APPRQACHE$·
Orinlaa ele1vsbq/qqY'
be studied selentlftcally, his approach
Wundt: Known as the 'father of psychology', he believed that all aspects of human nature could
of psychology as a distinct science. He set up the first lab In Germany In the 1870's. His aim was to study the
led to the acceptance
stru cture of Iha mind by breaking down behaviours / perceptions / sensations Into their basic elements (Strvoturallsm). He promoted
n as a way of studying these mental processes, it Is a systematic analysis of our own conscioUs experiences of stimuli. He
lntrospeotlo
in terms of their component perts. In
used a metronome and asked people to focus on this object to look within and analyse this
studies the participants would be presented with controlled stimuli and would be asked to give a description of their inner
V'wndt's
processes they would be feeling .
n = looking inwards and examining one's own thoughts, emotions and sensations. This
was intended to be a highly
lntrospeotlo
systematic and controlled process.
EVALUATION:
general laws and principles as these
(·) However, this data was subjective as it varied from person to person so it Is dlfflcuH to establish
that his work Is unreliable and unscientific as science is objective,
thoughts are subjective they cannot be measured which means
measurable and repeatable.
can be seen to have influenced the
(+) V'wndt's work was influential as Introspection and the Importance of Inner mental processes
cognitive approach to psychology.
(+) V'wndt did apply scientific methods to his work such as controlling the environment
to be able to prevent extraneous variables from
skewing the results that In theory should produce valid and reliable resutts.
The amergenoe of psyohology as a solanoe:
the science of psychology would observe
Science is concerned with empirically observed facts that can be repeated and measured,
and deduce laws in a similar way. However, human behaviour is more subjective which has led to the development of
human behaviour
other approaches such as behaviourism , the cognitive approach anf=d the biological approach.
The lasmina aeemacfzos ·
Behaviourist approach
Social learning theory
Before
learning
'
u.-.dldonedstlm ulus
(food)
Unconditioned response
(salivaung)
~
Neutral stlmulus
(bell)
No response
During
learning
Neutral stimulus
(bell)
UncoodiUonod slimulu,
(food)
-~ Uncondilloned response
(salivating)
After
learning
~ -~
Conditioned stimulus
(bell)
Conditioned response
(salivaltng)
Behaviourist approaoh:
, This appn,ach explains behaviour in terms of learning
from experience through the use of classical conditio ning,
Behaviourists r'ljec:lad Introspe ction and how dlfflc:ult it operant conctitl onlng.
was to measura as it was subjecti ve, ttHry focus on
learning experience and our environment how we are a produc t of our
Thtry believe that at birth the mind is a 'blank state', and
that behaviour is learned from experie nce.
The study of the mind should be focused on the extama
l behaviour not Internal thought process es and that behavio
that can be objectively l'l"NNlsurwd and observed. ur is the only thing
Believe that the processes that govern human behavio
ur also govern non-human animals, which means that experim
behaviour can show valid ooncluslons about human behavio ents on animal
ur. .
They also believe that no matlltr how complex a behavio
ur is, all behaviour can be reduced down Into a simple Slimulu
association. s-response
Pavlov: Classical conditioning ; this explains how behavio
urs are learned from experience via a~ali on.
Pavlov demonstrated how dogs could be conditioned to tin the d Ith food
salivate (NS) by ringing a bell at the same lime as presen
the repeate d experience of this led the dog to associate g og w '
the bell ringing for food .
Skinner: Operant conditioning ; explains that behaviour
Is learnt as a result of consequences in our environment
This involves the prooass of learning through consequ
ences (positive and negative) of behavioural responses.
Reinforoement is a consequence of behaviour that increase . .
s the like~hood of that behaviour being repeated . Punishm
consequence of behaviour that will decrease the likelihoo ent 15 a
d of that behaviour being repeated.
Positive relnforo amant increases the likelihood of a respons
e because it involves a reward for the behaviour. E.g. doing
homeworit and getting a sticker/praise. your
Negative relnforo emant increases the likelihood of behavio
ur as it involves the removal of an unpleasant consequ
your homeworit to avoid getting shouted at by the teacher ence. E.g. doing
or wearing sunscreen to stop from gettfng burnt.
Punishment: the consequence is receiving something
pleasant which decreases the probability of the behavio
getting told off by your teacher for not doing your homewo ur being repeated. E.g.
rit.
Skinner 's experiment involved putting rats in cages, one
variation is where if the rat pulled a lever food would be
learnt this consequence and would repeat the behavio dispensed, the rat
r, positive reinforcement. Another variation the rats were
grid and by pressing the lever the grid would be turned placed in an eledrified
off the rats learnt this and went straight to the lever, negative
reinforcement.
EVALUATION:
(+) Behaviourism has practical applications as the behavio
urist approach to treating phobias has led to flooding and
desensitisation , Operant conditioning has also been the systematic
basis of token economics especially in the management
rewarding appropriate behaviours with tokens so that of Sz. These wort,; by
they are able to exchange these tokens for privileges.
