APPROACHES
Wundt
▫ Opened the first psychology lab in 1879, making it a science, wanting to explore the mind
▫ Used introspection, the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up
conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
▫ Isolating the structures of consciousness is called structuralism
▫ These used standardised procedures, reliable – done by presenting a stimulus to participants,
asking them to report their thoughts + sensations
strength: Introspection recorded within controlled lab experiments, using standardised procedures, so
can be considered as the forerunner for the development of later scientific approaches e.g., Behaviorist
approach
weakness: data was subjective, e.g., relied on participants to self-report their mental processes, may not
have revealed all their thought processes due to social desirability bias, unknown whether reported
accurately, so unscientific
Emergence of psychology as a science...
▫ Early 1900s – behaviorists rejected introspection, Watson + Skinner argued personal
observations were subjective + varied between people so cannot be generalised, stating
scientific psychology should only study phenomena's that can be observed + measured in
controlled labs
▫ 1950s – cognitive approach used scientific procedures (observed + measured) to study internal
mental processes, linking the mind to a computer to explain the human mind by making
inferences
▫ 1980s – biological approach introduced new technological advances such as brain scanning
techniques like FMRI and advances in genetic research to understand the structures + functions
of the human mind, becoming more scientific + providing increased empirical evidence through
objective observations + experiments, and replication to test
Behaviorist approach
Assumptions...
▫ Only interested in behaviour that can be observed + measured
▫ Not interested in the study of mental processes
▫ Relies on controlled lab experiments, using objective measures
▫ Believes behaviour is learnt, so baby’s mind is ‘blank slate’, written by experiences
▫ Basic processes governing learning are the same in all species, so animals replace humans as
experimental subjects
Classical Conditioning...
, ▫ Learning through association – Pavlov's research
▫ Shows that a dog could be conditioned into salivating at the sound of a bell if food was
presented most times
▫ Basically, showed how a neutral stimulus conditioned a response through association
Operant Conditioning...
▫ Learning through reinforcement – Skinner's research
▫ Showed rats in a cage [Skinner’s box] which were:
Rewarded with food when lever was activated – positive reinforcement - increases
likelihood of behaviour being repeated
Then were electrocuted continuously until lever was activated – negative reinforcement –
increases the likelihood of behaviour being repeated
Then were electrocuted when lever was activated – punishment – decreases the likelihood
of behaviour being repeated
strength: has real world application, led to the development of systematic desensitisation – an effective
treatment for phobias based on classical conditioning, so effective in treating disorders
strength: support from controlled research, e.g., Pavlov + Skinner’s lab experiments, had high control
over extraneous variables, replicable meaning reliable, internal validity likely to be high, so high
scientific credibility
weakness: animal research, e.g., Pavlov examined behaviour in dogs + Skinner in rats, so the extent to
which the findings can be extrapolated to humans is questionable, humans are more complex in
emotions + thoughts, so limited
however – little Albert experiment...
weakness: based on a form of environmental determinism, sees all behaviour as determined by past
experiences that have been conditioned + ignores any influences of free will on behaviour, Skinner also
suggested free will was an illusion, this is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious
decision making on behaviour
Social-Learning Theory
Assumptions...
▫ Agrees with behaviourists that behaviour is learnt but disagrees with ignoring mental processes
as they must be present for learning
▫ Focuses on learning in a social context due to exposure to other’s behaviour
Imitation – other’s behaviour is observed, if observed behaviour is rewarded, it increases the likelihood
of behaviour being reproduced [vicarious reinforcement] - less likely behaviour is replicated if
consequences are observed [vicarious punishment]
Modelling – other's behaviour acts as a blueprint for our own, can be real person or symbolic model e.g.,
tv character
Wundt
▫ Opened the first psychology lab in 1879, making it a science, wanting to explore the mind
▫ Used introspection, the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up
conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
▫ Isolating the structures of consciousness is called structuralism
▫ These used standardised procedures, reliable – done by presenting a stimulus to participants,
asking them to report their thoughts + sensations
strength: Introspection recorded within controlled lab experiments, using standardised procedures, so
can be considered as the forerunner for the development of later scientific approaches e.g., Behaviorist
approach
weakness: data was subjective, e.g., relied on participants to self-report their mental processes, may not
have revealed all their thought processes due to social desirability bias, unknown whether reported
accurately, so unscientific
Emergence of psychology as a science...
▫ Early 1900s – behaviorists rejected introspection, Watson + Skinner argued personal
observations were subjective + varied between people so cannot be generalised, stating
scientific psychology should only study phenomena's that can be observed + measured in
controlled labs
▫ 1950s – cognitive approach used scientific procedures (observed + measured) to study internal
mental processes, linking the mind to a computer to explain the human mind by making
inferences
▫ 1980s – biological approach introduced new technological advances such as brain scanning
techniques like FMRI and advances in genetic research to understand the structures + functions
of the human mind, becoming more scientific + providing increased empirical evidence through
objective observations + experiments, and replication to test
Behaviorist approach
Assumptions...
▫ Only interested in behaviour that can be observed + measured
▫ Not interested in the study of mental processes
▫ Relies on controlled lab experiments, using objective measures
▫ Believes behaviour is learnt, so baby’s mind is ‘blank slate’, written by experiences
▫ Basic processes governing learning are the same in all species, so animals replace humans as
experimental subjects
Classical Conditioning...
, ▫ Learning through association – Pavlov's research
▫ Shows that a dog could be conditioned into salivating at the sound of a bell if food was
presented most times
▫ Basically, showed how a neutral stimulus conditioned a response through association
Operant Conditioning...
▫ Learning through reinforcement – Skinner's research
▫ Showed rats in a cage [Skinner’s box] which were:
Rewarded with food when lever was activated – positive reinforcement - increases
likelihood of behaviour being repeated
Then were electrocuted continuously until lever was activated – negative reinforcement –
increases the likelihood of behaviour being repeated
Then were electrocuted when lever was activated – punishment – decreases the likelihood
of behaviour being repeated
strength: has real world application, led to the development of systematic desensitisation – an effective
treatment for phobias based on classical conditioning, so effective in treating disorders
strength: support from controlled research, e.g., Pavlov + Skinner’s lab experiments, had high control
over extraneous variables, replicable meaning reliable, internal validity likely to be high, so high
scientific credibility
weakness: animal research, e.g., Pavlov examined behaviour in dogs + Skinner in rats, so the extent to
which the findings can be extrapolated to humans is questionable, humans are more complex in
emotions + thoughts, so limited
however – little Albert experiment...
weakness: based on a form of environmental determinism, sees all behaviour as determined by past
experiences that have been conditioned + ignores any influences of free will on behaviour, Skinner also
suggested free will was an illusion, this is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious
decision making on behaviour
Social-Learning Theory
Assumptions...
▫ Agrees with behaviourists that behaviour is learnt but disagrees with ignoring mental processes
as they must be present for learning
▫ Focuses on learning in a social context due to exposure to other’s behaviour
Imitation – other’s behaviour is observed, if observed behaviour is rewarded, it increases the likelihood
of behaviour being reproduced [vicarious reinforcement] - less likely behaviour is replicated if
consequences are observed [vicarious punishment]
Modelling – other's behaviour acts as a blueprint for our own, can be real person or symbolic model e.g.,
tv character
