Full notes for the approaches section of aqa psychology paper 2, following the specification exactly. These include detailed AO1 notes, as well as full AO3 evaluations laid out in PEEL formats - these notes got me an A* in my psychology A-Level.
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)
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