Approaches

Created by: Alice Edwards-King
Created on: 31-01-16 16:57

Behaviourist Approach

Behaviour that can be observed and measured
Behaviourists tried to maintain control and objectivity with research - lab experiments
Classical conditioning - Pavlov
Learning through association
Pavlov - dogs could be conditioned to salivate to a bell, asociated with food
A neutral stimulus (bell) can elict a new learned respone (conditioned response) through association
Operant conditionig - Skinner
Learning an active process - humans and animals operate on their environment
Positive reinforcement - recieving a reward for a certain behaviour e.g. a star chart for cleaning
Negative reinforcement - animal/human avoids something unpleasant e,g, a rat learning that pressing a lever leads to avoidance of electric shock
Punishment - unpleasant consequence of behaviour e.g. being shouted at for talkingin lesson
Positive and negative reinforcement increase likelihood of repetition of behaviour - punishment decreases likelihood of repetition
Skinner's boxes

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Behaviourist Approach - Evaluation

Scientific Credibilty
Behaviourism bought the language and methods of natural science into psychology by focusing on measurement of observable behaviour in lab settings
Behaviourism influential in developmnt of psychology as a scientific discipline, greater credibility and status - emphasised importance of scientific processes e.g. objectivity and replication
Real-Life Application
Principles of cnditioning applied to real-world behaviours and problems e.g. operant conditioning token economy systems
Classical conditioning applied to treatment of phobias - require less effort from a patient
Mechanistic View of Behaviour
Animals sen a passive and machine-like responders to environment - little or no conscious insight into behaviour
Other approaches emphasise importance of mental processes

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Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory proposed different way of learning - observation and imitation of others within a social context
Learning occurs directly, through classical and oprant conditioning but also indirectly
Vicarious reinforcement - indirect learning to take place an individual observes the behaviour of others
Learner may imitate behaviour but imitation only occurs if behaviour is seen to be rewarded rather than punished i.e. vicarious reinforcement
Learner observes a behaviour but observes the consequences of a behaviour
Role of Mediational Processes - focuses on how mental factors are involved in learning
1. Atention - the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
2. Retention - how well the behaviour is remembered
3. Motor reproduction - the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
4. Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour, often determined by rewards/punishments
The learning and performance of behaviour need not occur together
Identification - people likely to imitate behaviour of people they identify with (role model)
Person becomes a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics or are attractive/ have higher status

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Social Learning Theory - Evaluation

Importance of cognitive factors in learning - classical and operant conditioning cannot ofer an adequate account of learning on their own
Humans and many animals store info about the behaviour of others and sue this to make judgements whether or not to perform certain actions
SLT a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of mediational processes
Over-reliance on evidence fom lab studies
Many of Bandura's ideas developed through observation of young children in lab settings
Lab studies criticised for contrived nature where ppts may respond to demand characteristics
Research may tell us little about how hildren actually learn agression in everyday life (Bobo doll)
Underestimates the influence of biological factors
Bandura makes little links to impact of biological factors on social learning - boys more aggressive than girls in bobo doll experiment, may be explained by hormonal factors e.g. testosterone levels
Important influence on behaviour notaccounted for in SLT

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The Cognitive Approach

Internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically - investigates areas ofhuman behaviour neglected by behaviourists
Theoretical and computer models - one way to study internal processes = theoretical models
Information Procesing Approach - suggests info flows through cognitive system in a sequence of stages
Computer models - suggesting similarities in imfo processessing in cognitive processes and computers
Models use concepts of a central processing unit, coding and the use of stores which hold info
The role of scema - cognitive processing affected by a person's beliefs/expectations
Schema - packages of ideas and info developed through experience - act as a mental framework for interpretation of of incoming info recieved by the cognitive system
Babies born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours e.g. grasping, sucking
Shema become more detailed with age - allows us to process lots of info quickly and prevents us from feeling overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
Schema may distort our interpretations of sensory info - perpetual errors

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Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience

The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
Mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions
Brain imaging techniques e.g. fMRI and PET scans - scients able to systematically observe and describe neurological basis of mental processes
Scanning techniques useful in establishing the neurological basis of some mental disorders
Development of mind mapping techniques - brain fingerprinting - could analyse brain wave paterns of eyewittnesses - determines whether they are lying in court

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The Cognitive Approach - Evaluation

Scientific and objective methods - cognitive approach always employed highly controlled and rigorous methods of study in order to enable researchers to infer cognitive processes at work
Lab experiments - produce reliable, objective data.
Emergence of neuroscience has enabled the 2 fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together - study of mind established a credible scientific basis
Machine reductionism - computer analogy criticised by many
Machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system - how this may affect our ability to process info
Research has found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors
Application to real-life - cognitive psychologists only able to infer mental processes from behaviour they observe in their research
Cognitive psychology can suffer from being too abstract and theoretical
Experimental studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli that may not represent everyday memory experience
Cognitive processes may lack external validity

