Learning approaches Cognitive approaches AQA specification The Approaches unit is assessed in Paper 2 alongside R esearch M ethods and Biopsychology Origins of Psychology Wundt introspection and the emergence of Psychology as a science ID: 673435
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Slide1
Approaches: 1
Origins of psychology
Learning approaches
Cognitive approachesSlide2
AQA specification
The Approaches unit is assessed in Paper 2 alongside
R
esearch
M
ethods and Biopsychology
Origins of Psychology
: Wundt, introspection and the emergence of Psychology as a science.
The basic assumptions of the following approaches:
Learning approaches
: the behaviourist approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov’s research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner’s research; social learning theory including imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura’s research.
The cognitive approach
: the study of internal mental processes, the role of schema, the use of theoretical and computer models to explain and make inferences about mental processes. The emergence of cognitive neuroscience. Slide3
Origins of Psychology
Wundt
Introspection
Emergence of psychology as a science Slide4
Wundt (1832-1920)
I
ntroduced
Psychology as a distinct Science.
O
pened
the first Psychology laboratory in Leipzig,
Germany (1879).
I
nterested
in
conscious experience
and he trained himself and others to describe their experiences using
introspection
(literally looking inside).
observe
our inner
world.
The
person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional statesSlide5
Wundt: Scientific
Wundt carried out his studies under controlled conditions.
He trained assistants in the use of introspection so that they reported their experiences in a structured way.
He used the same stimuli, surroundings and instructions for each person
.
Significance:
marked the separation of modern scientific psychology from its broader philosophical rootsSlide6
Wundt: Evaluation
Introspection is
useful-
Introspection has not been entirely abandoned
.
Research was seen as a
forerunner
to the later scientific approaches.
Lack of Reliability
-
Wundts
method relies on non-observable responses.
Introspections
experimental results are not easily replicated and therefore there is a distinct lack of reliability in these methods.
Introspection is
not accurate-
Nisbett
and Wilson (1977) argue that we actually have very little knowledge of the processes underlying our
behaviour
which therefore conflicts with the values of introspection.
Slide7
Emergence of psychology as a science
1900:
Behaviourists: rejected Introspection
1930’s
: Behaviourist scientific approach dominated psychology (e.g. Skinner)
1950’s:
Cognitive approach: used scientific procedures to make inferences about mental processes
1990’s:
Biological approach: brain scanning techniquesSlide8
Slide9
Learning approaches
The behaviourist
approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov’s research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner’s researchSlide10
Assumptions
We are born as a blank slate – a
‘tabula rasa’
– everything we become is shaped by the process of
learning from our environment
.
Extreme ‘
nurture
’ end of nature-nurture debate
.
Argues that in order for psychology to be scientific it should focus on
observable behaviour
which can be objectively measured, rather than on things like cognitive processes which can only be
inferred – rejected the idea of introspection!
Lab experiments are the best way to achieve this!
Behaviourists
also assume that humans are like any other organism in how they develop therefore
animals can be studied
to draw conclusions about humans.Slide11
Behaviourism has two main forms of learning
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning & reinforcement Slide12
Cl
ass
ical Conditioning - Pavlov
Learning through
ass
ociation…Slide13
Bell: Neutral stimulus (NS)
Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)
Bell: Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Salivation: Conditioned response (CR)
Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Before conditioning
During conditioning
After conditioning
Pairing
+
Bell: Neutral stimulus (NS)
Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)
How does it work?
How might this be used to learn/condition a fear?Slide14
Operant Conditioning – Skinner
Learning through
consequences
Learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate in their environmentSlide15
Consequences for behaviour
Positive reinforcement :
Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are
pleasant
when they happen i.e. food for the rat/pigeon. Giving a child sweets when they clean their room.
Negative reinforcement :
Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are
pleasant
when they stop. Aspirin to get rid of a headache. In simple terms, it is behaviour that makes something unpleasant go away.
