Approaches in psychology

What is the behaviourist approach

All animal and human behaviour is learnt through the environment rather than feelings or genetics

Classical conditioning

Where an involuntary natural reflex becomes associated with a new stimulus eg. Little albert experiment/ pavlov’s research

What is Pavlov’s research

Classical conditioning where Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at food to begin with which evolved to salivating to a tone

What is operant conditioning

B F Skinner

Where voluntary behaviour is modified by good or bad consequences

What is positive reinforcement

Increasing the frequency of a behaviour by adding a good stimulus or a reward when the behaviour is performed

Eg. A house point for good work

What is negative reinforcement

Increasing the frequency of a behaviour by removing or avoiding a negative stimulus

Eg. Stopping an alarm clock to stop the annoying noise. By pressing stop you remove the negative stimulus (noise)

What is positive reinforcement in terms of skinners experiment

A hungry rat accidentally presses a button in skinners box which releases food, causing the behaviour to be repeated

What is negative reinforcement in terms of skinner’s experiment

When a rat is in the box, there is electric shocks through the floor. The lever stops this. The rat learns quickly to press the lever to stop the current

who were the subjects in skinners experiment

• hungry rats

• in a skinner box with a evel that releases food

what is punishment

• an unpleasant consequence that decreases the likelihood of behaviour being repeated

strengths of skinners experiment

• high internal validity, lab conditions meant clear cause and effect

what is real world application of skinners experiment

• token economy situations in prisons and psychiatric hospitals where good behaviour is exchanged for priveledges

weakness of skinners experiment

• human behaviour is much more comp,ex than animals, driven by cognitive processes

• implies all behaviour is shaped purely by external causes, ignoring choice and free will

What is the social learning theory (SLT)

• behaviour learnt by observing and imitating others

What are meditational processes in SLT

Internal mental processes between observing and imitating behaviour

What is imitation

Copying the behaviour of a role model

What is identification in SLT

Identifying with a role model and being more likely to imitate them

What is vicarious reinforcement

Seeing a role model rewarded for their behaviour making it more likely to be imitated

What are the 4 meditational processes

• attention - we notice certain behaviours

• Retention- remembering observed behaviour

• Motor reproduction - individual replicates said behaviour

• Motivation- individual seeks to demonstrate behaviour they’ve observed

Whats the role of a role model in SLT

Their behaviour and consequences are observed and imitated

What did bandura’s bobo doll experiment demonstrate

Whether children would imitate aggressive behaviour when the observe an adult model

What did bandura’s research find

Children exposed to an aggressive role model showed more aggressive behaviour

What does bandura’s research say about learning behaviour

Children can learn new behaviour through observing and imitating others

What is the cognitive approach?

how mental processes affect behaviour eg. thoughts, perceptions and attention

What are internal mental processes?

processes that occur inside the mind that cannot be observed eg. thinking, remembering and problem solving

What is a schema?

a package of ideas developed through experience which helps organise and interpret information

What is the role of a schema

influence how we interpret new information helping us process information efficiently but could lead to biased interpretation

what happens when information is consistent with a schema

the experience i s assimilated to the schema making it stronger

what happens when information is not consistent with a schema

the schema has to change in order to resolve the problem, adapts

inferences of the cognitive approach

• our mental systems have limited capacity

• a control mechanism oversees mental processes- more processing for new tasks

• 2 way flow of new information. use experiences to understand the world.

Why does the cognitive approach use models?

Models simplify complex mental processes, helping psychologists explain how the mind works and make inferences about processes that cannot be directly observed.

What is the computer model of the mind?

The idea that the mind processes information by receiving storing and retrieving, like a computer

Give one strength and one limitation of the cognitive approach.

Strength: it uses scientific methods and models to investigate mental processes. Limitation: internal processes cannot be observed directly, so explanations rely partly on inference.

How does the cognitive approach differ from the behaviourist approach?

The cognitive approach studies internal mental processes, whereas behaviourism focuses on observable behaviour and learning through environmental stimuli and consequences.

How does the cognitive approach differ from the biological approach?

The cognitive approach focuses on mental processes, whereas the biological approach explains behaviour through biological factors such as genes, brain structures and neurochemistry.

What is the biological approach

Combination of biology and psychology to provide psychological explanations for human behaviour eg. How we think and feel (linked to physical factors in the body)

Assumptions of the biological approach

• everything psychological starts biological

• How biological processes impact behaviour

• Human behaviour caused by psychological factors can be genetically and environmentally altered

• Psychologists study brain, nervous system and other biological systems

What are neurochemicals

• Chemicals in the brain that regulate physiological / psychological functioning

What is genetic basis of behaviour

how inherited DNA, gene expression, and biological factors influence human and animal thinking, personality, and actions

twin studies

• studying twins in order to investigate genetic basis if behaviour

What is a monozygotic twin

One zygote- fertilised cell splits into 2 forming 2 seperate embryos

What is a dizygote twin

Two zygotes- 2 separate eggs are fertilised by 2 separate sperm cells

Concordance rates

probability that two related individuals (most commonly twin pairs) share a specific trait, physical characteristic, or medical/psychological disorder

what are family studies

Similarities between addictions, mental illness and noj contageous disease between family members

Adoption studies

Involve comparing a trait or characteristic between adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents

Selective breeding

Artificially selecting male and female animals with a particular trait to breed to produce more

Genotype

Genes determine the potential of characteristics

Phenotype

Observable characteristics of an individual

What dies phenotype depend on

Interaction of genetic and environmental factors

Recessive genes

Individual must have 2 copies for the gene to show up

Dominant gene

Shows up no matter what

Heterozygous genes

Genotype contains two different genes eg. Bb

Homozygous gene

Genotype consists of two genes that are the same eg. BB or bb

Evolution

Changes in inherited characteristics over many generations

Natural selection

Those with desired traits are more likely to live and breed and give the characteristics to their children to become more prevalent in future generations