Approaches psych

• Define Empiricism


  The theory that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience, rather than being innate. Characterised by the use of scientific methods in psychology
• What is meant by introspection? Who came up with this?

  Wundt (1897)

  - The process of studying mental processes by looking into or examining one's thoughts
• Describe Wundt's role in the development of psychology


  - Opened the first psychological lab in 1897 in Germany to explore the human mind

  - Used experimental methods to build the structure of though --> structuralism

  
  

  - Structuralism: Isolating the structures of consciousness

  - Introspection
• Evaluate Wundt's introspection


  strengths

  - work was significant as it marked the emergence of psychology as a science rather than philosophy

  
  

  limitations

  - Subjective data: self-report = may be distorted (ppts may not want to reveal thoughts)

  - Not all use scientific methods e.g humanistic

  - Use of case studies
• Describe the emergence of psychology as a science

  1) 1879: Wundt opened first psychological lab, structuralism + introspection

  
  

  2) 1900's: psychodynamic approach- Sigmund Freud

  - influence of unconscious mind on behaviour + developed psychoanalysis therapy

  
  

  3) 1913: Behaviourist approaches- Watson + Skinner

  
  

  4) 1950's: Humanistic approach- Rogers and Maslow

  - rejected the behaviourist + psychodynamic

  - suggested that human behaviour is caused by outside factors

  
  

  5) 1950's: Cognitive approach- came with the intro of the computer

  - Studied mental processes in more scientific ways

  
  

  6) 1960's: Social learning theory- Bandura

  - Role of cognitive factors in learning

  
  

  7) 1980's onwards: Biological approach

  - Dominant scientific perspective, looks at the brain + biological processes

  
  

  8) 21st Century: Cognitive neuroscience -> cognitive + biological processes/methods
• Evaluate the emergence of psychology as a science

  Strength:

  + The modern approaches use more scientific methods e.g learning, cognitive and biological approaches

  
  

  Limitations:

  - Subjective: not all approaches use scientific methods e.g humanistic approach

  - Use of case studies
• What 2 approaches do the learning approaches include?

  - The behaviourist approach

  - Social learning theory
• What is the behaviourist approach? Who came up with this? What era?

  - John B Watson (1920's)

  * rejected the idea of introspection as the concepts were too vague/unmeasurable

  
  

  - Approach suggesting that all animals are born as a blank slate and all behaviour is learned from interaction with the environment

  * (not interested in mental processes- only things that can be observed and measured)
• What is classical conditioning? Who demonstrated this? Outline study/findings

  - Learning through association when two stimuli are paired together

  
  

  - Ivan Pavlov (1927)

  . showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell, if sound repeatedly presented

  . through regular pairing, neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus which produces a conditioned response. Dog started salivating to sound of bell

  
  

  - Found that repeated exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour
• What other study supports the idea of classical conditioning?

  Watson and Raynor: Little Albert

  - Conditioned baby to be afraid of white rat

  - introduced the rat in room and every time he noticed it they would create a loud noise behind him

  
  

  * rat became conditioned stimulus over time which created conditioned response (fear) (cried every time it entered even without noise)

  
• What is operant conditioning? who proposed it? Outline study

  - Learning through consequences

  BF Skinner(1953)

  
  

  - rats in skinner box, when rats accidently pressed lever it was rewarded with food. (positive reinforcement) so kept doing it

  - when rat pressed lever it now produced shock (punishment)

  
  

  * positive reinforcement (adding pleasant consequence)

  * negative reinforcement (removing unpleasant consequence)

  + punishment

  
  

  - found that behaviour that is reinforced will be repeated and learned whereas behaviour that is punished will die out
• What is a strength when evaluating the behaviourist approach?

  Scientific credibility

  
  

  - Highly controlled research in lab settings

  
  

  - Breaking down behaviour into stimulus-response units means extraneous variables can be removed + cause and effect can be established
• What is another strength when evaluating the behaviourist approach?

