation,emotional reactions). This is called structuralism
• Wundt

  Used objective methods of measuring

  people were trained to do this analysis to make the data objective (factual) rather than subjective (opinionated).

  people were presented with standardised sensory events like a ticking metronome and asked to report their reactions.

  Psychology emerges as a distinct discipline in its own right,separate from Philosophy
• Introspection→conscious analysis of conscious actions ‘looking into.’

  It is highly subjective
• Sigmund Freud~1900’s

  Publishes ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ and the psychodynamic approach is established
• John Watson~1913

  Writes ‘Psychology as the Behaviourist views it’ and B.F Skinner establishes the behavioural approach. 

  Both behavioural and Psychodynamic approaches dominate psychology for the next 50 years.Psychology begins to be seen as a Science-controlled lab experiments.
• Carl Rogers and Abram Maslow~1950’s

  Developed the Humanistic Approach.This rejected Behavioural and Psychodynamic ideas of predetermined behaviour.They emphasised the importance of free will and self-determination.
• Aaron Beck~1960’s

  Founded the Cognitive Approach.Computers gave psychologists a useful analogy for the human mind.This began the scientific study of mental processes,known as the Cognitive Approach.
• Albert Bandura~1960’s

  Around the same time Beck was working on the Cognitive approach,Bandura proposed Social Learning Theory.This bridged the gap between behaviourism and the new cognitive approach.
• 1980’s onwards

  The biological approach begins to gain dominance in psychology.This is due to advances in technology (e.g fMFI scans) which have led to increased understanding of biological processes.
• Start of the 21st Century

  Cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline.This brings together Cognitive and Biological approaches.It investigates how biological structures influence mental states.
• Wilhelm Wundt

  He believed the Human Mind could be studied scientifically.In his laboratory he studied only those aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions.

  His aim was to study the structure of the human mind.

  His approach was known as structuralism because he broke down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic element.
• Wundt

  Introspection is the process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states.

  Our introspective ability allows us to observe our inner world.Wundt claimed that,with sufficient training,mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed systematically as they occurred using introspection.
• Wundt studied perception

  P’s would be presented with carefully controlled stimuli(e.g visual images.)They would then be asked to provide a description of the inner processes they were experiencing as they looked at the image or listened to the tone.
• The emergence of Psychology as a Science

  Wudnt brought about the emergence of Psychology as a science by using empirical methods.This is characterised by the use of the scientific method in

  Psychology.The new scientific approach in Psychology is based on two major 

  Assumptions:

  All behaviour is caused (the assumption of determinism)

  If behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how human

  being behave in different conditions (the assumption of predictability).

  The technique used to explore these assumptions then emerged as the scientific method.
• Empirical research is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief.
• The Scientific Method must be:

  Replicable,studies of behaviour can be repeated by other researchers to determine

  whether the same results can be obtained (external reliability).

  Objective the researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection

  of their data.

  Systematic observations and experiments are carried out in an orderly way.
• All behaviour is learned

  Classical conditioning=association

  Operant conditioning=reinforcement

  Abnormality is learned in the same way e.g attention when depressed means the behaviour of depression is reinforced

  Little Albert study
• Operant conditioning

  Behaviour is shaped by seeking rewards and avoiding punishments(consequences)

  Punishment

  Something pleasant is taken away(negative punishment)

  Or something unpleasant is administered because someone has shown undesired behaviour(positive punishment)
• Skinner's box experiments

  Hungry rat in box,when went knocked lever a food pellet dropped in,learnt to go to lever(positive reinforcement)

  Rat in a box subjected to electric shocks,when knocked lever shocks stopped,learned to go to the lever.
• Social Learning Theory

  Imitation

  Identification

  Modelling

  Vicarious Reinforcement
• 1.Imitation

  This term is used to describe when an individual observes a behaviour from the role model and copies it.The term imitation is more appropriate than copying because you can’t copy it perfectly.
• 2.Identification

  People are much more likely to imitate the behaviour of people whom they identify,called role models.This process is called modelling.Someone becomes a role model if they possess similar characteristics to the observer and are attractive in what they do and have high status.
• 3.Modeling

  When someone is influential on a model in some way,they are referred to in SLT as a model.If the individual then imitates this person's behaviour later it is called modelling.
• 4.Vicarious Reinforcement

  The term to describe the reinforcement the observer sees the model receiving.They don’t get the reward themselves they see someone else get it.Reward makes behaviour more likely to happen again.E.g a younger sister seeing an older sister being rewarded for a behaviour is likely to repeat that behaviour.
• SLT often described as the bridge between traditional learning theory and cognitive approach.These mental factors mediate in the learning process to determine whether a new response is acquired.
• The mediational process

  Why humans behave the way they do

  A attention,noticing a role model's behaviour and paying attention to it.

