Approaches

• Psychology


  The scientific study of the human mind and behaviour
• Wilhelm Wundt


  • Often referred to as the father of psychology
  • His work marked the separation of psychology from its philosophical roots
  • He was the first to attempt to study the human mind and behaviour scientifically
  • He set up the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig in Germany in the 1870s
• Introspection


  The examination of our own conscious thoughts and feelings
• Wundt's introspection

  1. Present students with a stimulus such as a ticking metronome

  2. Ask students to report their thoughts and feelings in response to the stimulus

  3. Compare the reports given by different students and use them to establish theories about the structure of the human mind
• Wundt's scientific methods


  • Conducted research in a controlled laboratory setting
  • Standardised his procedures
  • Replicated his research to establish reliability of findings
• With Wundt's work, psychology emerged as a science
• Main approaches in psychology

  • The learning approaches (Behaviourism, Social learning theory)
  • The cognitive approach
  • The biological approach
  • The psychodynamic approach
  • Humanistic psychology
• Behaviourism


  The behaviourist approach suggests that psychology should restrict itself to studying observable behaviours that can be measured directly
• Classical conditioning


  Learning through association
• Classical conditioning


  1. All animals are born with natural reflexes (UCS and UCR)

  2. A neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with the UCS

  3. If the NS is consistently paired with the UCS, it will be associated with the UCS

  4. The NS becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response to the CS is the conditioned response (CR)
• Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through consequences
• Operant conditioning


  1. If a behaviour is reinforced, it is more likely to be repeated (positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement)

  2. If a behaviour is punished, it is less likely to be repeated
• Skinner developed the Skinner box to investigate operant conditioning in rats
• What is Social Learning Theory (SLT)? When Learning occurs indirectly through the observation and imitation of models
• Modelling


  The demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated
• Imitation


  The copying of a modelled behaviour
• Identification


  Imitation is more likely if the observer identifies with the model
• Vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment

  Observers learn about the consequences of a modelled behaviour by observing the model being reinforced or punished
• Bandura's Bobo Doll experiments

  1. Children observed an adult model behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll

  2. Children who observed the model being reinforced behaved the most aggressively

  3. Children who observed the model being punished behaved the least aggressively
• Mediational processes in SLT

  Attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation
• Cognitive approach


  Unobservable mental processes can be studied scientifically
• Theoretical models


  Simplified representations of mental processes based upon research evidence
• Computer analogy


  The mind works in a similar way to a computer
• Schemas


  Packages of information and ideas developed through experience that act as a framework for the interpretation of incoming information
• Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
• Schemas


  Mental frameworks that help us make sense of the world and process a huge amount of information quickly
• Schemas can prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
• Schemas may also cause us to exclude important information and focus only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas
• Schemas can lead to errors
• Cognitive neuroscience


  The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
• It is only in the last 20 years, with advances in brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, that scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neural basis of mental processes
• Tulving et al. (1994) was able to demonstrate how different types of long term memory (LTM) may be located on opposite sides of the pre-frontal cortex
• Strengths of the cognitive approach

  • It has employed highly controlled and rigorous methods of study, enabling reliable and objective data collection and accurate conclusions
  • It has established a credible scientific basis through the emergence of cognitive neuroscience
  • It has many applications, such as the development of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for psychological disorders
• Weaknesses of the cognitive approach

  • Research on mental processes often lacks validity due to the use of artificial stimuli that may not represent everyday experiences
  • The computer analogy is over-simplistic as it ignores the influence of human emotion on information processing
• Biological approach

  Explain all aspects of psychological functioning in terms of physical factors within the body, including genes, biological structures, and neurochemistry
• Behavioural geneticists


  Study whether psychological traits are inherited in the same way as physical traits
• Twin studies


  Investigate the influence of genes on behaviour by comparing the similarity of traits between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins
• Genotype


  The genetic make-up of an individual
• Phenotype


  The observable characteristics of an individual, influenced by both genes and the environment