Punishment :
Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are
unpleasant
when happenSlide16
Evaluation: behaviourist
Hard Determinism/environmental
determinism:
The
behaviourist
approach sees all
behaviour
as determined by past experiences that have been
conditioned. (ignores free-will)
Many
critics of the
behaviourist
approach have questioned the
ethics
of conducting such investigations with
animals.
Mechanistic view
of individuals as machine like respondents to the environment.
The
principles of conditioning have been applied to a broad range of
real-world behaviours
and
problems. (token economy systems)
The
behaviourist
approach has
scientific
credibility.Slide17
Learning approaches
S
ocial
learning theory including imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura’s research.Slide18
BEHAVIOURISM
FOCUS ON HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN RESPONSE TO REWARD/PUNISHMENT
COGNITIVE
FOCUS ON THE INTERNAL MENTAL PROCESS BETWEEN STIMULUS AND RESPONSE
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Mind-Behaviour-Environment
The cognitive processes involved in learning.Slide19
Main assumptions
Behaviour
is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning which involves
modelling, imitation, identification and vicarious reinforcement.
The
consequences of others behaviour is observed and this informs predictions and guides future behaviours
(vicarious reinforcement)
Mediational
processes occur between stimuli (model behaves) and response cognitive processes include
attention, retention (memory) and decision making.Slide20
What is the Social Learning Theory?
Developed by
Bandura
Learning
occurs through
:
Modeling
Observational learning
Imitation
SLT take into
account
cognitive
thought processes.
These mental factors
mediate
in the learning process to determine if a response is acquiredSlide21
Bandura (1977)
4
mediational processes to
social learning
A
ttention
– learning can only take place if a model is attended to. More attention is paid to models we identify with or who have status. (cognitive)
R
etention
– behaviour we have observed is stored in memory. (cognitive)
M
otor
reproduction
– some of the behaviour that has been learnt will be imitated. (behavioural)
M
otivational
processes
– the expectation that behaviour will be rewarded encourages that behaviour to be reproduced. No consequences can also lead to imitation of behaviour. Punishment reduces the likelihood of imitation. The consequences can be direct or vicarious (cognitive).Slide22
We are more likely to imitate behaviour if the model we are observing is
:
Same age
Same gender
High social status
Respected/admiredSlide23
Jane dyes her hair
red
because her favourite celebrity has done so.
First Jane paid
attention
to what the celebrity had
done
Jane
then
retained
this
information
Jane
was capable of
reproducing
the behaviour of dying her
hair
Jane
was
motivated
to dye her hair
red and
did
so.
Application of Social Learning TheorySlide24
Vicarious
reinforcement
Bandura stated that we are influenced not just by the behaviour, but by the
consequences
for the person we are observing
.
We observe
and learn
about behaviour
by watching others
being reinforced
or punished
(vicarious
reinforcement)
learning NOT a
result
of direct reinforcement, rather an individuals observation of another person’s
experiencesSlide25
Children observe and learn from role models
Live
models
(family, friends)
Symbolic
models
(through media: TV
, films, games
)
SLT: application
to media violence
They learn which behaviours are worth repeating
They have a
mental
representation
of events they observe, and can anticipate reward and punishment. Slide26
Core study
Bandura, Ross
ans
Ross (1961)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
zerCK0lRjp8
Aim:
To investigate whether exposure to a real-life aggressive model increases aggression in children.Slide27
Method:Slide28
Method:
Stage
one of the experiment
children
were brought
individually to
the experimental room by the experimenter
.
The room was set out for
play
The model was invited to come in.
The child was placed in a corner of the room and shown how to design a picture
The model was taken to the opposite corner (containing a table, chair, tinker toy, mallet and a 5 foot inflatable
bobo
doll.
The children could only watch the model.Slide29
In the non-aggressive condition, the model ignored
Bobo
and assembled the tinker-toys in a quiet, gentle manner
.
In the aggressive condition the model began by assembling the tinker-toys, but after one minute turned to
Bobo
and was aggressive to the doll in a very
stylised
and distinctive
way.
