Psychology Schools of Thought: Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviourism, Cognitivism

basic schools of thought

1. Structuralism

2. Functionalism

3. Behaviourism

4. Cognitivism

Acronym for school of thoughts order

SFBC

"struc fun be cog"

Structuralism

analyze the structure of the mind

introspective method

- researchers look into their own minds

Problems with structuralism

how do we know that the mind's contents are all conscious and available to the introspections

Did structuralism last

no, structuralism didn't last

how do we know which structuralist is right?

you need someone more powerful to tell which is right and which is wrong, no way to confirm it

What is Functionalism in psychology?

The very first modern school of thought.

What did Functionalism contribute to psychology?

It helped psychology become a science.

What does Functionalism focus on?

The purpose of mental processes and behavior.

How do mental processes and behavior help according to Functionalism?

They help humans adapt to their environment.

Who were functionalists

Darwin - first evoluntionary psychologist

Thorndike - associations

Darwin

Thinks about animals in relation to humans

What does behaviourism emphasize?

Everything must be observable and measurable

What aspect of psychology does behaviourism deny?

The mind

Who is associated with the concept of conditioning in behaviourism?

Pavlov associated the concept of conditioning

What did behaviourists want psychology to be?

A science

Who was a behaviourist

Watson (father of behaviourism)

Skinner (radical)

Skinner as a behaviourist

Radical behaviourism

reinforcement

- stimulus to a response

Cognitivism

Perception, memory, attention, language, problem-solving

What school of thought do radical behaviourists deny

cognitivism is denied

Operational Behaviourism

accepts unobservable events in the explaination of behaviour provided they are used rigorously and carefully

Radical Behaviourism on measurability

If you can't see it can't be measurable

deny the mind

- gravity (see effects of it)

What is behaviour

Something you can observe

dynamic, not static

stochastic - changes in probabilities over time

What is the behaviour equation

Behaviour = gene + environment + ( interaction of gene x environment)

Nature vs Nurture

Is learning nature or nurture

learning is nurture

What is learning

changing behaviour/acquiring new things

What is induction?

a mental process for making decisions. It involves making a prediction about what may happen based on what you know

What are the steps of induction

Process of discovery (most basic form)

Learning by observation

Generalization (or discriminating)

Bayesian processes (Bayesian learning)

What is generalization in psychology?

Generalization is the tendency to respond similarly to similar stimuli.

dogs are terrible at generalizing

What is discrimination in psychology?

Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently.

- more able to discriminate with more time spent (more specificity)

Are people more likely to be generalizers or discriminators

people are more likely to be generalizers

Example of generalization

Dog = wolf

Dogs can't detect a lot of cocaine

example of discrimination

dog and wolf are so different

Dog can only detect small trace amounts of cocaine

What is the only sensory input that can bypass the limbic system

Olfaction

- smell ex's cologne = "woah what just happened"

What is motivation

the proximal or proximate causes or "why" of behaviour

What is memory?

the organism's internal record of past experiences, acquired through learning

Behaviourists on memory

you don't need memory

- being exposed to the right stimulus makes you lock in

Example of encoded information

Knowing the capital of France

Hippocampus on memory

In limbic system

contextualizer

tags memories with time, dates, and locations

Three stages of memory

1. Acquisition

- learning info

2. Storage

- retention of info and the Engram

3. Retrieval

- bring info back

What do you need for memory

1. Motivation

- be motivated to learn

2. Attention

- need attention to learn

3. Memory

- storing the info

MAM

Explicit memory

recognition, recall, cued recall, instrumental learning (conditioning)

Implicit memory

Priming, but also classical conditioning!

- react to stimulus and not even notice

Engram

physical trace of memory

What is maturation?

persistent change in behaviour, but not through experience or learning processes per se

What development causes maturation

biological development (driven mostly by genetics)

What levels of the phenotype does maturation affect

all levels of phenotype

- getting bigger, taller, stronger, but also changes in brain

What is performance

An activity or behaviour that leads to a (measurable) result

- don't see it, you see effects of it

latent learning

what kind of variable is performance

intervening variable

- often dependent variable of learning (Study hard (ind.) Do well on test (dep)

What dimension is intelligence

multidimensional - trainability of dogs

What is the effect of learning/memory curves on performance for a specific task?

Increase in performance for specific task

Is the increase in performance for a specific task correlated to intelligence?

No, it is not correlated to intelligence

How do border collies typically perform in training?

They train fast but tend to overcomplicate tasks

How do beagles typically perform in training?

