Approaches in Psychology

Approaches in Psychology

1. Behaviourist Approach

   • Description
     • Key Assumptions
       • Behaviour is learnt from experiences
       • Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically and it is only these behaviours that can be studied
       • It is valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning (CC&OC)
       • According to the behaviourists we are born as a blank state (tabula rasa) so there is no genetic influence
     • Key Psychologists
       • Pavlov
         • CC
       • Skinner
         • OC
       • Bandura
         • SLT
     • Nurture-> learnt from the environment
     • Behaviour that is learnt can be unlearnt
     • Adopts a scientific approach - observation and measurement

2. Cognitive Approach

   • Description
     • Visual, Shallow processing, Requires little effort
     • Thought processes proceed all behaviour
     • Atkinson & Shiffrin
       • INPUT: See your friend across the road, wave at them, see no response from their processing, assume they did not see you OUTPUT ask them about it later
     • Computer Analogy
       • The mind works like a computer in that it has an input from our senses, which it then processes and produces an output such as language or specific behaviour
     • Memory, Language etc.
     • Schema
       • Knowledge is stored in blocks
   • Evaluation
     • Weaknesses
     • Strengths
   • High Order Evaluation

3. Biological Model

   • Description
     • Key Assumptions
       • Everything psychological is at first biological& to understand human behaviour we must look at biological structures and processes within the body such as genes, nervous system and neurochemistry
       • Assumes all thoughts, feelings and behaviour have an underlying physical basis
       • Model is contract to COGNITIVE
     • Genotype & Phenotype
       • Genotype=persons ACTUAL genetic makeup. It has written genetic code within the DNA. Everyone's is different apart from twins
       • Phenotype=how genes are EXPRESSED through either physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics
       • HYDE
         • Differences in genotype and phenotype
         • Environmental experiment
     • Genetic Inheritance
       • Behaviour genetics study behaviour characteristics and says they are inherited
       • 50% or genetics are from the mother and 50% are the fathers
       • Genes=blueprint of characterisation, how they are expressed depends on the complex inheritance
       • Monozygotic (I) Twins share 100% of genetics whereas dizygotic (non-I) twins share 50% like siblings
       • GOTTESMAN AND SHIELD
         • Twin Study
     • Biological Structure
       • Nervous System
         • CNS (brain and spinal cord) + PNS (somatic and autonomic nervous system)
       • CNS
         • Transfers messages to and from the environment
       • PNS
         • Sends and receives information to the CNS
     • Evolutionary Theory
   • Evaluation
     • Strengths
     • Weaknesses
   • High Order Evaluation

4. Behaviourist Approach

   • High Order Evaluation
     • Ethical and Practical Issues in Animal Experiment
     • Environmental Determinism
   • Evaluation
     • Scientific Credibility
       • Able to bring the language and methods of natural sceicnes into psychology by focusing on the measurement of observation behaviour within highly controlled lab settings.
       • Objectivity and replication, behaviourism was influential in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline - greater credibility and status
     • Mechanistic View of Behaviour
       • Animals and humans=passive and machine-like responders to the environment, with little or no conscious insight into their behaviour.
       • SLT and COGNITIVE approach have emphasised importance of mental events during learning
         • These processes, which mediate between the stimulus and response, suggest that people may play more of a role
     • Real Life Application
       • Token Economy Systems and Phobias
         • Principles of conditioning applied to a broad range of real-world behaviours and problems
           • Operant Conditioning - in prisons. Where prisoners who are well behaved receive a reward-'token economy' in order to exchange a privlage
           • Classical Conditioning - applied to treatment of phobias - the patient does not have to think of their phobia