Approaches

• When did the emergence of psychology as a science occur?

  When Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychology department at the University of Leipzig in 1879.
• Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

  A German professor who taught biology and philosophy.
• What is Wilhelm Wundt commonly referred to as?

  Father of psychology
• Why is Wilhelm Wundt the 'father of psychology'?

  He set up the first psychology laboratory in the world at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879 and wrote the first psychology textbook 'Principles of physiological psychology'.
• How did Wundt define psychology?

  Study of the mind. He wanted to develop a theory of the components of the mind.
• What methods did Wundt use?

  Scientific methods in his lab. Lab experiments were used to study mental processes.
• What were the responses of Wundt's participants to the same stimuli like?

  Often varied from one replication to the next. The findings also varied between participants.
• How did Wundt study the mind?

  He used a technique called introspection where participants reported their own mental responses. Much of Wundt's research was on the topic of perception, especially reaction time. For example, he presented participants with a sensory stimulus (a light or sound) and participants were asked to report when they first perceived the stimulus. This allowed Wundt to calculate the time it takes for people to perceive sensory events.
• How influential was Wundt?


  • Wundt established psychology as a separate scientific subject and taught students who later set up psychology departments at universities around the world.

  • Wundt's use of scientific methods (lab experiments) influenced later approaches to psychology including the behaviourist and cognitive approaches.

  • Few of Wundt's specific theories have had a lasting impact on psychology.

  • Introspection fell out of use in psychology because the findings were not always replicable.
• What is the name of the first ever psychology textbook and who wrote it?

  Principles of physiological psychology written by Wilhelm Wundt
• Define the behaviourist approach


  A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
• Which two important laws form the basis of the behaviourist approach?

  Classical and operant conditioning
• Define classical conditioning


  Classical conditioning is learning by association. Neutral stimulus (a bell) produces a response that it would not normally produce (salivating) because of association
• Who discovered classical conditioning ?

  Ivan Pavlov
• When was Ivan Pavlov's study where he discovered classical conditioning?

  1920s
• Describe Pavlov's study


  Pavlov rang a bell before giving food to dogs while measuring the salivation of the dogs. The food caused salivation as expected. In this case, the food was the unconditioned stimulus and the salivation was the unconditioned response (these are called unconditioned as they did not need to be learned - salivation is an instinctive response to food). At the start of the study, the bell did not cause salivation and so was the neutral stimulus. After the bell was rung before food was given to the dogs several times, the dogs began to salivate when they heard the bell. At this point, the bell had become a conditioned stimulus and the salivation (in response to the bell) is the conditioned response (these are called conditioned as the stimulus-response connection has been learned rather than being instinctive). Pavlov's research showed that animals learn to associate two stimuli which occur together.
• Define operant conditioning


  frequency of an action increases or decreases due to the positive or negative consequences that follow the action.

  behaviour is shaped by its consequences. If a rat is rewarded when it presses a lever, this behaviour is reinforced (more likely to be repeated i.e. is learned).
• Who investigated operant conditioning?

  B.F. Skinner
• When did Skinner investigate operant conditioning?

  1930-60s
• Give two examples of animals Skinner used in his experiments

  Rats and pigeons
• Describe Skinners experiment


  The animals were placed in a specially designed piece of equipment, later referred to as a 'Skinner Box'. Food could be dispensed into the box as a positive consequence for an action. Electric shocks could be given to the animals through the floor of the box as a negative stimulus or consequence. In the case of the rats, the target behaviour measured was pressing a lever on one wall of the box.
• Define positive reinforcement


  Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
• Give an example of positive reinforcement in Skinner's experiment


  When food was given following a lever press, the frequency of lever presses increased.
• Define negative reinforcement


  when something avoids something unpleasant so the outcome is positive
• Give an example of negative reinforcement in Skinner's experiment


  If electric shocks were given which could be stopped by a lever press, the frequency of lever pressing increased.
• Define punishment


  Where a negative consequence causes an action to occur less frequently.
• Give an example of punishment in Skinner's experiment


  When pressing the lever led to the rats receiving an electric shock, the frequency of lever pressing reduced rapidly.
• What is the evidence for the behaviourist approach?

  Behaviourists take a nomothetic approach to research. They use lab experiments to find causal relationships between variables. These findings are used to discover laws of behaviour. For example, Pavlov and Skinner both used lab experiments of animal behaviour to discover the laws of classical and operant conditioning.
• strength of behaviourist approach

  well controlled research

  E) behaviourists focus on measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings

  E) breaking down behaviour into basis stimulus response units - all extraneous variables are removed to show cause + effect relationships

  L) suggests behaviourists experiments have scientific credibility
• strength of behaviourist approach

  well controlled research

  counterpoint

  P) may have oversimplified learning process

  E) reducing behaviour to simple components mean they have ignored important influence on learning

  E) SLT + cognitive have drawn attention to mental processes involved in learning

  L) suggests learning is more complex than observe able behaviour alone + mental processes are essential
• strength of behaviourist approach

  real-world application

  E) operant conditioning is basis of token economy system that has been successful in institutions which work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens

  E) classical conditioning can treat phobias

  L) increases value of behaviourist approach because it has widespread application
• limitation of behaviourist approach

  environmental determinism


  P) it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences + ignores free will

  E) skinner suggested everything we do is sum of our reinforcement history so our past determines the outcome

  E) ignores free wills impact on behaviour

  L) extreme position + ignores influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour
• ethical issues of behaviourist approach:

  animals were kept at low weight + can be difficult to generalise to humans
• how is the behaviourist approach reductionist?

  suggests all aspects of human behaviour are reduced to one explanation so it is an oversimplification as the roles of genes are no considered
• does the behaviourist approach support nature or nurture?

  nurture - argues that behaviour is learnt from our environment
• does the behaviourist approach support free will or determinism?

  determinism - environmentally deterministic
• does the behaviourist approach have scientific credibility?

  yes as it uses lab studies
• Define social learning theory

  A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors. observation + imitation
• Who proposed the social learning theory?

  Albert Bandura
• When was social learning theory proposed?

  1960s