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The Biological Approach

Suggests that everything psychological is at first biological - must look at biological structures and processes within the body to understand huma behaviour
Biological perspective - the mind lives in the brain, all thoughts, feellings and behaviour ultimately have a physical basis
The genetic basis of behaviour - behaviour genecists study whether behavioural characteristics are inherited in the same way as physica charachteristics
Twin studies used to determine likelihod that certain traits have a genetic basis by comparing concordance rates between pairs of twins
If monozygotic twins are found to have higher concordance rates than dizygotic twins this would suggest a genetic basis - MZ twins share 100% of each other's genes, DZ twins only share 50%
Geontype and Phenotype - genotype = genetic make-up, phenotype = way genes are expressed through different characteristics
The phenotype is affected by envronmental factors - much of human behaviour depends on an interaction between inherited fctors and the environment
Evolution and behaviour - natural selection, main principle is that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individual's survival will continue in future generations

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The Biological Approach - Evaluation

Scientific methods of investigation - to investigate genetic and biological basis of behaviour the biological approach makes use of a range of precise and highly scientific methods
Include scanning techniques such as fMRIs and EEGs, family and twin studies and drug trials
Advances in technology = possible to accurately measure biological and neutral processes in ways not open to bias - based on reliable data
Real-life application - increased understanding of biochemical processes in the brain has led to the development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental illnesses e.g. depression
Drugs aren't always effective but have revolutionised treatment fo many
Strength as it means sufferers are able to manage their condition
Casual conclusions - offers explanations for mental illness in terms of the action of neurotransmitters in the brain
Evidence comes from studies showing a particular drug reduces symptoms of a mental disorder - discovering an association between 2 factors doesn't mean that one is a cause
Limitation because the biological approach is claiming to have discovered causes where only an association exists

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The Nervous System

A specialied network of cells in the human body and is our primary internal communication system
2 main functions - to collect, process and respond to info in the environment and to co-ordinate the working of different organs and cells in the body
Divided into central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
CNS is made up of brain and spinal chord - brain is the centre of all conscious awareness. The cerebal cortex is highly developed in humans and is what distingishes our higher mental functions from those of animals - brain divided into 2 hemispheres
PNS transmits messages, via millions of neurons, to and from the CNS. The PNS is further sub-divided into: autonomic nervous system and somatic nervous system
Auonomic - governs vital functions in the body e.g. heart rate, digestion
Somatic - controls muscle movement and recieves info from sensory receptors

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The Endocrine System

Glands and hormones - endocrine system works alongside the nervous system to control vital functions in the body
Various glands in the body produce hormones - they are secreted into the bloodstream and affect any cell in the body that has a receptor for that particular hormone
Most hormones affect cells in several organs/entire body, leading to many diverse and powerful responses
Endocrine and ANS working together: Fight or Flight
When a stressor is percieved the first thing that happens is the hypothalamus triggers activty in the sympathetic cranch of the ANS
The ANS changes from its normal state (parasympathetic) to the pysiologically aroused (sympathetic)
Adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream - adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body which creates physiological arousal necessary for the fight or flight response
Once threat has passed, parasympathetic branch returns the body to its resting state
Parasympathetic branch works in opposition to sympathetic branch

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The Structure and Function of Neurons

100 billion neurons in the nervous system (80% located in the brain) - transmit signals electrically and chemically, provide nervous system with primary means of communication
3 types of neuron: motor, sensory and relay
Structure of a neuron - vary in size, but all share basic structure
Cell body (soma) includes a nucleus containing genetic material
Branch-like structures called dendrites protude from cell body - carry nerve impulses
Axon carries impulses away from cell body down the length of a neuron - axon covered in a fatty layer of myelin sheath, protecting axon speeding up electrical transmission of the impulse
If myelin sheath was continuous this would have the reverse effect and slow down the electrical impulse - myelin sheath segmented by gaps called nodes of ranvier - speed up transmission of the impulse by causing it to jump across the gaps
At the end of the axon there are terminal buttons - communicate with the next neuron in the chain across the synapse
Electric transmission - when neuron is in resting state, inside of cell is negatively charged compared to the outside
When a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a split second - action potential, creates electrical impulse

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Synaptic Transmission

Neurons communicate with each other within groups (neural networks) - each neuron is seperated from the next by the synapse
Signals within neurons transmitted electrical - signals between neurons are transmitted chemically across the synapse
Electrical impulse reaches end of the neuron (presynaptic terminal) - triggers the release of nerotransmitter from tiny sacs called synaptic vesicles
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that diffuse across the synapse to the next neuron
Once neuron crosses gap, it's taken up by the postsynaptic receptor site (dendrites of next neuron)
Each neurotransmitter has its own specific molecular structure that fits perfectly into a post-synaptic receptor (lock and key)
Neurotransmitters have either an excitatory or inhibitory effect on neighbouring neuron

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