After
ten minutes the experimenter entered and took the child to a new room.
S
tage two of the experiment
There, the child was given toys to play with, which were eventually taken away.Slide30
Stage three
of the experiment
Children were then taken to another experimental room and allowed to play freely for 20 minutes with aggressive and non aggressive toys and a 3 foot
bobo
doll.
Behaviour was rated by observing through a one way mirror.Slide31
Results
Children exposed to an aggressive role model displayed significantly more direct imitation than children exposed to the non-aggressive model.
On
average 12.7 aggressive acts were imitated from
the aggressive model
Girls were more likely to engage in verbal aggression and boys more likely to engage in physical aggression
Watching an aggressive role model had a greater effect on boys than on girls
Boys were more likely to imitate aggressive acts from the same sex role model than girls
Boys
copied 25.8 aggressive acts when the model was
male
On
average girls copied 5.5 aggressive acts if the model was female and 7.2 aggressive acts if the model was
male.Slide32
Conclusion
The findings support Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. That is, children learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning – through watching the behaviour of another person
.
Children exposed to an aggressive model are likely to display aggression and to imitate aggressive acts.Slide33
Evaluation of bobo doll study
Strengths: GRAVE
+ Takes
into account COGNITIVE PROCESSES
+ Has
many applications (gender roles)
+ Great deal of strong experimental evidence - Bandura’s bobo doll study found children imitate same sex role models +
+ Practical applications e.g. introducing positive role models; having age restrictions on video games and films so children are not exposed to undesirable
behaviourSlide34
Evaluation of bobo doll study
Weaknesses: GRAVE
- Does
not explain individual differences – e.g. reinforcement to one child might not be the same for another
Does
not account for ALL behaviour e.g. becomes a criminal, despite not associating with
criminals
It
has taken place in a lab and NOT a real life setting – how do we know children would react like this in the real world – this means it lack ECOLOGICAL
VALIDITY
Generalisability
Ethical Issues
Is
it actual aggression or just harmless
play?
Lack
of validity –
behaviour
may have been learnt but not exhibited immediately. Lab studies only show what happens within a limit time, so it may appear
behaviour
has/has not been learnt yet it may be displayed later. Slide35
Social learning- Evaluation
Social learning theory provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning than behaviourism because
…………………
It emphasises the importance of cognitive factors in learning. Neither classical or operant conditioning can offer a comprehensive account on human learning because cognitive factors such as the mediational processes are ignores. By taking into account these processes which cannot be demonstrated with animal research, SLT provides a more complete explanation of human learning than the behaviourist approachSlide36
Social learning- Evaluation
2. Much
of the research is based on laboratory studies which may involve demand characteristics. This is problematic because
……
The approach relies to heavily on evidence from controlled lab studies. This is evident in Bandura’ (1961) Bobo doll study. The main purpose of the bobo doll is to hit it. The children in the study may have been behaving as they thought was expected. Thus the research may tell us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life.Slide37
Social learning- Evaluation
3. The
Social learning theory underestimates the influence
of
Biological factors.
This
is a limitation
because…
The SLT sees
behaviour
as environmentally determined whereas some behaviours may be
innate. For example, a consistent finding in the bobo doll experiment was that boys showed more aggression than girls regardless of the specifics of experimental condition. This may be explained by differences in the levels of testosterone, which is present in larger doses in males compared to females and has been liked to aggression. Both the SLT and Bandura may have underestimated the important the impact
of biological, heredity or maturational factors on
behaviours. Evidence
from these areas of research does show they do have an impact.Slide38
Social learning- Evaluation
4. SLT
can explain gender differences
across
cultures
which
is useful because
………….
It helps us to understand a range of behaviours and how cultural norms are transmitted. It helps us to understands how children learn from parents and each other and also how the media can influence our behaviour.
This is in contrast with the biological approach who explain universal behaviours because human biological processes do not change with behaviour.Slide39
Social learning- Evaluation
5. The
SLT is
less
Deterministic
than behaviourism
because is suggests that there is an element of free will in the way we behave.
