Approaches in Psychology - All Notes
The Origins of Psychology
WILHELM WUNDT (1832-1920)
- Father of experimental psychology / first psychologist
- Set up first psychological experimental lab in 1875 in Leipzig
- Approach became known as structuralism as he used scientific methods to break down
behaviours such as sensation into their basic elements.
INTROSPECTION
- Wundt: means “looking into” - a person observes their inner world e.g. emotion
- Participants were trained in a strictly controlled environment to reflect upon how they were e.g.
perceiving a stimulus. This information could then be used to show the processes involved in
human consciousness.
THE EMERGENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
- Wundt used empiricism (belief that all knowledge comes from experience / observation)
- The Scientific Method - the use of investigative techniques that are objective, systematic, and
reliable.
ISSUES AND DEBATES
- Wundt = ideographic. Behaviourists criticise this as introspection results cannot be generalised to
all humans, so nomothetic may be better.
EVALUATIONS
1. Wundt’s Methods Were Unreliable
- Relied primarily on ‘nonobservable responses’. These were unreliable and couldn’t
reliably be replicated by other researchers - crucial
- Can't just be blamed on the time as other early psychologists e.g. Pavlov were achieving
reproducible results that could be generalised.
2. Introspection Is Still Useful In Scientific Psychology
- Made a comeback in recent years
- E.g. Hunter (2003) used introspective methods to make happiness a measurable
phenomenon
- Gave a group of teenages beepers that went off at random points throughout the
day - required them to write down their thoughts and feelings from before the
beep.
- Results indicated that the teens were more unhappy, but when focused on a
challenging task they tended to be more upbeat
- SO: still useful today and can help improve quality of life
SUMMARY:
1. WUNDT = FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY, USED EMPIRICISM TO BREAK DOWN TO BASIC
ELEMENTS + INTROSPECTION + SCIENTIFIC METHOD
2. IDEOGRAPHIC BUT NOMOTHETIC MAY BE BETTER
3. X UNRELIABLE METHODS + STILL USEFUL (HAPPINESS)
, The Behaviourist Approach
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
1. Only study observable, quantifiable behaviour
2. All behaviour is learned
3. We are no different or more complex than animals - so animal research is relevant to humans.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING - PAVLOV’S DOGS
An existing involuntary response is associated with a new stimulus. Demonstrated that repeated
exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour.
1. NS (bell) 🡪 no response
2. UCS (food) 🡪 UCR (salivation)
3. UCS + NS 🡪 UCR
4. CS (bell) 🡪 CR (salivation)
Other important features:
- Timing - if the time interval between the NS and UCS is too great, no CR.
- Extinction - If CS appears without the UCS a few times, the UCS loses its ability to produce CR.
- Spontaneous Recovery - if paired again after extinction, the link is made much more quickly
- Stimulus Generalisation - response to similar stimuli
OPERANT CONDITIONING - SKINNER’S RATS
Behaviour = result of learning through the consequences of our actions. Skinner Box - the animal would
move around the cage and when it pressed the lever by accident it would be rewarded with food - so
learned through positive reinforcement that repetition of voluntary behaviour = receive reward again.
1. Positive reinforcement = produces a pleasant consequence, so more likely to be repeated
2. Negative reinforcement = removal of unpleasant consequence, so more likely to be repeated
3. Positive punishment = adds an unpleasant consequence, so less likely to be repeated
4. Negative punishment = takes away something pleasant, so less likely to be repeated
ISSUES AND DEBATES
- Nurture, because of tabula rasa
- Environmental determinism, stimulus-response association is too simple to explain behaviour
EVALUATIONS
1. Classical Conditioning Has Practical Applications To Mental Illness + Therapy
- Important contributions to our understanding of MI e.g. phobias are the result of earlier
unpleasant learning experiences.
- So we can develop therapies e.g. SD to attempt to recondition the fear response
- Addictions e.g. gambling can be explained by OC - rewards reinforce the behaviour
- Successes in therapy provide support for the approach (75% for SD)
2. Over Reliance On Non-Human Animals in Research
- Influential in encouraging the use of animals, gives more control over the process (no
demand characteristics or individual differences)
- BUT, many consider it unethical / not generalisable to humans (genotype not phenotype)
SUMMARY:
1. CC= PAVLOV STIMULUS + RESPONSE / OC= SKINNER REINFORCEMENT + PUNISHMENT
2. NURTURE + ENVIRONMENTALLY DETERMINISTIC
3. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS TO MENTAL ILLNESS AND THERAPY + ANIMALS
The Origins of Psychology
WILHELM WUNDT (1832-1920)
- Father of experimental psychology / first psychologist
- Set up first psychological experimental lab in 1875 in Leipzig
- Approach became known as structuralism as he used scientific methods to break down
behaviours such as sensation into their basic elements.
