Psychology FLASHCARDS

ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Who was known as the father of psychology..?
schema
Wilhelm Wundt was a German psychologist who established the very first psychology laboratory
in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. This event is widely recognized as the formal establishment of
psychology as a science distinct from biology and philosophy.

6 markers on Wilhelm Wundt

“Describe Wundt’s role in the development of psychology”
Wilhelm Wundt known as ‘the father of psychology’ established the very first psychology
laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. This event is widely recognized as the formal
establishment of psychology as a science distinct from biology and philosophy. He promoted
the use of introspection as a way of studying mental processes.
Introspection is a process that involves looking inward to examine one's own thoughts and
emotions. The experience was analysed by the sensations, emotions, reaction etc. Wundt’s
work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes. The use
of scientific methods helped psychology develop better credibility as a science.

Answer D

Answer D
Answer B
use
Limitations’ of introspection?
● Introspection is limited in its use; complex subjects such as learning, personality,
mental disorders, and development are difficult or even impossible to study
with this technique.
● The technique is difficult to with children and impossible to use with animals
● Introspection is problematic for studying cognitive tasks since some thoughts are
unconscious and since introspection is the study that consists of conscious
experiences it cannot tell us anything about unconscious events.

LEARNING APPROACHES
What does the behaviourist approach outline?

Behaviourists believe that we consist only of learning experiences since we are born as a
tabula rasa (blank slate) so everything our minds become is only a consequence of learning
in our environment.

CORE ASSUMPTIONS
● Behaviour is learned from experience
● Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically and it is only these
behaviours that should be studied
● Animal research is valid as they share the same principles of learning as humans
● All humans are born as a tabula rasa, there is no genetic influence on behaviour

LEARNING PRINCIPLES

It is from Ivan Pavlov’s (1849-1939) study of dogs that the behaviourist approach
took the theory of classical conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is a theory of learning that examines how a response is associated
with a stimulus to cause conditioning.
Studied by Ivan Pavlov in 1927 (a russian psychologist), this is the idea that learning
takes place through association.Pavlov demonstrated this through experimenting on
dogs. When he presented an unconditioned stimulus (food) alongside a neutral
stimulus (ringing a bell), the dogs salivated (unconditioned response) at being
presented with the food. Once the unconditioned and neutral stimulus were paired a
few times, the dog salivated just at the sound of the bell being rung. The bell had
become a conditioned stimulus, producing the conditioned response of salivation.

An unconditioned stimulus is something that elicits a natural or normal response. For

example, when a loud noise occurs, most people will jump .
A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that we learn to respond to with a certain response.
A stimulus is "something that causes a change or a reaction”
A Neutral Stimulus is a stimulus that produces no response other than catching your
attention. In classical conditioning, when used together with an unconditioned stimulus,
the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stim ulus.

Evaluation of Pavlov's study 1927

Strengths

● Empirical Research - Pavlov used experiments to test his theory of

Classical Conditioning. He is able to infer cause and effect due to his
insistence on objectivity, control over variable and precise
measurements; learning can be conditioned via stimulus and response.

● Insight into the development of phobias - Pavlov's research of learning

via stimulus-response has been successfully applied to humans. One
famous study of Watson & Rayner (1920) supports Pavlov's research
and links Classical Conditioning to be an element that effects the
development of phobias. Their study involved conditioning an 18 month
old boy, Little Albert, to develop a phobia of a white rat by pairing the rat
with a loud noise. Before: Noise (UCS) = Anxiety (UCR) - Duri by ng:
Noise (UCS) + Rat (NS) = Anxiety (UCR) - After: Rat (CS) = Anxiety (CR)

● High Credibility - Other elements of Pavlov's research have been

supported in Watson & Rayner's research: Albert's anxiety response
had generalised from the white rat to some other white furry objects that
were similar to the white rat (ie: cotton wool and a white stick on beard).
● Valuable contribution to society - Pavlov's research provides powerful
explanations for the development of a variety of behaviours including
psychological disorders. It also provides useful counter conditioning
 treatments, including systematic desensitisation (used to extinguish
phobias such as that of 'little Albert').

Limitations - Pavlov & CC:

● The use of animals is a criticism of Pavlov's research. Although
conditioning can be observed in dogs and most species, human
behaviour is driven by complex emotions and thought processes.
Although there is supporting evidence, like little Albert, generalising and
applying the findings of dogs to humans is still very difficult. Therefore
there is low ecological validity.

