Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Approaches - Coggle Diagram
Approaches
Origins of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
-
Asked individuals to reflect on mental processes they were performing, a method known as introspection
Psychology as a Science
Scientific psychology uses empirical methods and makes assumptions of detereminism and predictability
Methods must be objective, systematic and replicable
Scientific method also includes development of theories that can explain results and constant testing and refining
Behaviourist Approach
Classical Conditioning
Involves pairing of Neutral Stimulus with Unconditioned Stimulus so that eventually Neutral Stimulus becomes Conditioned Stimulus, capable of eliciting a Conditioned Response
Timing - NS must be shortly before UCS
Extinction - CS loses its ability to produce CR after a few trials if no reinforcement
Spontaneous Recovery - CS + UCS paired again, link made much more quickly
Stimulus Generalisation - CR also to stimuli that are similar to CS
Operant Conditioning
Likelihood of repeating behaviour depends on its consequences; Positive and Negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of a behaviour occuring
Pleasant consequence = positive reinforcement
Removal of unpleasant consequence = negative reinforcement
Adding unpleasant consequence = punishment
Continuous reinforcement effective for establishing a behaviour, partial reinforcement for maintaing it
Cognitive Approach
Mental Processes
-
Schemas help organise and interpret information, they also fill in gaps in the absence of full information
Theoretical models are simplified representations based on current evidence, Computer models are analogies of information processing where information is inputted through the senses, encoded into memory, etc.
Cognitive Neuroscience
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience, e.g. use of neuroimaging techniques to study the brain
-
Biological Approach
Influences on Behaviour
-
Genotype - genetic code written in an individuals DNA
Phenotype - the physical manifestation of inherited information
Heritability - the amount of variability in a trait within a population attributed to genetic differences
The Nervous System
Made up of Central and Peripheral nervous systems. CNS contains the brain, with the largest part of the brain being the cerebrum which is divided into four lobes
-
Neurotransmitters enable nerve impulses to cross the synapse. Excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters stimulate or inhibit a receiving nerve cell. Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter
Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1986)
-
Models (live, verbal and symbolic) provide examples of behaviour that can be observed and imitated. Identification with a model based on percieved similarity
Vicarious Reinforcement is when individuals learn about likely consequences of behaviour by observing others
-