approaches psych

• Behaviourist approach


  • Psychologists should only study observable, quantifiable behaviour
  • All behaviour is learned
  • Humans are no different from animals and should not be regarded as more complex
  • Research on animal behaviour is directly relevant to humans
• Classical conditioning


  A type of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex is associated with a new stimulus
• Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment

  • Pairing the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus) resulted in dogs producing a salivation response (conditioned response) at the sound of the bell (conditioned stimulus)
• Operant conditioning


  Behaviour is the result of learning through the consequences of our actions
• Types of reinforcement


  • Positive reinforcement
  • Negative reinforcement
  • Punishment
• Positive reinforcement


  A behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated
• Negative reinforcement


  A behaviour is followed by the removal of an adverse consequence and is more likely to be repeated
• Punishment


  A behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence and is less likely to be repeated
• Skinner box


  • An animal would move around the cage, and when it pressed the lever (by accident), it would be rewarded with a food pellet. The animal would learn, through positive reinforcement, that each time it pressed the lever, it would be rewarded with food.
• Behaviourist approach


  • Significantly contributed to the recognition of psychology as a science
  • Encouraged the use of animals as research subjects
  • Made important contributions to the understanding and treatment of mental illness
  • Criticised for its limited view regarding the origins of behaviour
• Behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learned and that humans have little choice in their behaviour, as it is simply the product of environmental learning
• Social learning theory


  Learning occurs through the observation and imitation of behaviour performed by role models, who model behaviour in a social environment
• Social learning theory


  • Recognises the importance of cognitive processes (mediational processes)
  • Rejects the notion that learning is purely the outcome of a stimulus-response loop
• Mediational processes in social learning theory


  • Attention
  • Retention
  • Reproduction
  • Motivation
• Vicarious reinforcement


  Learning from the observation of others being rewarded
• Bandura's Bobo doll experiment


  • Children were exposed to an adult model either behaving aggressively or non-aggressively towards a Bobo doll, and then the children's own behaviour towards the Bobo doll was observed
• Cognitive approach


  Focuses on the examination of internal mental processes such as perception, memory, attention and consciousness
• Internal mental processes cannot be studied directly, their operation must be inferred from the observation and measurement of visible human behaviour
• Theoretical models


  Enable the visual representation of complex conceptual processes
• Computer models


  Provide a basis for research within the field of cognitive psychology
• Examples of internal mental processes


  • Perception
  • Memory
  • Attention
  • Language
  • Problem-solving
• Schema


  Mental frameworks of information that we use to organise past experiences and to interpret and respond to new situations
• Schemas


  • They provide us with expectations about what will happen in the world, rather than requiring us to process every single detail, all of the time
  • They allow us to make sense of ambiguous situations by "filling in the gaps" in our knowledge
  • They enable us to act comfortably even when our information is incomplete which makes it much easier to deal with complex situations
  • They can lead to errors in information-processing such as prejudice and discrimination
• Theoretical models


  Visual representations of internal mental processes that are used to help researchers simplify and study complex processes
• Schemas


  Allow us to make sense of ambiguous situations by "filling in the gaps" in our knowledge
• Schemas


  • Enable us to act comfortably even when our information is incomplete
  • Make it much easier to deal with complex situations
  • Can lead to errors in information-processing such as prejudice and discrimination
• Theoretical models


  • Multi-store model (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968)
  • Working memory model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974)
• Computer models


  Analogies of long-term memory as hard disk and short-term (working memory) as computer's RAM
• Cognitive neuroscience

  Field that tries to bridge the gap between the cognitive and biological approaches
• Cognitive neuroscience uses non-invasive brain scanning techniques like PET scans and MRIs to understand which parts of the brain are active while specific internal mental processes are being used
• Long-term memory (LTM)


  • Hippocampus is associated with episodic memory
  • Temporal lobe is associated with semantic memory
  • Cerebellum and motor cortex are associated with procedural memories
• Brain imaging techniques have been successful in establishing a link to certain mental health disorders, such as the association between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and the parahippocampal gyrus
• Strengths of the cognitive approach


  • Recent advances in neuroimaging technology have lent weight to theoretical models by providing empirical confirmation of brain activity for specific cognitive functions under controlled conditions
  • Recognition of the complexity of human behaviour and hesitation to assert a reductionist explanation of mental processes
  • Many real-world applications such as reducing eyewitness testimony use and helping treat mental illnesses
• Limitations of the cognitive approach


  • Neuroimaging evidence is only correlational and does not constitute true scientific validation of theories or models
  • Tends to neglect other significant dimensions of behaviour such as emotion and motivation
• The cognitive approach pays respect to both the nature and nurture element of the debate
• The cognitive approach straddles both the nomothetic and idiographic approaches in psychology
• The biological approach takes a reductionist perspective, breaking down complex human behaviour into its component parts such as genetic, neurochemical or structural explanations
• The biological approach acknowledges the role of the environment, with the interaction of nature and nurture influencing an individual's phenotype
• Phenotype


  The expression of genes which results in the observable characteristics of a person, influenced by both genetic inheritance and interaction with the environment
• Genotype


  The genetic make-up of an individual