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A* Psychology 16 marker exemplars: Paper 2 [Approaches]
A* Psychology 16 marker exemplar answers for AQA A Level Psychology, Paper 2 (new spec) - Approaches topic.
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Briefly explain the emergence of psychology as a science. [4 marks]AO1
- Wilhelm Wundt, “founding father of psychology”
- Introspection; recording thoughts as they happen
- Introduces the concept of consciousness
- 1879 - first psychological lab, Liepzig in Germany
- Uses standardised instructions/methodology - empiricism
- Wholly subjective; idiographic approach (attempt to find out more about subjective
human experience and/or quantify this)
- Value RE further research: John B Watson’s criticisms of introspection (“private mental
processes”) led to establishment of behaviourist approach - exact opposite, concerned
ONLY with observable behaviour
TIMELINE
17th century-19th century: Psychology is a branch of the broader discipline of PHILOSOPHY.
If psychology does have a definition at this point, it is best understood as “experimental
philosophy”
1879: Wilhelm Wundt opens first experimental psychological lab in Leipzig, Germany -
psychology emerges as distinct discipline in its own right
1900s: Psychodynamic approach established
- Freud publishes “The Interpretation of Dreams”
1913: John B Watson writes “Psychology as the Behaviourist Views It” and with BF
Skinner’s later contributions establishes the behaviourist approach
- Dominates psychology (along with psychodynamic approach) for the next 50 years
1950s: Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow develop the Humanistic approach
- Emphasises importance of free-will and self-determination; so-called “third approach”
in psychology
1960s
“Cognitive revolution” comes with/in aftermath of the invention of the digital computer
- The cognitive approach reintroduces the study of mental processes to
psychology but in a much more scientific way than Wundt’s earlier
investigations
Around the same time as the cognitive revolution, Albert Bandura proposes the Social
Learning Theory; this approach draws attention to the role of cognitive factors in learning
- Provides a bridge between the newly established cognitive approach and “traditional”
behaviourism
1980s onwards: The biological approach begins to establish itself as dominant scientific
perspective in psychology [objective, standardised, replicable - empiricism]
- WHY? Advances in technology have led to increased understanding of the brain/the
biological processes
Eve of the 21st century: Cognitive neuroscience emerges as distinct discipline - combining
,cognitive and biological approach
- Built on the earlier computer models, investigates how biological structures influence
mental states
Outline and evaluate the behaviourist approach in psychology.
AO1
All behaviour is learned/maintained through association or reinforcement
- Based on the ASSUMPTION that basic processes are the same in all species,
concerned only with the study of OBSERVABLE behaviours
Classical conditioning: Pavlov’s dogs [acquisition of behaviour] - bell, salivation
- Neutral stimulus paired with UCS repeatedly/over time; becomes associated with
pleasure/fear response (unconditioned response to UCS) in its own right - becomes
conditioned stimulus with conditioned response
Demonstrated in humans via Watson and Rayner’s (1920) research with the case study of Little
Albert: Noise elicited UCR (fear); when paired with rat (neutral stimulus), developed fear of
white rat in its own right
- Stimulus generalisation: developed general fear of furry things (association)
Operant conditioning: Skinner’s rats - rats, variable reinforcement most effective (real-life
application as explanation of gambling addiction), real-life application in token economy
(prisons)
- Reinforcement (positive [reward] and negative [avoidance of negative
consequence/punishment]) - increases likelihood that behaviour will be repeated
- Punishment - decreases likelihood that behaviour will be repeated
Specific to Skinner’s rats: Every time the rat activated a lever (or pecked a disc in the case of
pigeons) within the box it was rewarded with a food pellet; also showed how rats and pigeons
could be conditioned to perform the same behaviour to avoid an unpleasant stimulus e.g.
electric shock. Negative reinforcement in this context would be operationalised via giving
animal electric shock if it pressed the lever - learns to avoid lever/disc as a result
- Scientific approach [temperature/noise/light kept constant]; rat would initially wonder
around aimlessly before accidentally pressing lever. Skinner would measure how
frequently animal pressed the lever/pecked the disc (pigeons) over time - more frequent
= stronger conditioning experience [more significant impact] - within context of
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT only
Evaluation
Scientific credibility
- Objectivity and replication helped create psychology as a science
, Real-life application
- Token economy used in prisons
- Acquisition of food preferences: flavour-flavour learning (Jacob Steiner)
- Counter-conditioning [phobias]: Proactive approach to maladaptive behaviours that
focuses on issues of the here and now; two different types (systematic desensitisation
versus flooding) acknowledges individual differences - freedom of choice within same
basic framework
Systematic desensitisation appropriate for all; flooding more effective (time/cost) but subject to
ethical issues associated with psychological harm (treatment experience is traumatic in and of
itself)
Mechanistic
Reduces human experience to that of stimulus-response mechanism; reductive
- Does not take into consideration differences between animals and humans, assumes
that animal studies are generalisable (undermines scientific validity given core
differences between species e.g. language)
- Does not take into consideration presence/implications of cognition/social factors;
nomothetic approach - undermines differences between individuals AND
societies/cultures as a whole
Undermines its own validity given our awareness of core cultural differences e.g. individualism
v. collectivism, capitalism v. communism
- Ditto with age, gender, socioeconomic status… etc.
At best, can only be used to explain some aspects of human behaviour/experience
- Procures value as “stepping stone” from which to develop other theories and/or
understand how these developed (improve our awareness of our history, how our current
knowledge/understanding came to be) - as exemplified by Bandura (SLT)
Environmental determinism
Behaviour is defined by environment; doesn’t take into account impact (or even PRESENCE) of
individual within environment
Ethical and practical issues in context of animal experiments
Ethical: Harlow monkey studies caused monkeys substantial harm - as denoted by long-term
developmental impact
- Is this justifiable for psychological research (i.e. improvements to our
knowledge/understanding)? Wouldn’t have been able to conduct similar study on
humans
- Implicitly “a child of its time”; conducted in 1958 - parameters of what is
acceptable/unacceptable likely to have changed (not comparable)
Practical: Value of research undermined by fact that findings cannot be directly generalised to
humans; how useful IS animal research, on this basis? At best, can allow for tentative inference
- support FOR human research, rather than the other way round. Not most effective method.
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