approaches

what is the origin of psychology

Wundt opened his first lab in 1879 where studied those aspects of behaviour that could only be strictly controlled under experimental conditons such as reaction time and perception

first person to call him self psychologist

he believed all aspects of nature including the human mind nature could be studied

what is introspection

the examination of ones own thought processes feeling emotions and sensations

trained subjects would attempt to record their thoughts and break down their responses and reaction

how did he experiement introspection

for example he would present a carefully controlled stimulus preferably an image

and then provide a description of inner processes there were experiencing as the looked at the image this made it possible to compare participants responses to the same stimuli and establish general theories about perception and other mental processes

what was Wundts aim

his aim was to examine the structure of the mind and he believed the only way to do this was to use experimental methods to break down structure of the mind for example by studying sensations and perceptions- (structuralism approach)

strengths of Wundts approach

high internal valdity>high levels of control allowing reasrcher to manipulate the IV to see the effect it has on the DV>Wundt as participants if the see a black circle with a white background or the other way round however with a trained reaction time shortest time possible they answered the question by pressing a button >this allows the researcher to estibalish cause and effect

reliability>it uses controlled and standardised procedures>controlled stimulus where the same stimulus was used each time (eg ticking metronome) and same instruction was given to all participants>allowing study to be related in the exact same way

weaknesses of Wundts approach

low ecological validity>in order to make a concept measurable it needs to be operationalised>the behaviour no longer resembles the way we behave in our everyday lives > this is an issue because it means that any conclusions are limited in the extent to which they can be generalised beyondthe experimental setting

the behaviourist approach

suggests that all behaviours is a result of previous experiences and is learnt

behaviour is learnt from experience and that only observable behaviour should be studied as thought processes are subjective and difficult tom test

we could study this on animals aswell

what is classical conditioning

states that behaviour is learnt via association it occurs when two stimulis are related together

what happens before conditioning in Pavlov dogs

unconditioned stimulus (food) > unconditioned response (salavation)

neutral stimulus (bell) » no response

what is unconditioned stimuls

unlearned, reflex

after conditioning

conditioned stimulus paired with NS > conditioned response

what is operant comdtionig

behaviour is learnt vi the consequences of our actions

what are the types of reinforcemet

positive and negative reinfocement

punishment

what is positive reinforcement

this increases the likely hood that behaviour will be repeated as it procedures a consequence that is pleasant

what is negative reinforcement

this also increases the likely hood of ehaviour reacting as negative reinforcement removes something unpleaseant

punishment

is an unpleasant consequence of behaviour

skinners research

rat was placed in a box-contained a lever outside the box it would record frequency of pressing the box

a hungry rat would be placed in the box - the rat would accidentally run into the lever then food will come - positive reinforcement due to the reward

negative reinforcement by using using something unpleasant like a shock and the lever would stop the shocks

strengths of classical conditioning

practical applications> systematic desecration is based on the principle of classical conditioning > it is a treatment for phobias and involves patients learning to associate a phobic stimulus with relaxation so they no longer feel fear> Gilroy et all found it to work on spider phobias > this theorey is able to be benfiecal to someones life

strengths of operant conditioning

practical applications>token economies are used in the treatment of schizophrenia>it involves receiving secondary reinforcers when they carry out desirable behaviour they can exchange for primary reinforcers> this is helpful as talking to therapies is not effective

limitations of classical and operant condition

use of animal reasrch>there is a difference between humans and animals animals do not have the higher level thinking reasoning and communication that humans have> therefore it is difficult to fully extrapolate the findings from animals to humans which may reduce accuracy

ignores the role of biology>for example genetics neurotransmitters and the brain all influence in our behaviour thus behaviour can also be explained by genetics most recently reaserch sees the value of looking at how our environment and biology interact to influence human behaviour this suggest the assumption where born a blank state is inaccurate

what is the social learning theory?

that behaviour as being learnt via observation and imitation of a role model

what is identifications

to identify with a model observers must feel that they are similar enough to them they will receive the same outcome - (same sex and simlar to them

imitation and modelling?

imitate is where we copy behaviour of those role models we identify with

modelling>the behaviours we see others carrying out

the role of meditational processes

attention- for us to image behaviour it needs to grab our attention

retention- this refers to how well our behaviour is remembered

motor reporduction> ability of the observer to physcially carry out the behaviour seen we have to have confidence in our self

motivation> we have to be motivated to want to carry it out this is more likely to happen if vicarious reinforcemrnt happened during the modelling

vicarious reinforcement- receiving a reward for their behaviour

bandoras reasearch

children aged 37-69 months observed same sex or opposite sex half saw aggressive behaviour towards doll other half sae non aggressive then they were taken to a room which contained toys they could play with

what is banduras findings

children who observed aggressive behaviour acted more aggressively than those who did not boys were more agressive than girls

