Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Psychology- Approaches - Coggle Diagram
Psychology- Approaches
-
Social Learning Theory
Basic Assumptions
- behaviour doesn't have to be acquired just through direct experience- learn from observing others
- observant reinforcement others receive influence whether respond in similar ways
- nowadays known 'Social Cognitive Theory' to acknowledge importance of mediational processes in social learning
Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory
- challengers Skinner's- reward & punishment prompts or stops behaviour automatically
- believed reinforcers & punishment only inform of likely consequences
- up to individual to decide/think about this then act
- believed learn behaviour by observing consequences of others (vicarious reinforcement)
- we don't receive reward/punishment- person who models does (role models)
Bobo Doll Experiment- Bandura (1961)
-children observed aggressive or non-aggressive role model behaviour & then tested for imitative behaviour
- aggressive role model had distinctive physical aggression toward doll (striking, verbal 'POW')
- taken to a room w/ toys including doll
- children resembled their role model's behaviour
- 1/3 of children who observed aggressive model repeated verbal responses
- follow-up study Bandura & Walters found children who saw model being rewarded for aggressive acts more likely to show high level of aggression in own play
-
Role of Mediational Processes
- Bandura didn't think automatically observe behaviour of model & imitate, some thought & consideration prior exists
- these are cognitive processes that occur between observation (stimulus) & imitation (response)
Attention
- to be imitated a behaviour needs to grab attention
- observe many on daily basis but most not noteworthy
- pivotal on whether behaviour has influence on others imitating
Retention
- behaviour may be noticed but not always remembered, prevents imitation
- important memory of behaviour formed for it to be performed later by observer
- lots of social learning not immediate so process especially vital to those cases
- even if behaviour reproduced after seeing it, needs to be memory to refer to
Reproduction
- see behaviour that would like to imitate but not always possible
- limited by physical ability so can't even if wanted to
- influences decisions on whether to try & imitate or not
Motivation
- rewards & punishments that follow behaviour considered by observer
- if perceived rewards outweigh perceived costs then behaviour more likely to be imitated by observer
- if vicarious reinforcement not seen important enough then won't imitate
AO3
- as consider thought processes approach can be considered more holistic than traditional learning theories
- can explain initiation of certain behaviours- influence of peers/media & smoking etc. (useful real world application)
- cannot explain all behaviours- what is role model don't exist?
-over simplistic? exposed to so many influences which may interact in complex ways- therefore difficult to establish just one casual influence on behaviour- others say because of this SLT isn't scientific
- ignores biological/innate factors (nature vs nurture)
Cognitive Approach
Main Assumptions
- thought processes can & should be studied scientifically
- mind works like computer- has INPUT from senses which is PROCESSED & produces OUTPUT like language or behaviour.
- focuses on how people perceive, store, manipulate & interpret info.
- study processes like perception, memory, thinking, attention & problem solving
- unlike behaviourists, cognitive psychologists think should look at internal mental processes to understand behaviour
Study of internal mental processes
- looks at how extract, store & retrieve information & how guides behaviour
-processes internal & recognise can't be studied directly
- studied indirectly by inferring what goes on as result of measuring behaviour
- then develop theories about mental processes that led to observed behaviour
Role of Schemas
- cognitive framework helps to organise & interpret info in brain
- helps individuals make sense of new info by filling gaps
- schemas for events/roles can guide behaviour
- allows to take shortcuts to fill gaps
- can cause info to get excluded that doesn't fit already established ides about world
- can cause stereotypes or lead us to misinterpret information
Theoretical Models
- simplified, usually pictorial, representations of particular mental process based on current research evidence (WMM)
Computer Models
- refers to process of using computer analogies as representation of human cognition
- info received through senses processed by various systems in brain
- what goes on in brain described in computer terms - encoding, processing, retrieval
Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience
- dedicated to underlying neural bases of cognitive functions
- study parts of human cognition, neural processes underlying memory, attention, perception & awareness and how impairments in brain regions linked to psychological conditions
- neuroimagining techniques (MRI, PET) allow research in brain activity when undertaking tasks
- allows to study location of function & impairments that could explain psychological conditions
AO3
STRENGTHS
- the approach is scientific
:arrow_right_hook: use of experimental methods provides researchers w/ rigorous method to collect & evaluate evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions about how mind works.
- has many real world applications
:arrow_right_hook: social cognition- helped to understand how we interpret other functions
:arrow_right_hook: psychopathology- explains how dysfunctional behaviour can be traced to faulty thinking processes
LIMITATIONS
- ignores emotions & motivations
:arrow_right_hook: motivation irrelevant to computer
:arrow_right_hook: tells how cognitive processes take place but not why
:arrow_right_hook: approaches focus on motivational processes in behaviour (Freud) ignore cognitive processes involved
-methodological issues w/ research in this area (lacking ecological validity)
:arrow_right_hook:can't be generalised to real-life situations
:arrow_right_hook:experiments in memory use artificial test materials relatively meaningless to everyday life
-limitations of computer models
:arrow_right_hook:differences in info processing in computer program & human mind, computers don't make mistakes, ignore available info or forget anything stored in hard drives
-
Psychodynamic Approach
Freud's Theory
- behaviour is determined more by psychological factors rather than biological or environmental reinforcement
- assumed people are born with basic instincts & needs
- emphasis on unconscious motives, desires & drives
- behaviour is controlled largely by the unconscious mind
- also stressed the importance of early childhood experiences
-