● Classical conditioning is limited to explaining how reflex responses

become associated with new stimuli. However, much human behaviour
is voluntary and therefore cannot be explained by Classical
Conditioning. There must be other learning processes involved

● Classical conditioning ignores the role of cognitive and biological

factors which have also been shown to play a role in learning

Learning principles
OC
B.F. Skinner was very much influenced by Watsons behaviourist ideas.
However, he realised that Watson's psychology had its issues: A psychology
 based wholly on classical conditioning assumes that organisms are
essentially passive - they just hang around waiting for stimuli to respond
to.Skinner's important insight was that an animal's or person's behaviour was
determined by the consequences of its past behaviour.
Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was
based on Thorndike’s (1898) law of effect. According to this principle,
behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated,
and behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be
repeated.
Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of Effect - Reinforcement.
behaviour which is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e., strengthened);
behaviour which is not reinforced tends to die out-or be extinguished (i.e.,
weakened).

What is Operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is a method of learning where the consequences

of a response determine the probability of it being repeated. Through
operant conditioning behaviour which is reinforced (rewarded) will likely
be repeated, and behaviour which is punished will occur less frequently.
Skinner called learning from consequences 'Operant Conditioning
Types of reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is when a positive outcome or reward follows a behaviour.

Positive reinforcement is the addition of a positive outcome to

strengthen behaviour.
Negative reinforcement is the removal of a negative outcome to
strengthen behaviour.

allowing a child to play on their tablet if they finish their homework

is an example of positive reinforcement

Tidying your room to stop your parents nagging you is an example of

negative reinforcement

● Punishment: an unpleasant consequence decreases the likelihood that

behaviour is repeated (EG: you touch a hot oven and learn not to do it
again)

● Skinner placed a hungry rat into the box and observed the rat's
behaviour. Whilst exploring the environment, the rat accidentally
 pressed the lever and received food pellets (rewards), subsequently
leading the rat to increase its pressing of the lever (referred to as
positive reinforcement).
● Skinner then experimented with unpleasant environmental stimuli such
as loud noise, which could be stopped pressing the lever (referred to as
negative reinforcement).
● Skinner also experimented with the use of punishment, by delivering an
electric shock to the rat when it pressed the lever (punishment). As
expected, this led to a decrease in lever pressing.
● Skinner also demonstrated that learning could be extinguished. If
reinforcement is no longer provided when a lever is pressed, the rat
unlearns this connection between lever pressing and reward, therefore
the rat stops pressing it.

Schedules of Reinforcement:
In the case of the Skinner box, if food (reinforcer) is not dispensed for

every single lever press, but to a predetermined set schedule then

different response patterns will emerge. Skinner experimented by using

different ratio schedules eg. 1:5 a food pellet was dispensed every 5th

lever press. He discovered that unpredictable reinforcement was more

successful for conditioning behaviour than continuous reinforcement.

Shaping:
Another method of learning discovered by Skinner was one referred to

as Shaping, a process used to teach complex behaviours (not part of an

animal's repertoire). A complex behaviour is broken down into a series

of simple behaviours. These are taught one by one using reinforcements

and punishment and gradually combined to create the desired complex

behaviour. Skinner used this process to teach his pigeons to play ping

pong. Humans also learn most of their skills in this step by step manner.

Shaping is important in behaviour modification, where behaviours can

be learned in this simple strategic way.

 Strengths - Skinner and Operant
Conditioning:
● Skinner's Research - Skinner uses experiments to test his theory of
operant conditioning. The insistence on objectivity, control over
variables and precise measurement means that he is able to infer cause
and effect; reinforcement (type of) increases/decreases a specific
response in rats. This method has many other advantages such as
being replicable - an important aspect of scientific research.

( Token Economy

Token economy is a system in which targeted behaviours are reinforced with tokens (secondary
reinforcers) and later exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers).
Tokens can be in the form of fake money, buttons, poker chips, stickers, etc. While the rewards can
range anywhere from snacks to privileges or activities. For example, teachers use token economy at
primary school by giving young children stickers to reward good behaviour.
Token economy has been found to be very effective in managing psychiatric patients. However, the
patients can become over reliant on the tokens, making it difficult for them to adjust to society once
they leave prison, hospital, etc.
Staff implementing a token economy programme have a lot of power. It is important that staff do not
favor or ignore certain individuals if the programme is to work. Therefore, staff need to be trained to
give tokens fairly and consistently even when there are shift changes such as in prisons or in a
psychiatric hospital.