benefits of of social learning theory

can explain cultural difference>it suggest behaviour is learnt via what we observe in models it means that behaviour is not universal rather it will be influenced by the cultural norms and the media of the culture in which the child lives» this can help explain why gender roles are different in other cultures

negatvies of social learning theory

methodological issues with research» controlled experiment- this is an issue because it lacks ecological validity - ((talk about banduras study)» in realm life we are likely to be put in the same situation after having just observed behaviour this is an issue as it means it is difficult to generalise the findings

ingores the role of biology- it demonstrated that boys showed more aggression than girls only biological factors can explain thus for examples males have more testorone than females therefore SLT dosnt’t give full explanations of what behaviour causes

what is the cognitive approach

it focus on how people perceive store and manipulate and interpret information by studying processes such as perception, memory thinking and problem solving

what is the study of internal processes

cannot be seen but we are aware of our thought processes

scientific methods and to measure internal mental processes in a scientific manner they use experiments

interference

what is interfernace

going beyond what’s observable to make assumption about what cannot be directly observed

what is the role of the schema

schemas are formed through experience

they allow us to make prediction about the world

schemas also allow us to take mental short cuts

what are schemas

representations of our ideas about a person, object or situation

limitations of schemas

bias may form

the use of theoretical models to explain inference about mental processes

it uses theoritical models to try an demonstrate some of the internal processes that are occurring to influence behaviour they are simplified based on current research eg MSM WMM

the use of computer models

this suggest our minds works in a similar way to computers in that we input information from the environment process that information and then have an output- which led to the development of ai that humans think similar to ai

advantages of cognitive approach

practical applications- cbt has been developed to treat variety of mental illnesss such as depression and OCD - CBT has been found to be as effective in treating depression as antidepressants (march et al). as the treatment is effective it suggests that the cognitive approach is accurate in its emphasis on the role of cognition on our behaviour

limitations of conginitve approach

ignores the role of emotions - using computer models to explain human coding this ignores the difference between a machine and a human brain for examples computers make no mistakes but humans do the role of motivation and emotion also influence behaviour for example in the eye witness testimonies

methodical issues- based on controlled experimental methods this means that the internal processes are measured in a precise and operationalised manner for example measuring memory using a lists of words to recall> lacks ecological validity because this is not something we do in our everyday life

what is the biological approach

views behaviour as being influenced by the physical physiological processes such as genetics and hormones neurotransmitters and the structure of the brain

what is a phenotype

genes begin to interact with the environment intially this is the internal environment after the child is born the external environment interacts either the genotype

what is a genetic test show

it only shows the genotype not the phenotype so it will only tell you if a patient could get a diseases

although environmental factors can have an affect on likelihood of getting disease

what is a genotype

(23 pairs of chromosones) each cell contains an identical set of genes this is determined at fertilisation by the combination of genes that are contributed by the parents

twin studies

concordance rate: monozygotic (MZ twins) share 100% of there gens and (DZ twin) dizygotic only share 50% same as siblings

if characteristics are genetic e.g (schizorpehnia) we would expect monogyotifc twins to have it

if dizygotic they probably wouldn’t

evolution and behaviour in biological approach

natural selection by= Charles Darwin the main principle of this theory is that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individuals survival will continue in future generations

evaluations

scientific methods FMRis and EEGS-possible to measure

boligical determinsm

drug therapy

side effects of drug therapy

psychodynamic approach

frued suggsted that most of our mind is made up of the unconscious-(part of the mind we are unaware of but which directs most of our behaviour)

our unconscious also has threatening and disturbing memories that have been repressed

structure of the personality

ID- at birth pleasure principle - the id gets what it wants- id is elfish and demands gratifaction

ego age of 2- reality principle- mediates between two parts of the personality reduces demands of the id and superego where the defence mechanism takes place

super ego around 5 at phallic stage- morality principle knowing what’s right and wrong

what is the defence mechanism

repression -forcing distress memory out the unconscious

denial-refusing to acknowlege some aspect of reality

displacement - transferring distress on to a subsitute target

eval

physics deterministic -roots of behaviour is unconscious conflicts in childhood

lasts scientific measures-not possible to be tested (or disproven) they are at an unconscious level-makes it difficult to make claims

pyshcothertapy formed-treating mental disorders phsycologivally rather than physically - dream analysis used - developed into counselling -creates new approaches to treatment

physchosexaul stages

oral- 0-1 years - pleasure from the mouth - if fixated could lead to smoking

anal -1-3 years- this is where it has pleasure from the anus when expelling faeces - if fixated obsesive

phallic- 3-6this is where it has pleasure from the genital area- if fixated trouble comes reckless

latency- earlier conflicts are repressed

gential - puberty sexual desires come out- if if fixated difficult to form future relationships