Psychology Unit 2 AS notes

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Approaches:

Social learning theory- Learning though observing others, imitating those that are rewarded

Vicarious reinforcement: Learning that is not a result of direct reinforcement of behaviour, but through observing someone else being reinforced for their behaviour

Imitation: The act of using someone/ something as a model and copying their behaviour

Mediational processes: Refer to the Internal Mental processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the response made by an individual to those stimuli

BANDURA: Bobo doll, children, aggressive model, observed, children put in room with bobo to see if they behaved the same

Behaviourist approach- Human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, no consideration of thoughts/feelings

Classical- PAVLOV- Neutral stimulus paired with ucs, takes on ns properties and produces cr.

EVALUATION: + CC led to development of treatments for anxiety reduction of phobias (systematic desensitisation), - Different species face different challenges to survive, so have different capabilities to learn through CC~> relationships more difficult to establish between CS and UCS for some species than others

Operant- SKINNER- Learning though reinforcement: Positive= when behaviour elicits pleasant consequence, Negative= Removes something Unpleasant, Punishment= application of unpleasant consequence

EVALUATION: + Skinner relied on experimental method, allowed him to establish cause and effect relationship, - Experiments involved rats, not humans; some say this means that the results cannot be applied to human behaviour

Wilhelm Wundt:

Introspection- process by which a person gains knowledge about their mental state by examining their thoughts and feelings

Empiricism- belief that all knowledge comes from sensory experience- categorised by the use of the scientific method in psychology

Cognitive approach- Relates to mental processes such as perception, memory and reasoning

Psychologists able to infer what goes on in terms of thoughts and emotions- by measuring behaviour

Schemas- Cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information in the brain- helps to make sense of new information

Theoretical models- cognitive psychology = models are simplified, pictorial representations of a particular mental process based on research evidence, E.G. Working memory model by Baddeley

Computer models- Using computer analogies to represent human cognition- focused on the way information is 'coded'. E.G memory- Long term= Hard disk and Working memory= RAM

EVALUATION: + has applications- e.g. depression/OCD, Also is scientific- more valid and accurate results than intrspection

EVALUATION: - Computer models- computers do not make mistakes ect, whereas humans do- comparison not good, Also ignores emotion and motivation- fails to tell us why processes happen

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:

OCD~> Biological explanation: SERT Gene; Affects transport of serotonin, causing lower levels of the neurotransmitter. Also COMT Gene- involved in regulation of dopamine production- has been implicated in OCD. Diathesis-stress: complex genes- some could possess the COMT/SERT gene but have no ill effects. NEURAL explanations; Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters- Dopamine very high in those with OCD, low levels of serotonin in OCD. Abnormal brain circuits- Frontal lobes thought to be abnormal in those with OCD, When part of the brain is damaged, it fails to suppress 'worry', turning into a worry circuit, supported by PET scans of OCD patients.