(-) However, it is hard to extrapolate findings from non-hum
an animals to humans as humans are qualitatively differen
and cognitively this means that this research lacks validity t both physically
as ii is not measuring human behaviour but animal behavio
applied to humans, humans and animals think differen ur which is being
tly especially in terms of rewards and punishments as
innate urge to survive whereas humans may think different animals are driven by the
ly.
(-) There are ethical concerns within Skinner's researc
h as his research caused distress for the animals involved
psychologicaUy. both physica lly and
(-) The behaviourist approach is environmentally determi
nistic as it is suggesting that our environmental and experie
thing that shape our behaviour, thoughts and actions and nces are the only
that due to this we are determined to act in a certain way
approach would suggest that our" behaviour may be due however, biological
to our biologically such as genes and hormones.
Soolal leamlng theory:
I/Ve learn from experience, however we also learn by observin
g other people's behaviour and the consequences that
actions (vicariously). come from those
SLT sees people as active manip1:1lators of their environ
ment rather than passive receivers of experience.
SLT is concerned with human behaviour rather than animal
behaviour.
SLT suggests that people imitate behaviours of role models
who they identify with, these behaviours can be reinforc
seeing someone rewarded for a behaviour. ed vicariously e.g.
Madlational prooassas:
Attention - noticing and paying attention to the behaviour
of the person they want to imitate.
Retention - remembering the behaviour so that they can
do the same.
Reproduction - the consideration of our own ability to perform
that behaviour.
Motivation - the will or desire to perform the behaviour.
(ARRM)
Bandura's Bobo doll experiment:
36 boys and 36 girts aged between 3-6, an aggressive
model was shown to 24 children, a non-aggre~ive model
children , and no model (control condition) for 24 children was shown to 24
. They observed their model for around 10 minutes and
which they could play with the toys to increase feeling then taken to a room in
of aggression, they were then taken to another room with
the bob<i doll, and left them to play for 20 minutes . lots of toys, including
'· ·
The results found that the children who had observed
the aggressive model acted more aggressively, boys acted
girts in general, the child was more likely to imitate the more aggress ive than
behaviour of a role model if the role model was the same
gender as them.
EVALUATION:
i:) Although the bobo doll study supports the social lea ming theory They also support
the biological approach as they found that boys
were more aggressive towards the dolls and girts indepen
dently this suggests that biological factors such as testoste
important role and explaining behaviour and that the social rone levels play an
learning approach is not self-sufficient.
Orinlaa ele1vsbq/qqY'
be studied selentlftcally, his approach
Wundt: Known as the 'father of psychology', he believed that all aspects of human nature could
of psychology as a distinct science. He set up the first lab In Germany In the 1870's. His aim was to study the
led to the acceptance
stru cture of Iha mind by breaking down behaviours / perceptions / sensations Into their basic elements (Strvoturallsm). He promoted
n as a way of studying these mental processes, it Is a systematic analysis of our own conscioUs experiences of stimuli. He
lntrospeotlo
in terms of their component perts. In
used a metronome and asked people to focus on this object to look within and analyse this
studies the participants would be presented with controlled stimuli and would be asked to give a description of their inner
V'wndt's
processes they would be feeling .
n = looking inwards and examining one's own thoughts, emotions and sensations. This
was intended to be a highly
lntrospeotlo
systematic and controlled process.
EVALUATION:
general laws and principles as these
(·) However, this data was subjective as it varied from person to person so it Is dlfflcuH to establish
that his work Is unreliable and unscientific as science is objective,
thoughts are subjective they cannot be measured which means
measurable and repeatable.
can be seen to have influenced the
(+) V'wndt's work was influential as Introspection and the Importance of Inner mental processes
cognitive approach to psychology.
(+) V'wndt did apply scientific methods to his work such as controlling the environment
to be able to prevent extraneous variables from
skewing the results that In theory should produce valid and reliable resutts.
The amergenoe of psyohology as a solanoe:
the science of psychology would observe
Science is concerned with empirically observed facts that can be repeated and measured,
and deduce laws in a similar way. However, human behaviour is more subjective which has led to the development of
human behaviour
other approaches such as behaviourism , the cognitive approach anf=d the biological approach.
The lasmina aeemacfzos ·
Behaviourist approach
Social learning theory
Before
learning
'
u.-.dldonedstlm ulus
(food)
Unconditioned response
(salivaung)
~
Neutral stlmulus
(bell)
No response
During
learning
Neutral stimulus
(bell)
UncoodiUonod slimulu,
(food)
-~ Uncondilloned response
(salivating)
After
learning
~ -~
Conditioned stimulus
(bell)
Conditioned response
(salivaltng)
Behaviourist approaoh:
, This appn,ach explains behaviour in terms of learning
from experience through the use of classical conditio ning,
Behaviourists r'ljec:lad Introspe ction and how dlfflc:ult it operant conctitl onlng.
was to measura as it was subjecti ve, ttHry focus on
learning experience and our environment how we are a produc t of our
Thtry believe that at birth the mind is a 'blank state', and
that behaviour is learned from experie nce.
