APPROACHES

• Wundt


  Psychology as a discipline thought to have occurred in Germany by Wundt.

  First person to call himself a psychologist

  1879 first psychology lab established

  Introspection
• Introspection


  Examination of ones own thought processes, feelings, emotions and sensations.

  Wundt believed that introspection can be used to systematically observe mental processes such as memory and perception.

  Aim of this is to break up conscious awareness into basic thoughts, images and sensations.
• Watson


  Criticised introspection for not being objective as it varied from person to person - difficult to establish general principles.

  Proposed that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself to being empirical by only studying observable phenomena.
• The behaviourist approach: classical conditioning


  Learning by association

  Learning occurs when an association is made between a previously neutral stimulus and reflex response
• Pavlov: classical conditioning


  Accidentally discovered when classical conditioning when studying digestion in dogs

  Noticed that a dog would salivate when his assistance brought dog food into the lab. After this happened on many occasions, the dog would salivate when hearing a brllopen alone.

  Pavlov concluded that the dog had made an association with the sound of thr door and the imminent arrival of food.
• Pavlov's experiment


  When the dog heard a bell, there was no reflex response so pavlov rang a bell whenever there was food . This happened many times so the bell became associated with the food.

  Eventually, when the ball rang, the dog would salivate, even if no food was present.
• Pavlov experiment: terminology


  BEFORE CONDITIONING

  food = unconditioned stimulus salivation = unconditioned response

  bell = neutral stimulus

  DURING CONDITIONING

  food + bell = unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus

  salivation = unconditioned response

  AFTER CONDITIONING

  bell without food = conditioned stimulus salivation = conditioned response
• Behaviourist approach: operant conditioning

  Works on the principle of learning consequences of others behaviour.

  Reinforcement strengthens a behaviour and makes it more likely to happen (converse for punishment)
• positive reinforcement


  Receiving a reward as a consequence for a behaviour

  More likely to happen
• Negative reinforcement


  When an individual is reward by avoiding something unpleasant.

  More likely to happen through the removal of negative consequences.
• Skinner box


  contained: a response lever, speakers, lights and a metal floor with the capacity to administer electric shocks

  Rats and Pigeons
• Skinner; positive reinforcement


  Hungry rat in box, as the rat moved it would accidentally knock the lever which would release food. Food = positive reinforcement.

  After this happened a number of times, rats would hit the lever as soon as they entered the box
• Skinner; negative reinforcement


  Placed rat in the box and gave it an electric shock; as rat moved around te box is would knock the lever which would turn off the electric shock.

  Turning off electric shock = negative reinforcement

  Rats learned to go straight to lever when they got in the box.

  One step further: a light came on just before the electric shock was administered; rats learned to knock the lever when they saw the light
• Assumptions of the behaviourist approach

  1. Behaviour is learned from experiences (we were born a blank slate so no genetic influence on behaviour

  2. It is only possible to scientifically measure behaviour - thought processes are difficult to test so should not be studied

  3. Psychologists should use lab experiments- maintain objectivity

  4. The basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species- therefore valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning with humans
• Evaluation of behaviourist approach

  STRENGTHS

  practical applications / successful treatments

  scientific and nomothetic

  supported by Skinner, Pavlov and Watson & Rayner

  LIMITATIONS

  nurture- over simplistic

  deterministic

  reductionist
• Assumptions of the cognitive approach

  1. Thought processes can be studied scientifically in well controlled laboratory studies

  2. The mind works like a computer

  3. Studying stimulus and response is appropriate but only if the thought processes that occur between the two are acknowledged
• Studying internal mental processes

  Non-empirical thought processes by observing behaviour and making inferences about what is going on in peoples minds.