This
is an advantage
because
it offers a more realistic and flexible position than is suggested by the behaviourist approach as it recognises the role we play in shaping our environment. Slide40
Difficulty
demonstrating cause and effect – although Bandura research controlled variables and demonstrated
behaviour
was imitated it is difficult to show cause and effect in real life
Benefits of the experimental approach to investigate learning and issues with experimental evidence that might affect the validity of the results and therefore the conclusions drawn.
Provides explanations that relate to behaviours such as aggression and intellectual development.
mediating
cognitive factors have to be inferred so cannot measure extent of their
influence
SLT
does not explain cognitive processes, leaving this to cognitive
psychologists
can
explain learning of outward behaviours, SLT is not so able to explain the learning of abstract notions,
eg
fairness, justice
etc
which cannot be observed directlySlide41
Cognitive approach
The cognitive approach: the study of internal mental processes, the role of schema, the use of theoretical and computer models to explain and make inferences about mental processes. The emergence of cognitive neuroscience. Slide42
Cognitive assumptions
A person’s behaviour is determined by the way they think about the
world
The scientific study of mental processes
We can make inferences about what is going on inside someone’s head based on how they are
behaving
Faulty thought processes lead to behavioural
abnormalities
The use of computer models when describing and expl
aining mental processes
(human
mind processes information much the same as a
computer)
Behaviour
is influenced by the person’s schemas – a schema is a set of ideas about a particular concept
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience
Slide43
What is a Schema?
Schemas are like filing cabinets, as they organise and contain information.
You have millions of these files (schemas) in your mind. For example…
Your mind
Each file in the cabinet is a schemaSlide44
Restaurant Schema
Question: What do you think will happen if you go to a posh restaurant? How might you use a schema?
Your schema will tell you…Slide45
Restaurant Schema
Question: Is your schema for this restaurant the same…Slide46
What is a Schema?
Schemas are ways we
organize and store thoughts and information in our minds
which
are about ourselves and our world around us.
When we take in information we often link it with information we already know.
Question: WHY do we have schemas?Slide47
Why do we have Schemas?
They help us
organise information
in our mind.
Allow us to take short cuts
(process information quickly)
when dealing with huge amounts of information.
However, schemas distort our memory and how we interpret things…Slide48
What do you see?
“Remembering is not a passive but rather an active process, where information is retrieved and changed to fit into existing schemas”
(Bartlett)Slide49
Theoretical and computer models
Scientific models aim to provide simplified, objective representations of how our minds might work
.
Theoretical models
are descriptive versions of how some aspect of human behaviour works, which may be represented visually.
To the right is an example of a
theoretical model
that attempts to explain how our memory
works
Computer models
The Cognitive Approach also uses Computer models where the mind is compared to a computer suggesting there are similarities in the way information is processed
.
These models use the concepts of
A central processing unit (Brain)
Coding (to turn information into useful concepts)
Stores (to hold information)Slide50
Theoretical and computer models: Why are humans not identical to computers?
Too simplistic
Ignores the biological complexity of the brain
Does not consider human emotion
Does not consider motivation
Research shows we are affected by human emotion
(
e.g
anxiety and memory)
Difficult to objectively measureSlide51
Machine reductionism
Reductionist
To a
complex phenomenon (like
the human mind and behaviour
)
psychologist often need
to “reduce” it
to it’s smallest parts.
Machine reductionism
Theoretical and computer models use
the analogy of machine
systems,
and the
simple components
of such machines, as a means to describe and explain
behaviour.
This is reductionist as it ignores the complexity of human behaviour and more specifically it ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation.Slide52
Cognitive approach: evaluation
Uses scientific and objective methods
Approach is based on machine reductionism
Based on research that lacks external validity (infer: too abstract and theoretical)
Application to everyday life
Less deterministic than other approachesSlide53
Approaches: 2
Next week:
Biological
approach
Psychodynamic approach
Humanistic approach