Psych Paper 2

• Science


  Discovering the physical and natural world systematically and objectively using empirical methods like observation and experimentation
• Systematic approaches


  • Make procedures standardised and help researchers repeat experiments
• Objectivity


  • Removes bias in research and makes sure studies are not influenced by the researcher
• Empiricism


  • Assures researcher test their ideas on data collected from the world, making it as accurate as possible
• Wundt


  The father of psychology, started controlled empirical scientific research, opened the first psychological lab in Germany in the 1870s
• Introspection


  Self examination, analysing conscious experience, reporting experience and mental images
• Wundt's work paved the way for research in psychology. He produced the first academic journal that published psychological experiments
• Wundt's work was criticised by behaviourists saying mental processes could not be scientifically studied by introspection
• Introspection process


  1. Pps were trained to report conscious experiences as objectively as possible

  2. Pps would be asked to focus on a sensory object

  3. Pps would systematically report their experience by breaking down their thoughts into separate elements
• Behaviourist approach


  Developed in an attempt to make psychology more scientific by using highly controlled experiments. Behaviourists argue behaviour is learned through experiences with the environment (environmental determinism).
• Classical conditioning


  A neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus producing an unconditioned response
• Classical conditioning


  • Pavlov demonstrated this in dogs who would associate the sound of a bell (NS) with food (UCS) to the conditioned stimulus
• Stimulus generalisation


  When put with a similar stimulus, like little Albert who grew a fear to any white fluffy object
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through reinforcement. Consequences that are rewarding reinforce behaviour and punishing consequences are performed less
• Operant conditioning


  • Skinner demonstrated this in rats. They were placed in a box where they learned to operate levers to receive food.
• Types of reinforcement


  • Positive reinforcement - adding a stimulus to encourage behaviour
  • Negative reinforcement - removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behaviour
  • Positive punishment - adding an unpleasant stimulus to discourage behaviour
  • Negative punishment - removing a pleasant stimulus to discourage behaviour
• If the reinforcing consequences stop, the behaviour will stop, like with the rats
• Social learning theory


  Agrees with behaviourist ideas that behaviour results from learnt experience. Focuses on learning taking place in a social context due to exposure to others behaviour
• Imitation


  Others behaviour is observed, if behaviour is rewarded we are more likely reproduce that behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)
• Modelling


  Others act as blueprints for our behaviour
• Identification


  Models with characteristics we relate to are more likely to be imitated
• Mediational processes


  • Attention: observing behaviour
  • Retention: remembering behaviour
  • Reproduction: replicating behaviour
  • Motivation: performing behaviour
• Social learning theory


  • Bandura tested SLT and imitation to see if children would imitate aggressive behaviour towards Bobo dolls
• Cognitive approach


  Suggests behaviour is a result of conscious and unconscious information processing
• Schemas


  Cognitive frameworks of how things work. They are formed prior to an experience and organise information to make assumptions on how to behave. Can lead to stereotyping
• Inferences


  Go beyond observed behaviour to make assumptions about the structure of mental processes that resulted in that behaviour
• Models


  Used to provide testable theories about mental processing
• Cognitive neuroscience


  Investigates how cognition is produced by neural mechanisms and brain structure
• The development of cognitive neuroscience like fMRI provide neuro-biological support for these ideas
• Computer model


  How we view the brain. Memory stores are specialist areas of the brain which encourage outputs to behavioural responses
• Schema


  A cognitive framework that is formed from prior experiences to help us navigate how we behave. We assimilate information to an existing schema and we can accommodate a schema by adapting it. Schemas can be about: self, role, event
• Inference


  • Bahrick (1975) showed participants photos from their school yearbook. He found that after 15 years, recall was 90% and after 48 years, recall was 70%
• Cognitive approach is an example of soft determinism
• There is an inheritance of general brain structure that leads to development of mental processes
• Biological approach


  Suggests that behaviour is a result of physical processes within the body through brain activity and hormone which are inherited
• Genotype


  Genetic code for characteristics inherited from parents
• Phenotype


  The expression of the genotype characteristics which can also be influenced by environmental effects
• Twin studies


  Monozygotic twins share 100% of their genes and dizygotic twins only share 50%
• Concordance rate


  The likelihood of twins having the same characteristic. For example in MZ twins have a 48% concordance rate in MZ twins and 4% in DZ twins
• Diathesis stress


  Suggesting a disorder is the result of the interaction with a pre existing vulnerability and environmental stressors