3/24/25, 7:47 AQA A-Level Psychology - Approaches Flashcards |
AM
AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – APPROACHES EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS LATEST RELEASE 2025
Terms in this set (76)
Wundt founded first ever psychological lab in
Germany in 1879.
Origins of Psychology Aimed to document and describe the nature of
human consciousness.
Developed introspection
Involved recording own conscious thoughts.
Aim was to break these thoughts down into their
Introspection constituent parts.
Isolating the structure of consciousness in this way
is known as Structuralism
-Wundt's methods were unreliable:
- non observable responses
- hard to reproduce
-Introspection is inaccurate
Origins of psychology - Evaluation
+Scientific approach
- Brought objective systematic methods
-Lab studies produce low ecological results
Blank slate
All behavior is learnt other than survival
instincts Animals can be used in research
No difference between man and brute
Assumption of the behaviourist approach
Rejection of introspection
Reliant upon lab experiments to maintain control
and objectivity
2 forms of learning: classical and operant
conditioning.
Learning through association
Classical conditioning Pavlov research - dogs associate sound of bell
with food if bell is rung consistently before
feeding.
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, 3/24/25, 7:47 AQA A-Level Psychology - Approaches Flashcards |
AM
Before conditioning:
Unconditioned stimulus (Food) = unconditioned response (Salivation).
Neutral stimulus (Bell) = no conditioned response (No salivation).
During conditioning:
Classical conditioning procedure
Neutral stimulus (Bell) + Unconditioned stimulus (Food) = Unconditioned response
(Salivation).
After Conditioning:
Conditioned stimulus (Bell) = Conditioned Response (Salivation)
Learning through consequences
Skinner (1953) suggested that learning is an active
process where humans and animals operate in
Operant conditioning their environment.
There are 3 types of consequences of behaviour:
Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement,
punishment.
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is
performed.
Positive reinforcement
Example - Praise from a teacher for answering a
question.
Performance of a behaviour to avoid something
unpleasant.
Negative reinforcement
Example - Handing in homework to avoid being
told off.
+Influential in giving psychology greater credibility and status as a result of its largely
lab based research.
Behaviourist Approach - Evaluation +Real life application - Token economy systems
-Mechanistic view of behaviour - humans seen as passive machine like responders
with no conscious insight into own behaviour.
People learn through observation and imitation of others within a social context.
Behaviour is learned
Assumptions of social learning theory
Learning occurs directly through classical and operant conditioning but also through
indirect means (observation)
2/12
AM
AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – APPROACHES EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS LATEST RELEASE 2025
Terms in this set (76)
Wundt founded first ever psychological lab in
Germany in 1879.
Origins of Psychology Aimed to document and describe the nature of
human consciousness.
Developed introspection
Involved recording own conscious thoughts.
Aim was to break these thoughts down into their
Introspection constituent parts.
Isolating the structure of consciousness in this way
is known as Structuralism
-Wundt's methods were unreliable:
- non observable responses
- hard to reproduce
-Introspection is inaccurate
Origins of psychology - Evaluation
+Scientific approach
- Brought objective systematic methods
-Lab studies produce low ecological results
Blank slate
All behavior is learnt other than survival
instincts Animals can be used in research
No difference between man and brute
Assumption of the behaviourist approach
Rejection of introspection
Reliant upon lab experiments to maintain control
and objectivity
2 forms of learning: classical and operant
conditioning.
Learning through association
Classical conditioning Pavlov research - dogs associate sound of bell
with food if bell is rung consistently before
feeding.
1/12
, 3/24/25, 7:47 AQA A-Level Psychology - Approaches Flashcards |
AM
Before conditioning:
Unconditioned stimulus (Food) = unconditioned response (Salivation).
Neutral stimulus (Bell) = no conditioned response (No salivation).
During conditioning:
Classical conditioning procedure
Neutral stimulus (Bell) + Unconditioned stimulus (Food) = Unconditioned response
(Salivation).
After Conditioning:
Conditioned stimulus (Bell) = Conditioned Response (Salivation)
Learning through consequences
Skinner (1953) suggested that learning is an active
process where humans and animals operate in
Operant conditioning their environment.
There are 3 types of consequences of behaviour:
Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement,
punishment.
Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is
performed.
Positive reinforcement
Example - Praise from a teacher for answering a
question.
Performance of a behaviour to avoid something
unpleasant.
Negative reinforcement
Example - Handing in homework to avoid being
told off.
+Influential in giving psychology greater credibility and status as a result of its largely
lab based research.
Behaviourist Approach - Evaluation +Real life application - Token economy systems
-Mechanistic view of behaviour - humans seen as passive machine like responders
with no conscious insight into own behaviour.
People learn through observation and imitation of others within a social context.
Behaviour is learned
Assumptions of social learning theory
Learning occurs directly through classical and operant conditioning but also through
indirect means (observation)
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