● Skinner's Research - Skinner's research into operant conditioning has

made a valuable contribution to society in providing powerful
explanations for the development of so many behaviours (both adaptive
and maladaptive behaviours). It has led to the development of
treatments, many of them are used today such as token economies for
people in institutions.Token economies have produced improvements in
self-care and pro-social behaviour, even in chronic, institutionalised
schizophrenics. Skinner's research is supported by Paul and Lentz
(1977) who found token economies more effective than other hospital
management methods.

● Skinner's Research - The simplicity of learning via reinforcement and

punishment is a particular strength of Skinner's work, as it allows it to
be applied to so many areas of society; family life, workplace and
education with very little training. Parents and teachers frequently use
 positive reinforcement to encourage and 'condition' desirable behaviour
and punishments (detention/grounding) to extinguish undesirable
behaviours.

Limitations - Skinner and Operant

Conditioning:
● Skinner's use of animals is a source of criticism. Whilst conditioning
can be observed in rats and most species, human behaviour is driven by
complex emotions and complex thought processes, and so it is
impossible for all these processes to be observed. Generalising and
applying the findings of rats to humans is problematic; generalisations
between humans and animals must be made with caution. His theory
may not be very useful in explaining learning in humans, given that
cognitions are ignored. (LOW ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY)
● Ethical issues are a further concern with Skinner's Research. The
animals involved were exposed to stressful and harmful conditions.
Many would argue that many of his procedures were unnecessary. The
adverse conditions that they were exposed to may have affected how
they reacted to the experimental situation affecting the validity of the
results.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

In 1905, American psychologist Edward Thorndike proposed a ‘law of effect’,

which formed the basis of our modern understanding of operant conditioning.

Thorndike’s research focussed on learning processes and he conducted

experiments to discover how cats learn new forms of behavior.

He would place a cat in a puzzle box, where the animal would be remain until

they learnt to press a lever. Initially, they would be trapped in the box for a

long period of time, roaming it before inadvertently pressing the lever, and a

door opened for the cat to escape. However, once the cats learnt to associate

operating the lever with a positive outcome - being able to leave the box - they

wasted less and less time before using it to escape. Through instrumental
learning, the cats had learnt to associate pressing the lever with the reward of

freedom (Thorndike, 1898).

Thorndike drew on these findings when developing his law of effect. He

argued that the effect of one’s action - whether it is rewarded or punished -

influences whether an individual will be likely to repeat such behavior in the

future.
SLT
social Learning Theory (SLT)

This theory was developed by Bandura and says that learning occurs through
observation, imitation and modelling. According to Bandura people learn through
watching others ‘monkey see, monkey do’ this is called observational learning.

This occurs in a number of stages known as mediational processes

The behaviour is modelled by a role model. Characteristics of a role model are often that they are
the same sex as the observer, have higher status to the observer and are older than the
observer.

The observer identifies with the role model and sees the behaviour the role model is doing
(observation)

The observer retains the information they saw, and then imitation occurs. This is where the
observer copies the behaviour they have seen – this may depend on an individual’s abilities in
doing the behaviour.

Imitation may also be affected by motivation – if a reward has been witnessed after the
modelling it is more likely the behaviour will be repeated.

Vicarious reinforcement is when individuals learn by watching the consequences of

others e.g. a child is misbehaving and sees other children who are behaving getting
sweets, they will then copy this behaviour so they too can get the reward.

LINKS TO BANDURA AND WALTERS 1963

Strengths

+ Great deal of strong experimental evidence - Bandura’s bobo doll study found children
imitate same sex role models +

+ Practical applications e.g. introducing positive role models; having age restrictions on
video games and films so children are not exposed to undesirable behaviour

Weaknesses
- Lack of validity – behaviour may have been learnt but not exhibited immediately. Lab
studies only show what happens within a limit time, so it may appear behaviour has/has
not been learnt yet it may be displayed later.

- Studies often carried out on animals, difficult to generalise to humans

Bandura

The Original Study:

Bandura et al (1961) carried out an experiment involving pre-school children

who observed aggressive or non-aggressive adult models, and were then

tested for imitative learning in the absense of the model.

Aggressive Model Condition:

● The adult displayed distinctive physically and verbally aggressive acts

towards a Bobo doll, EG: striking it with a rubber mallet, while saying
"Pow!".

Non-Aggressive Model Condition:

● The adult played peacefull with other toys and ignored the Bobo doll.

Control Condition:

● No adult model was observed.

Each child was then taken to another room containing a variety of toys,

including a Bobo doll. Their play was observed through a two-way mirror.