They train slow but perform behavior perfectly

Latent learning

incidental learning

priming

learning without paying attention

knowledge that will be harder to retrieve tomorrow

What is intelligence?

What you do when you don't know what to do

Aspects of inelligence

- Adaptation

- IQ

- Fluid (in moment) vs. Crystalized (already in place) intelligence

- Specific and general (g factor)

- Instrumental vs social-affective

Who is Coren?

A judge for dog shows.

What are the two types of skills observed in dogs by Coren?

Training (learning) and problem solving.

- also social and cognitive

Did some dogs exhibit both training and problem solving skills?

Yes, some dogs were on each side.

What is knowledge?

What you know > cognition

- what you gain through experience and learning, and retain for future use

Is having a good memory knowledge?

no, good memory is not knowledge

- you need to link what you know

Meta-cognition

what you know or think you know

- what you know about what you know

What is an example of meta-cognition?

Bank tellers being bad at identifying counterfeit bills.

Why are bank tellers often bad at identifying counterfeit bills?

They think they know it all and don't use all the tools available.

- when you think you know so much you're less likely to apply what you know

Meta-memory

what you think you remember

How the Ancient Greek conceptualized the mind

They were right about conceptualizing it

What are the three types of processes in the Greek conceptualization of mind?

Affective processes: EMOTION, Conative processes: MOTIVATION, Intellectual processes: COGNITION

What do affective processes refer to in the Greek conceptualization of mind?

SOCIAL

neuroscience and psychology

What do conative processes refer to in the Greek conceptualization of mind?

neuroscience, ethology, and psychology

What are some key concepts associated with conative processes?

Instincts, aggression, sex, behavioral endocrinology, Drive theory, Incentive theory

What do intellectual processes refer to in the Greek conceptualization of mind?

Cognition

What aspect of cognition is highlighted in the Greek conceptualization of mind?

psychology

neuroscience

ethology

ecology, etc.

What overarching concept encompasses affective, conative, and intellectual processes?

Context

Best place to be in greek venn diagram

in the middle of all of them!

what is context

Physical + social environment

-take a part of environment

- smells, lights, colours

- wear same outfit you study in to exam

State dependent memory

relax when learning > relax when writing exams (best recall?)

Go to class stoned? show up to exam stoned

Nature

innate behaviours and instincts > behavioural biology (ethology)

Nurture

acquired behaviours and learning > psychology

Integrative perspetive

False debate? - Hebb, Hinde, Kuo, Lehrman, Schneirla, etc. - development and epigenetics > (behaviour or any phenotypes) G + E (GxE)

Studying innate behaviour patterns

Instincts; focus on innate behaviours (nature)

Studying innate learning

focus on acquired behaviours (nurture)

What bias do social sciences and "humanistic" psychology have

Strong "nurture" bias

What social sciences and "humanistic" psychology do NOT have a strong nurture bias

evolutionary psychology and biological anthropology

"free will" debate

hormones, addictions, genes, techniques = do we really have as much free will as we think?

- panic attacks

Biological Reductionism

brain is reduced to some hormones and some systems

Historical origin of "Learning Theory" and study of learning and memory

Associationism becomes behaviourism, cognitivism rises after

(think, ABC)

Associationism

Theory of associations

- behaviourists believe it's more complicated than that

What did cognitivists say about conditioning?

Cognitivists never said conditioning is irrelevant.

How does conditioning relate to behaviorism and cognitivism?

Conditioning is very independent from behaviorism and cognitivism.

Who is known for the idea that we learn from experiences?

Aristotle

- knowledge from experience

What did Aristotle have an interest in?

Memory

What is the theory first formed by Aristotle?

Associationism

What does associationism focus on?

The anticipation of a reward, not the reward itself

What is an example of anticipation of a reward?

Christmas Eve vs Christmas morning

What did Aristotle argue

Memory depends on the formation of linkages (associations) between pairs of events, sensations, or ideas, so that recalling or experiencing one member of the pair elicits a memory or anticipation of the other

Aristotle (psychologist)

Empiricist: nurture, acquired origin of knowledge

THEORIES TO TEST

theories > testing

Origin of the deductive method (hypothetico-deductive)

(ETTOD)

Plato (ethologist)

Nativist: nature, innate origin of knowledge

OBSERVATIONS, gathering facts

Observations > theories

Origin of the inductive method

(NOOO)

Questions from Aristotle

1. how are associations made?

2. nature/nurture debate (emphasis on nurture)

3. differences between animals and humans,

4. are learning and memory principles universal principles?

Who founded Dualism

René Descartes founded dualism