  Real-world application

  - Token economy systems in prisons and psychiatric wards

  
  

  * work by appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards
• What is a limitation when evaluating the behaviourist approach?

  Animal study

  - Unethical

  - Findings cannot be extrapolated/generalised to humans

  - so may not provide an explanation for human behaviour
• What is another limitation when evaluating the behaviourist approach? (issues and debates)

  Environmental determinism

  - sees all behaviour as conditioned by past experiences

  - Ignores any possible influence that free will may have on our behaviour
• Who proposed the social learning theory? What does it suggest?

  Albert Bandura

  In addition to behaviourists, he proposed that:

  - behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation

  
  

  * vicarious reinforcement

  * modelling/role models

  * mediational processes
• Explain vicarious reinforcement


  - People observe the behaviour of other individuals

  - But imitation only occurs if the behaviour is seen to be rewarded

  
  

  - the behaviour is observed but so is the consequence of the behaviour, making them not imitate

  * (only certain people are worthy of being imitated --> role model/someone we associate with)
• Explain and outline the mediational processes

  - Cognitive factors that influence learning, and come between stimulus and responses

  (for a new behaviour to be learned):

  
  

  1) Attention: the extent to which we notice certain behaviours

  
  

  2) Retention: how well the behaviour is remembered

  
  

  3) Motor reproduction: the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour

  
  

  4) Motivation: the will to perform the behaviour which is often determined by whether it was rewarded or punished
• Outline Bandura's (1961) Bobo doll study. What did they do/find?


  - Recorded the behaviour of young children who watched an adult behave in an aggressive manner towards a bobo doll

  * adult hit it with a hammer and shouted abuse at it

  
  

  - Aggressive model shown to 24 children

  - Non-aggressive model shown to 24 children

  - No model shown (control condition) - 24 children

  72 children total

  
  

  - when children were later observed playing with bobo doll + other toys they were much more aggressive than those who observed a non-aggressive adult

  
  

  - Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls

  - Boys were more physically aggressive than girls
• What is a strength when evaluating the social learning theory?

  Cognitive factors

  - Unlike classical and operant conditioning, SLT recognises the importance of cognitive factors on learning

  
  

  - humans and animals rely on the behaviours of others to make judgements about their own actions and when it is appropriate to perform them

  
  

  * suggesting that SLT provides a more realistic and comprehensive account of human learning
• What is a counterpoint to the previous strength?

  - Lacks reference to biological factors

  
  

  * Bandura suggested that learning was determined by the environment however other research has suggested that learning could be the result of mirror neurons

  
  

  * mirror neurons--> allow us to empathise and imitate e.g if sm is laughing u laugh too/ someone crying= u get sad too

  
  

  - Suggests that biological factors have great influence, and are under-emphasised in the SLT
• What is a weakness of the social learning theory?

  - Lab studies with children/ artificial stimuli

  1) based on young children's behaviour in a lab--> demand characteristics

  
  

  2) Artificial:

  - not how aggression works in the real world, purpose of a bobo doll is to hit it--> may have been reacting in a natural way rather than imitating

  
  

  - Therefore cannot be generalised to everyday life
• What is another strength of the social learning theory?

  Real-world application

  - provides an explanation for how children learn from others around them, including the media + cultural norms
• Explain the cognitive approach

  - Argues that internal mental processes influence our behaviour and can and should be studied scientifically

  
  

  * an explanation given by psychologists to for the processes that go on inside ones head

  * we can't see what's going on inside so we make inferences

  
  

  - considers neglected areas such as memory, perception, thinking and attention
• outline the use of theoretical and computer models as an explanation of mental processes

  - Cognitive psychologists use theoretical and computer models to help them understand internal mental processes

  
  

  Theoretical models: diagrams representing steps involved e.g Multi-store model

  
  

  Computer models: computer stimulations of mental processes e.g computer models of memory
• What does the information processing approach suggest?