Results:
Children who observed the aggressive model showed more:
 ● Aggressive play which imitated the adult - both physically and verbally
● Aggressive play which ws non-imitative - EG: playing with a toy gun

Follow-Up Studies:
In a series of follow up variations, Bandura et al. also found that:

● Vicarious reinforcement (model rewarded with sweets) and punishment

(model scolded and spanked) influenced the likelihood of imitation.
● Filmed and cartoon models were imitated as much as live ones.
● Children imitated more if they were directly rewarded for doing so, even
if they had seen the model punished.
● When a live clown was used in place of a Bobo doll, children were just
as aggressive in their imitation.

Conclusions:
● These studies support SLT by showing that new behaviours can be
learned through observation and imitation.
● They also support the role of mediational processes, such as vicarious
reinforcement and motivation.

Strengths - SLT & Bandura's Bobo Doll

Research:
● Supporting Evidence for Bandura is provided by Patterson et al (1989):
He demonstrated that role models are important influences in the
development of anti-social behaviour. Through the use of self-report
methods, they found that very aggressive children are raised in homes
of high levels of aggression and low levels of affection. Parents and
other significant adults are therefore important role models. Therefore,
this research not only supports Bandura, but it also provides useful
applications for the real world. Many government health campaigns
have used SLT concepts in adverts in reucing anti-social behaviours
such as smoking and littering.
● Bandura's research has high replicability: Bandura's research was
carried out in the laboratory when he had manipulated the IV (whether
there was a positive/negative reinforcement) and measrued the DV (the
behaviour displayed by the child) and used a standardised procedure.
 This high level of control suggested that if the research was carried out
again then the same results could be achieved.
● Bandura and SLT have supporting cross-cultural evidence: Mead (1935)
Studied aggression in different cultures and found that the Arapesh is a
non-aggressive culture in which aggression is not admired (reinforced)
or modelled by adults. The Mundugmor show the opposite pattern, in
which violence is the norm and status is determined by the amount of
aggression shown. This suggests that behaviour can be learned via
observation, imitation and reinforcement as stated by SLT and may
suggest that these concepts can be applied universally.

Limitations - SLT & Bandura's Bobo Doll

Research:
● Bandura's research holds ethical issues: The experiment conducted was
unethical in terms of protection from harm as it exposes the children to
frightening and possibly novel aggression. It can be considered morally
wrong because the children were encouraged to be aggressive, which is
clearly not appropriate. Thus, the children did not leave the experiment
as they entered it.
● Bandura used a controlled laboratory setting which makes the
conditions and procedures artificial and contrived. The children may
respond to demand characteristics, and behave in ways they believe to
be expected. The Bobo Doll is not a real living person and its main
purpose is to be hit. There was no long-term follow up to see whether
learning persists over time, thus reducing validity and limits the support
for his theory.
● Underestimates the role of biological factors which have been shown to
influence aggression EG: Testosterone may explain why males are more
aggressive than females.

Best part exam questions ;)

Outline two strengths of the behaviourist approach

1. One strength of the behaviourist approach is that the behaviourist
approach has had many successful applications in the real world
(particularly in the treatment of mental disorders). Pavlov’s work into
Classical condition has been applied to aversion therapy in order to help
those with addictions. It has also contributed to treatments that help
people who suffer from phobias.
2. Another strength of the behaviourist approach is that it uses scientific
methods of research. This is a strength because the experiments are
objective, measurable and observable. An example of this is Bandura’s
Bobo doll study of aggression (Stacey, 2016).

Outline two limitations of the behaviorust approach

The downsides to the behaviorist approach follow:

1. This approach is more relevant to animals being used in experiments.

This is because animals can not consent to take part and are unable to
withdraw. An example of a behaviorist animal study is Pavlov’s dogs
which led to classical conditioning principles being developed (McLeod,
2017).

2. It is deterministic, meaning that this approach does not allow us to

determine our own behaviors (Davies-Brown, 2012).

3. Many critics argue that behaviorism is a one-dimensional approach to

understanding human behavior and that behavioral theories do not
account for free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts,
and feelings. “As my professor told us, behaviorism tends to be
‘superficial’ or shallow in explaining behavior and learning”. It only
considers what is observable and measurable, well, in fact, there are
various unseen aspects of an individual that are very vital in his or her
personalities and learning capabilities(Flores, 2013).

What do social learning theorists mean by imitation

Imitation means copying behaviour (of a role model

INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE APPROACH (direct contrast to
behaviourist approach)

The cognitive approach in psychology is a relatively modern

approach to human behaviour that focuses on how we think.

It assumes that our thought processes affect the way in which we behave

● Between stimulus and response are complex mental processes, which

can be studied scientifically.
● The workings of a computer and the human mind are alike – they
encode and store information, and they have outputs.
● Our behaviour can be explained as a series of responses to external

stimuli.