  Experimental method
• Schemas


  A mental framework that is formed through experience and incorporates our ideas about a person or situation

  Help the brain to interpret information- therefore significantly affect how we behave
• Theoretical models


  Describing behaviour through a series of distinct steps

  Examine components individually and in detail
• Computer analogy


  Suggest the human mind is like a computer

  Central processing unit (brain); coding (turn information into a useable format); stores to hold information
• Cognitive neuroscience


  The scientific study of brain structures on mental processes; it aims to find a biological basis to thought and to discover he brain structures involved in different kinds of mental processes.
• Evaluation of cognitive approach

  STRENGTHS

  practical applications- CBT

  research uses human participants

  scientific and nomothetic

  soft determinism

  LIMITATIONS

  research low in ecological validity
• Assumptions of social learning theory

  1. Behaviour is learned from experience / our environment

  2. Behaviour is learned from observing the consequences of other peoples behaviour
• Identification


  1. an individual believes they are similar to someone

  2. an individual looks up to someone and wants to be like them

  More likely to imitate the behaviour if you identify with the tole model
• Vicarious reinforcement


  The reinforcement that the role model receives.

  A reward = more likely to be imitated

  Punishment = less likely
• Imitation


  copying models behaviour

  Mediating processes
• Mediating processes


  Refers to the thought processes prior to imitation that intervenes between stimulus and response:

  Attention

  Retention

  Motor reproduction

  Motivation
• Evaluation of social learning theory

  STRENGTHS

  acknowledges the role of cognitions in behaviour

  scientific and nomothetic

  LIMITATIONS

  nurture- over simplistic
• Bandura (1961)


  Boys and girls- 4 years old observe behaviour of either a male or female adult

  Half of the groups observed an aggressive role model and the other a non aggressive role model.

  control group- not exposed to the model

  Agressive model hit a Bobo doll with a hammer and shouted at it. non-agressive model ignored bobo doll and payed with toys

  Those who observed aggressive model acted more agressive (converse for non agressive)

  Boys were more aggressive than girls

  Greater level of imitation of same sex role models
• Bandura follow up study

  2 half - 6 years watched a film of a model punching and screaming aggressively at a bobo doll

  3 conditions: model rewarded, model punished or ended at agression scene.

  when given their own bobo doll; condition 1 showed more agression followed by third group and then second group.
• The biological approach assumptions

  1. Genetics

  2. Evolution- behaviour evolves in the same way that physical characteristics do- adaptation

  3. Examination of non-human behaviour is useful because humans and animals have evolved through the same process

  4. the brain is seen as the main focus when explaining behaviour as it is seen to be the origin of how the world is seen and acted upon by an individual

  5. Biochemistry- varying levels of chemicals found in both the brain and the body are believed to be related to an individuals behaviour
• heredity


  Characteristics are passed from one generation to the next through genes.

  Share 50% of genes with parents
• Twin studies


  Compare pairs of monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins as monozygotic twins share 100% of genes whereas dizygotic twins are only 50% genetically similar. A concordance rate is calculated and compared which indicates the extent to which it is genetic. If there is higher concordance when the individuals are genetically the same (mz twins), it is believed that the behaviour has a genetic component
• Adoption studies


  Examine concordance rates for a behaviour between an adoptive child and their biological parents. #if there is a high concordance rate between the biological parent and child, the behaviour must be genetic.
• Genotype


  Genetic makeup that occurs at conception and provides genetic code for how an individual will develop.
• Phenotype


  The expression of an individuals genetic makeup which can be influenced by the environment.
• Evolution


  The process of passing characteristics from generation to generation over millions of years.

  Natural selection.

  Random change in genetic code which leads to trait occurring . Chances of survival and reproduction is increased. More likely to pass the gene to offspring.
• Neurochemistry


  The biochemistry of the central nervous system.

  Transfer of chemicals via the brain through neurotransmitters.
• How neurotransmitters affect behaviour

  When a nerve impulse reaches the end of neuron a neurotransmitter is released. Travels from one neuron to the next across the synapse. It then binds to receptors in the post synaptic neuron and has an affect on the body.
• The psychodynamic approach assumptions

  1. The driving force behind our behaviour is the unconscious mind

  2. Instincts or drives motivate our behaviour

  3. Early childhood experiences determine our personality and adult behaviour

  4. Psychoanalysis should be used to make the unconscious conscious