  - Information flows through a cognitive system in a sequence of stages e.g multi-store model

  
• Outline the role of schema in the cognitive approach

  - 'Packages' of ideas or information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the world around us

  * e.g schema for a chair = something with legs that you can sit on

  
  

  - Our schemas develop with age

  
  

  - We have schemas as they allow us to process info really quickly when dealing with a lot

  * however can lead to interpretations being distorted --> EWT
• Explain the emergence of cognitive neuroscience. Which 2 studies can you talk about?

  The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes.

  
  

  - Emergence of cognitive neuroscience occurred due to advances in brain imaging techniques and such as FMRI and PET scans

  
  

  - Paul Broca: identified how damage to frontal lobe (Broca's area) could permanently impair speech production

  
  

  - Maguire et al (2000): found that taxi drivers have a slightly larger hippocampus, allowing them to memorise London's streets
• What is a strength when evaluating the cognitive approach?

  Real-world application

  - Dominant approach in psychology today

  
  

  - involved to the development of AI (artificial intelligence)

  
  

  - Used in the explanation and treatment of depression via the identifying and challenging negative thoughts
• What is another strength when evaluating the cognitive approach

  Objective scientific methods

  - Highly controlled studies --> able to infer cognitive processes + control over variables

  
  

  - The emergence of cognitive neuroscience enabled the merging of biology and psychology --> enhances scientific study
• What is a counterpoint/weakness of the cognitive approach?

  Relies on inference of mental processes rather than direct observation

  - most research studies often include artificial stimuli e.g memory experiments (trigrams, word lists...)

  
  

  - lacks external validity
• What is another limitation when evaluating the cognitive approach?

  Machine reductionism

  - The human mind is not like a computer, there are differences

  
  

  - It ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on behaviour and reduces everything down to basic computer analogy

  
  

  * E.g human memory can be affected by emotional factors such as anxiety

  - Decreases the validity of cognitive approach
• Explain the assumptions of the biological approach

  - Assumes that all human behaviour has a biological origin

  
  

  - To understand human behaviour we must look at biological structures and behaviours in the body

  * genes, nervous system, neurochemistry
• The Influence of Genes: Define genotype and phenotype


  - genes carry information from one generation to the next

  
  

  - Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual fixed from birth

  
  

  - Phenotype: the expression of genes through physical, behavioural or psychological characteristics (observable)

  
  

  - phenotype= influenced by both genetic inheritance and interaction with the environment

  
  

  (influence of genes: twin studies concordance rates used too)
• What does the influence of evolution theory suggest?

  - Genetically determined behaviour that enhances individuals survival and reproduction will be passed down (natural selection)

  * Buss (1994) sex differences in partner preferences
• What does the influence of neurochemicals theory suggest?

  - An imbalance of neurochemicals in the brain can lead to atypical behaviour and mental illnesses e.g depression and aggression
• What is a strength when evaluating the biological approach?

  Real-world application

  
  

  - Led to development of drug treatments for many mental illnesses --> research into neurotransmitters

  
  

  * e.g antipsychotics inhibit effect of dopamine reducing positive symptoms

  
  

  - helpful for treatment but also to understand illness
• What is a limitation when evaluating the biological approach?

  Correlation not causation

  
  

  - Causation is often implied in explanations that focus on brain structures

  *e.g in schizo, low activity in ventral striatum= negative symptoms

  
  

  - this is a problem as research only tells us that there is an association but cannot suggest that it causes it --> correlational
• What is another limitation of the biological approach? (issues and debates)

  Biological determinism:

  
  

  - suggests all behaviour is a result of evolution and biological structures/processes

  
  

  - implies that human have little control over their behaviour --> lack of free will
• Who proposed the psychodynamic approach? What does it suggest?

  Sigmund Freud

  - Behaviour is determined by unconscious forces