Approaches to Psychology
Origins of Psychology
Description Evaluation
Wilhelm Wundt → Wundt’s methods were unreliable as it relied on
→ Established experimental psychology nonobservable responses
as a science → the scientific method establishes casualty and correcting
theories
→ Involves breaking down behaviours
→ not all psychologists believe human behavior can be
into basic elements explored using scientific methods as much is unobservable
→ Introspection: worked by asking and relies on inferences from data
individuals to engage in a task and then → introspection is not particularly accurate (Nisbett and
reflect on the mental processes they were Wilson)
performing → introspection is still useful in psychology
→ Used to establish general theories (Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter)
about mental processes
Emergence of Psychology as a science
→ Empirical methods
→ Assumptions of determinism and predictability
→ The scientific method: objective, systematic and
replicable; includes the development of theories that can
explain results and constant testing and refining
, Approach Description Evaluation
The Classical Conditioning → classical conditioning has been applied to
Behaviorist → Pavlov’s dogs therapy, such as treatment of phobias
Approach → Timing: NS must be shortly after UCS → classical conditioning is only appropriate for
→ Extinction: CS loses its ability to produce s CR some forms of learning, such as the the concept of
after a few trials if no reinforcement preparedness (Seligman)
→ Spontaneous Recovery: CS and UCS is paired → operant conditioning based on experimental work
again, link made much more quickly which allows the establishment of cause-effect
→ Stimulus Generalisation: CR also to stimuli that relationship
is similar to CS → there is an over reliance on on human research,
ignores the possibility of free will
Operant Conditioning → limited perspective as behaviourist explanations
→ Skinner’s rat ignore the role played by cognitive and emotional
→ likelihood of repeating behaviour depends on factors
consequences
→ continuous reinforcement effective for
establishing a behaviour, partial reinforcement for
maintaining it
→ positive/negative reinforcement, punishment
Social Bandura 1986 → offers a way of understanding criminal behaviour
Learning → new patterns of behaviour obtained as a result of (Ulrich)
Theory observation of others → research support for identification: social learning
→ key determinants: is more effective from similar than dissimilar model
1) Characteristics of the model (Fox and Bailenson)
2) Observer’s ability to perform the behaviour → problem of causality: criticism of view of
3) Its observed consequences criminal behaviour due to exposure to deviant
→ identification based on perceived similarity models (Siegel and McCormick)
→ vicarious reinforcement → problem of complexity: advocates of SLT
→ mental representation must be formed disregard other potential influences on behaviour
→ identification has shown to be important in social
Key Study (Bandura et al. 1961) learning (e.g. Andsager study on health campaign)
→ Bobo Doll Experiment
→ children observed both non aggressive and
aggressive behaviour towards a bobo doll
(independent groups design)
→ children were then given time to interact with the
bobo doll
→ children who observed the aggressive model
imitated their aggression
The Cognitive The Study of Internal Mental Processes → cognitive has applications, such as the cognitive
Approach → mental processes cannot be studied directly, so it approach to psychopathology
has to be inferred → the cognitive approach uses the scientific method
→ schemas help organise and interpret information → there are issues with using computer models, as it
→ schemas fill in gaps in the absence of information does not make mistakes like humans
→ theoretical models are simplified representations → ignores emotion and motivation, which is
based on current evidence irrelevant to a computer but not humans
→ computer models of metal processes are → studies may lack ecological validity as most
Origins of Psychology
Description Evaluation
Wilhelm Wundt → Wundt’s methods were unreliable as it relied on
→ Established experimental psychology nonobservable responses
as a science → the scientific method establishes casualty and correcting
theories
→ Involves breaking down behaviours
→ not all psychologists believe human behavior can be
into basic elements explored using scientific methods as much is unobservable
→ Introspection: worked by asking and relies on inferences from data
individuals to engage in a task and then → introspection is not particularly accurate (Nisbett and
reflect on the mental processes they were Wilson)
performing → introspection is still useful in psychology
→ Used to establish general theories (Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter)
about mental processes
Emergence of Psychology as a science
→ Empirical methods
→ Assumptions of determinism and predictability
→ The scientific method: objective, systematic and
replicable; includes the development of theories that can
explain results and constant testing and refining
, Approach Description Evaluation
The Classical Conditioning → classical conditioning has been applied to
Behaviorist → Pavlov’s dogs therapy, such as treatment of phobias
Approach → Timing: NS must be shortly after UCS → classical conditioning is only appropriate for
→ Extinction: CS loses its ability to produce s CR some forms of learning, such as the the concept of
after a few trials if no reinforcement preparedness (Seligman)
→ Spontaneous Recovery: CS and UCS is paired → operant conditioning based on experimental work
again, link made much more quickly which allows the establishment of cause-effect
→ Stimulus Generalisation: CR also to stimuli that relationship
is similar to CS → there is an over reliance on on human research,
ignores the possibility of free will
Operant Conditioning → limited perspective as behaviourist explanations
→ Skinner’s rat ignore the role played by cognitive and emotional
→ likelihood of repeating behaviour depends on factors
consequences
→ continuous reinforcement effective for
establishing a behaviour, partial reinforcement for
maintaining it
→ positive/negative reinforcement, punishment
Social Bandura 1986 → offers a way of understanding criminal behaviour
Learning → new patterns of behaviour obtained as a result of (Ulrich)
Theory observation of others → research support for identification: social learning
→ key determinants: is more effective from similar than dissimilar model
1) Characteristics of the model (Fox and Bailenson)
2) Observer’s ability to perform the behaviour → problem of causality: criticism of view of
3) Its observed consequences criminal behaviour due to exposure to deviant
→ identification based on perceived similarity models (Siegel and McCormick)
→ vicarious reinforcement → problem of complexity: advocates of SLT
→ mental representation must be formed disregard other potential influences on behaviour
→ identification has shown to be important in social
Key Study (Bandura et al. 1961) learning (e.g. Andsager study on health campaign)
→ Bobo Doll Experiment
→ children observed both non aggressive and
aggressive behaviour towards a bobo doll
(independent groups design)
→ children were then given time to interact with the
bobo doll
→ children who observed the aggressive model
imitated their aggression
The Cognitive The Study of Internal Mental Processes → cognitive has applications, such as the cognitive
Approach → mental processes cannot be studied directly, so it approach to psychopathology
has to be inferred → the cognitive approach uses the scientific method
→ schemas help organise and interpret information → there are issues with using computer models, as it
→ schemas fill in gaps in the absence of information does not make mistakes like humans
→ theoretical models are simplified representations → ignores emotion and motivation, which is
based on current evidence irrelevant to a computer but not humans
→ computer models of metal processes are → studies may lack ecological validity as most