INTROSPECTION
- Wundt: means “looking into” - a person observes their inner world e.g. emotion
- Participants were trained in a strictly controlled environment to reflect upon how they were e.g.
perceiving a stimulus. This information could then be used to show the processes involved in
human consciousness.
THE EMERGENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
- Wundt used empiricism (belief that all knowledge comes from experience / observation)
- The Scientific Method - the use of investigative techniques that are objective, systematic, and
reliable.
ISSUES AND DEBATES
- Wundt = ideographic. Behaviourists criticise this as introspection results cannot be generalised to
all humans, so nomothetic may be better.
EVALUATIONS
1. Wundt’s Methods Were Unreliable
- Relied primarily on ‘nonobservable responses’. These were unreliable and couldn’t
reliably be replicated by other researchers - crucial
- Can't just be blamed on the time as other early psychologists e.g. Pavlov were achieving
reproducible results that could be generalised.
2. Introspection Is Still Useful In Scientific Psychology
- Made a comeback in recent years
- E.g. Hunter (2003) used introspective methods to make happiness a measurable
phenomenon
- Gave a group of teenages beepers that went off at random points throughout the
day - required them to write down their thoughts and feelings from before the
beep.
- Results indicated that the teens were more unhappy, but when focused on a
challenging task they tended to be more upbeat
- SO: still useful today and can help improve quality of life
SUMMARY:
1. WUNDT = FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY, USED EMPIRICISM TO BREAK DOWN TO BASIC
ELEMENTS + INTROSPECTION + SCIENTIFIC METHOD
2. IDEOGRAPHIC BUT NOMOTHETIC MAY BE BETTER
3. X UNRELIABLE METHODS + STILL USEFUL (HAPPINESS)
, The Behaviourist Approach
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
1. Only study observable, quantifiable behaviour
2. All behaviour is learned
3. We are no different or more complex than animals - so animal research is relevant to humans.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING - PAVLOV’S DOGS
An existing involuntary response is associated with a new stimulus. Demonstrated that repeated
exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour.
1. NS (bell) 🡪 no response
2. UCS (food) 🡪 UCR (salivation)
3. UCS + NS 🡪 UCR
4. CS (bell) 🡪 CR (salivation)
Other important features:
- Timing - if the time interval between the NS and UCS is too great, no CR.
- Extinction - If CS appears without the UCS a few times, the UCS loses its ability to produce CR.
- Spontaneous Recovery - if paired again after extinction, the link is made much more quickly
- Stimulus Generalisation - response to similar stimuli
OPERANT CONDITIONING - SKINNER’S RATS
Behaviour = result of learning through the consequences of our actions. Skinner Box - the animal would
move around the cage and when it pressed the lever by accident it would be rewarded with food - so
learned through positive reinforcement that repetition of voluntary behaviour = receive reward again.
1. Positive reinforcement = produces a pleasant consequence, so more likely to be repeated
2. Negative reinforcement = removal of unpleasant consequence, so more likely to be repeated
3. Positive punishment = adds an unpleasant consequence, so less likely to be repeated
4. Negative punishment = takes away something pleasant, so less likely to be repeated
ISSUES AND DEBATES
- Nurture, because of tabula rasa
- Environmental determinism, stimulus-response association is too simple to explain behaviour
EVALUATIONS
1. Classical Conditioning Has Practical Applications To Mental Illness + Therapy
- Important contributions to our understanding of MI e.g. phobias are the result of earlier
unpleasant learning experiences.
- So we can develop therapies e.g. SD to attempt to recondition the fear response
- Addictions e.g. gambling can be explained by OC - rewards reinforce the behaviour
- Successes in therapy provide support for the approach (75% for SD)
2. Over Reliance On Non-Human Animals in Research
- Influential in encouraging the use of animals, gives more control over the process (no
demand characteristics or individual differences)
- BUT, many consider it unethical / not generalisable to humans (genotype not phenotype)
SUMMARY:
1. CC= PAVLOV STIMULUS + RESPONSE / OC= SKINNER REINFORCEMENT + PUNISHMENT
2. NURTURE + ENVIRONMENTALLY DETERMINISTIC
3. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS TO MENTAL ILLNESS AND THERAPY + ANIMALS