  R retention remembering the observed behaviour to use at a later stage.

  R reproduction the observers ability to perform the role models behaviour.

  M motivation the will to perform the behaviour again,which is often determined by whether the behaviour is punished or rewarded the first time.
• Bandura’s ‘Bobo doll’ research

  Bandura et al 1961 carried out an experiment involving children who observed aggressive or non-aggressive adult models and then tested if they imitated that behaviour.

  ⅓ of children exposed to an adult model interacting aggressively with the doll.

  ⅓ non-aggressive model

  ⅓ no adult model at all

  The aggressive model was striking the doll with a mallet accompanied by verbal aggression.

  Following the exposure they annoyed the children by showing them attractive toys they weren't allowed to play with.
• Bandura - Bobo doll

  Findings

  Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced a lot of physical and verbal aggressive behaviour resembling that of the model.

  Non-aggressive exhibited no aggression towards the doll

  Around ⅓ who observed the aggressive model repeated the verbal remarks.
• The cognitive model of abnormality claims that how we think,influences how we feel and how we behave.

  The ways in which we process information(cognition) directly affect the way we behave.

  The cognitive model suggests that disordered thinking can cause disordered or abnormal behaviour.
• There are four assumptions included in the cognitive approach these are:

  1.Computer models - the human mind is like a computer

  2.Making inferences about human behaviour

  3.The role of schemas in human behaviour

  4.The emergence of cognitive neuroscience
• 1.The mind is like a computer

  Input:data                   Program:processes                 Output:product of processing

  put in system                  information   

                transfer                                            transfer

  Sensory information  →  Sequence of mental operations  → Perceptions,memories,behaviour 

     

  With humans signals are passed through neurons

  Info coming in via sense organs → Brain → Info passed out for action
• 2.Inference

  An inference is a logical assumption based on research evidence,of the mental processes that lie behind observed behaviour. We have to infer/assume because internal thought processes are private - we cannot study them directly.
• 3.Schemas

  Stage 1 Assimilation (child builds a theory) e.g this is a cat

  Stage 2 Equilibrium (everything seems to fit this theory) e.g seeing a family members cat and it is still a cat

  Stage 3 Disequilibrium (something happens to cast doubt on the theory) e.g seeing a cat up a tree,but have only seen cats on the floor before makes child question if it is still a cat

  Stage 4 Accommodation (new information is added to the schema) e.g that cats do climb trees

  The new information means that schema needs adjustment or a new schema is made

  E.g cheetahs are big cats - new schema.
• 4.The emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience

  The use of non-invasive neuroimaging such as positron emission tomography(PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) help psychologists understand how the brain supports different cognitive activities and emotions by showing what parts of the brain become active in specific circumstances.Burnett et al 2009 found when people feel guilty several brain regions are active including the medial prefrontal cortex.
• Basic assumptions of approach

  ~The influence of genes

  ~The influence of biological structures on behaviour

  ~The influence of neurochemistry on behaviour

  ~The influence of evolution on behaviour
• What is the biological approach

  Combines psychology and biology to provide physiological explanations for human behaviour.

  Biological psychology tries to explain how we think, feel and behave in terms of physical factors within the body.
• Basic Assumptions

  All mental disorders have a physiological basis

  Investigates how biological structures impact on behaviour-may be genetically or environmentally altered

  Genes affect behaviour and influence individual psychological differences between people 

  Evolutionary psychology considers genetic influences in common behaviours
• Assumption 1 Influence of genetics on behaviour

  Psychologists interested in trying to determine the extent to which behaviours or a characteristic such as intelligence,are the product of inheritance.
• Methods of investigating genetic basis of behaviour

  ~Twin studies

  ~Family studies

  ~Adoption studies