● Behaviour is controlled by our own thought processes, as opposed to

genetic factors.

● Schema are ‘mental templates’ of ideas and information that are developed through
experience and help to ‘frame’ our interpretation of incoming information (our
experiences help to build our schemas).
● Schemas are building all the time (for example, when we first visit the theatre, we have
no understanding of what this experience will be like (the people who work there, the
social norms/protocols that we follow etc ) once we visit the theatre, we develop an
understanding of ‘what it’s like to go to the theatre,’ we store this information in a
schema and use it when we are faced with the same/a similar situation again.
● They help to determine how we’ll respond to each stimuli
● e.g. a rollercoaster may be stressful for one person may be quite enjoyable for another,
depending on each individual schema
● Sometimes we assimilate our schemas, changing them to include new information that
we have learned.
● Sometimes we accommodate new information, changing our memories to keep our
schemas intact. Bartlett (see below) explains how we do this by levelling and
sharpening. Levelling involves removing or downplaying details from the memory and
sharpening involves adding or exaggerating details this can happen as a result of our
understanding of the content/experience that we have been exposed to.
 ● Schemas are unique to each individual; as the way they experience the world is unique
to them. This means the way we see the world is dependent on experience (or lack of).
● Schemas are influenced by culture.

The Study of Internal Mental Processes

Using experimental research methods, the cognitive approach studies internal mental
processes such as attention, memory and decision-making. For example, an investigation
might compare the abilities of groups to memorize a list of words, presenting them either
verbally or visually to infer which type of sensory information is easiest to process, and
could further investigate whether or not this changes with different word types or
individuals.

Theoretical and computer models are proposed to attempt to explain and infer information
about mental processes. For example, the Information-Processing Model (Figure 1)
describes the mind as if a computer, in terms of the relationship between incoming
information to be encoded (from the senses), manipulating this mentally (e.g. storage, a
decision), and consequently directing an output (e.g. a behaviour, emotion). An example
might be an artist looking at a picturesque landscape, deciding which paint colour suits a
given area, before brushing the selected colour onto a canvas.

Figure 1: Flow chart highlighting the role of mental processing defined by the Information-
Processing Model
In recent decades, newer models including Computational and Connectionist models
have taken some attention away from the previously dominant information-processing
analogy:

● The Computational model similarly compares with a computer, but focuses more
on how we structure the process of reaching the behavioural output (i.e. the aim,
strategy and action taken), without specifying when/how much information is dealt
with.
● The Connectionist model takes a neural line of thought; it looks at the mind as a
complex network of neurons, which activate in regular configurations that
characterize known associations between stimuli.

The role of Schema

A key concept to the approach is the schema, an internal ‘script’ for how to act or what to
expect from a given situation. For example, gender schemas assume how males/females
behave and how is best to respond accordingly, e.g. a child may assume that all boys
enjoy playing football. Schemas are like stereotypes, and alter mental processing of
incoming information; their role in eyewitness testimony can be negative, as what
somebody expects to see may distort their memory of was actually witnessed.

Cognitive Neuroscience emergence

This related field became prevalent over the latter half of the twentieth century,
incorporating neuroscience techniques such as brain scanning to study the impact of
brain structures on cognitive processes.
Evaluation of the cognitive approach
Strengths
● Models have presented a useful means to help explain internal mental processes
● The approach provides a strong focus on internal mental processes, which
behaviourists before did not.
● The experimental methods used by the approach are considered scientific.

Weaknesses
● It could be argued that cognitive models over-simplify explanations for complex
mental processes.
● The data supporting cognitive theories often come from unrealistic tasks used in
laboratory experiments, which puts the ecological validity of theories into question
(i.e. whether or not they are truly representative of our normal cognitive patterns).
● Comparing a human mind to a machine or computer is arguably an
unsophisticated analogy.

Bartlett War Of The Ghosts,

Memory uses schemas to organise things. When we recall an event, our schemas
tell us what is supposed to happen, however, the schemas might fill in the gaps in
our memory (confabulation) and even put pressure on our mind to remember things
in a way that fits in with the schema, altering details along the way.

The findings from Bartlett’s study indicated that:

(1) Participants reduced when they reproduced it from approx 330 to 180 words

(2) Participants also confabulated details, changing unfamiliar parts of the story in
line with their schemas: canoes became boats, paddles became oars, hunting seals
became fishing.

(3) Participants rationalised the story, coming up with explanations for baffling
parts of the story. For example, in later reproductions, participants missed out the
“ghosts” and just described a battle between Native American tribes