What did Wundt do and why was it significant?
He opened the first lab dedicated to psychological enquiriy
It was the beginning of scientific psychology rather than being a philosophical topic.
What was Wundt’s method and what does it mean?
Introspection -> Breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures: thoughts, images + sensations
How has psychology emerged as a science over time?
1900’s - Behaviourists
1950’S - Cognitive approach
1980’s - Biological approach
What are some evaluations of Wundt’s work?
Strengths:
-Methods were systematic and well controlled. All introspections took place in a lab to minimise any extraneous variables. Procedures were standardised so all participants received the same information. There for his work is valuable to later psychology studies.
Limitations:
-Wundt’s procedures produced subjective data, this is because participants were relied on to self-report their own mental processes, so it could easily be influenced by their own personal perspective. As a result, Wundt’s study does not meet the scientific enquiry criteria.
What does the behaviourist approach study?
Studies behaviour that can be observed and measured. It is not interested in the mind/mental processes
- Relies on lab studies for control and objectivity
- Uses animals instead of humans (basic processes are the same in all species that permit learning)
What is Classical Conditioning?
Proposed by Pavlov
- Learning through association
- Did an experiment with a dog and rung a bell every time they were given food
- Dog associated the sound of the bell with food
- This showed how a neutral stimulus (bell) can cause a new learned response - conditioned response as a result of association
What is Operant Conditioning?
Proposed by Skinner
- Operating on an environment
- Behaviour is shaped by its consequences
- Did an experiment with rats, in specially designed cages. When the rat activated a lever, it was rewarded with a food pellet, therefore it would continue its behaviour
- Skinner also showed that rats would try to avoid an unpleasant stimulus (electric shock) by performing the same behaviour
What is:
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Positive reinforcement: Receiving an award when a certain behaviour is performed
Negative reinforcement:
Doing a certain behaviour to avoid something unpleasant
(rat presses lever to avoid being shocked)
Punishment:
Unpleasant consequence of a behaviour
Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelyhood of a behaviour being repeated but punishment decreases the likelyhood
What are some evaluations of the behaviourist approach?
Strengths:
- Uses well-controlled research. Studies were performed in highly controlled lab environments, extraneous variables were removed due to breaking behaviour into basic stimulus-response units as a result a cause and effect relationship could be established -> scientific credibility. HOWEVER the learning process may have been oversimplified as there is no relation to mental processes on learning, which are essential.
- Real world application. Operant condition has been applied to prisons and psychiatric wards -> appropriate behaviour leads to privileges, therefore there is high external validity of the behaviourist approach.
Weaknesses:
- Behaviour is conditioned by past conditioning experiences. There is no mention of free will that can influence our behaviour and so the behaviourist approach ignores the decision processes made in the brain (suggested in the cognitive approach).
- Ethical issues. Animals were kept in cramped conditions and below their natural weight.
What are assumptions of The Social Learning Theory?
People learn through observation and imitation of others. Occurs directly through classical/operant conditioning and indirectly
What is Vicarious reinforcement?
Imitation generally occurs if behaviour is seen to be rewarded and not punished -> vicarious reinforcement occurs.
So vicarious reinforcement is not directly experienced but is happens when observing someone experiencing reinforcement from a behaviour.
What are meditational processes?
These are mental factors which interfere in the learning process which determine whether a new response will be required.
Attention-> noticing behaviours
Retention-> remembering behaviour
Motor reproduction-> ability to perform behaviour
Motivation-> will to perform behaviour
What is identification?
Observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like them.
May imitate a role model -> modelling
A person becomes a role model if they: have similar characteristics to observer, are attractive or have a high status
Don’t have to physically present in the environment .
What was Bandura’s study?
Recorded the behaviour of children before and after witnessing adults showing aggressive behaviour towards a bobo doll. After they had seen adults hitting and shouting at the doll, they became more aggressive towards toys compared to children who had observed a non-aggressive adult
What are some evaluations of The Social Learning Theory?
Strengths:
- Recognises the importance of cognitive factors on learning. This suggests that SLT understands the process of human learning by the recognition of meditational processes in comparison to the behaviourist approach. HOWEVER there is little reference to the biological approach on learning. The environment may not determine learning due to the discovery of mirror neurones, which cause to empathise and imitate others thus the biological approach was not considered enough in the SLT.
- Real world application. Has explained the cultural differences in behaviour SLT principles and how children learn from others around them including the media. Also how cultural norms a followed in certain societies.
Limitations:
-Mainly used lab studies, which could not replicate a real life situation therefore participants may have responded to demand characteristics -> children in the Bobo Doll study may have thought the main purpose of the doll was to hit it, so they were just behaving in that way as they thought that it was expected therefore we may not know much about how children learn behaviour in real life.
What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?
Internal mental process should be studied scientifically
Studies processes that cannot be observed like memory, perception and thinking
These processes are studied indirectly through making inferences
What is schema and its role?
The mental framework of information developed through our experience.
As we get older schema develops and becomes more detailed.
They allow us to process lots of information quickly and prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli but can cause perceptual errors if sensory info is interpreted in the wrong way.
What are the uses of theoretical and computer models?
Theoretical models- abstract
Computer models- concrete
Information processing approach- information flows through a cognitive system like a computer, in a sequence of stages: Input-> Storage-> Retrieval
If computers produce a similar output to a human, it can be suggested that similar things are happening in the human mind
Models have allowed the development of artificial intelligence
How has cognitive neuroscience developed?
Advances in brain imaging techniques like fMRI and PET scans have allowed scientists to observe the neurological basis of mental processes.
Also it has allowed the neurological basis of some mental disorders to be established.
Use of computer-generated models have been designed to read the brain which could be used in court, in the future, to analyse brain wave patters to find if eyewitnesses are lying.
What are some evaluations of the cognitive approach?
Strengths:
- Uses objective and scientific methods due to using lab studies, which produce reliable, objective data. Cognitive neuroscience has brought biology and cognitive psychology together which means that there is credible scientific basis of the cognitive approach. HOWEVER there is no direct observation thus it may be seen as too abstract and theoretical and studies often use artificial stimuli which cannot replicate everyday situations as a result the cognitive approach lacks external validity.
- Real world application. Has been applied to many practical/theoretical contexts like artificial intelligence and the treatment of depression -> high validity.
Limitations:
-Machine reductionism. It is difficult to compare a computer to the human mind and human emotion and motivation is ignored by the cognitive approach. Therefore the validity of the the cognitive approach is weakened by this factor
What are the assumptions of The Biological Approach?
Everything psychological is at first biological. By looking at biological structures in the body we are able to understand human behaviour.
All thoughts, feelings and behaviour have a physical basis.
What is neurochemistry?
Actions of chemicals in the brain. Through chemical transmissions, using neurotransmitters, thoughts and behaviours can be formed. An imbalance of neurochemicals can cause mental illness.
What is the genetic basis of behaviour? + what is used to test this?
Psychological characteristics are inherited in the same way as physical characteristics. Twin studies are used to see if psychological characteristics have genetic basis through the analysis of concordance rates (extent to which twins share characteristic)
If a characteristic is genetic, all identical (MONOZYGOTIC) twins share 100% of the same genes.
For non-identical (DIZYGOTIC) twins, they would share 50% of the same genes.
What is a genotype?
Actual genetic makeup/particular genes a person has.