The study of the mind should be focused on the extama
l behaviour not Internal thought process es and that behavio
that can be objectively l'l"NNlsurwd and observed. ur is the only thing
Believe that the processes that govern human behavio
ur also govern non-human animals, which means that experim
behaviour can show valid ooncluslons about human behavio ents on animal
ur. .
They also believe that no matlltr how complex a behavio
ur is, all behaviour can be reduced down Into a simple Slimulu
association. s-response
Pavlov: Classical conditioning ; this explains how behavio
urs are learned from experience via a~ali on.
Pavlov demonstrated how dogs could be conditioned to tin the d Ith food
salivate (NS) by ringing a bell at the same lime as presen
the repeate d experience of this led the dog to associate g og w '
the bell ringing for food .
Skinner: Operant conditioning ; explains that behaviour
Is learnt as a result of consequences in our environment
This involves the prooass of learning through consequ
ences (positive and negative) of behavioural responses.
Reinforoement is a consequence of behaviour that increase . .
s the like~hood of that behaviour being repeated . Punishm
consequence of behaviour that will decrease the likelihoo ent 15 a
d of that behaviour being repeated.
Positive relnforo amant increases the likelihood of a respons
e because it involves a reward for the behaviour. E.g. doing
homeworit and getting a sticker/praise. your
Negative relnforo emant increases the likelihood of behavio
ur as it involves the removal of an unpleasant consequ
your homeworit to avoid getting shouted at by the teacher ence. E.g. doing
or wearing sunscreen to stop from gettfng burnt.
Punishment: the consequence is receiving something
pleasant which decreases the probability of the behavio
getting told off by your teacher for not doing your homewo ur being repeated. E.g.
rit.
Skinner 's experiment involved putting rats in cages, one
variation is where if the rat pulled a lever food would be
learnt this consequence and would repeat the behavio dispensed, the rat
r, positive reinforcement. Another variation the rats were
grid and by pressing the lever the grid would be turned placed in an eledrified
off the rats learnt this and went straight to the lever, negative
reinforcement.
EVALUATION:
(+) Behaviourism has practical applications as the behavio
urist approach to treating phobias has led to flooding and
desensitisation , Operant conditioning has also been the systematic
basis of token economics especially in the management
rewarding appropriate behaviours with tokens so that of Sz. These wort,; by
they are able to exchange these tokens for privileges.
(-) However, it is hard to extrapolate findings from non-hum
an animals to humans as humans are qualitatively differen
and cognitively this means that this research lacks validity t both physically
as ii is not measuring human behaviour but animal behavio
applied to humans, humans and animals think differen ur which is being
tly especially in terms of rewards and punishments as
innate urge to survive whereas humans may think different animals are driven by the
ly.
(-) There are ethical concerns within Skinner's researc
h as his research caused distress for the animals involved
psychologicaUy. both physica lly and
(-) The behaviourist approach is environmentally determi
nistic as it is suggesting that our environmental and experie
thing that shape our behaviour, thoughts and actions and nces are the only
that due to this we are determined to act in a certain way
approach would suggest that our" behaviour may be due however, biological
to our biologically such as genes and hormones.
Soolal leamlng theory:
I/Ve learn from experience, however we also learn by observin
g other people's behaviour and the consequences that
actions (vicariously). come from those
SLT sees people as active manip1:1lators of their environ
ment rather than passive receivers of experience.
SLT is concerned with human behaviour rather than animal
behaviour.
SLT suggests that people imitate behaviours of role models
who they identify with, these behaviours can be reinforc
seeing someone rewarded for a behaviour. ed vicariously e.g.
Madlational prooassas:
Attention - noticing and paying attention to the behaviour
of the person they want to imitate.
Retention - remembering the behaviour so that they can
do the same.
Reproduction - the consideration of our own ability to perform
that behaviour.
Motivation - the will or desire to perform the behaviour.
(ARRM)
Bandura's Bobo doll experiment:
36 boys and 36 girts aged between 3-6, an aggressive
model was shown to 24 children, a non-aggre~ive model
children , and no model (control condition) for 24 children was shown to 24
. They observed their model for around 10 minutes and
which they could play with the toys to increase feeling then taken to a room in
of aggression, they were then taken to another room with
the bob<i doll, and left them to play for 20 minutes . lots of toys, including
'· ·
The results found that the children who had observed
the aggressive model acted more aggressively, boys acted
girts in general, the child was more likely to imitate the more aggress ive than
behaviour of a role model if the role model was the same
gender as them.
EVALUATION:
i:) Although the bobo doll study supports the social lea ming theory They also support
the biological approach as they found that boys
were more aggressive towards the dolls and girts indepen
dently this suggests that biological factors such as testoste
important role and explaining behaviour and that the social rone levels play an
learning approach is not self-sufficient.
