AQA A-Level Psychology Approaches Notes - summarised using all the relevant information, with key points and names in bold. Evaluations are clearly marked as + / - which allows for these notes too easily be converted into essay plans. Includes all the specification required approaches and key studi...
Issues & debates
-Free will vs determinism = any approach which suggests that humans do not have free will over their
behaviour is considered to be deterministic.
-Holism vs reductionism = any approach which attempts to explain behaviour as one simplistic factor is
considered to be reductionist.
-Nomothetic vs idiographic = approaches which attempt to create general laws of behaviour using
scientific, quantitative methods take a nomothetic approach. Conversely, an approach using qualitative,
small scale methods takes an idiographic approach.
-Gender bias = any approach/theory/study which only includes participants of one gender yet attempts to generalise
findings to all of the population would be criticised as having gender bias.
-Culture bias = any approach/theory/study which uses participants from only one culture but attempts to generalize
findings to all cultures would be criticised for having culture bias.
Determinism
-Behaviourism = environmentally deterministic
-Biological = biologically deterministic Hard determinism - no free will
-Psychodynamic = psychic determinism
SLT
Soft determinism - allows an element of free will
Cognitive
The origins of psychology
-The emergence of psychology as a distinct discipline is believed to have occurred around 1880 when the first
experimental lab was established.
-However, the philosophical roots of psychology date back much earlier than this.
Timeline
-1879 = Wundt opens the institute
-Early 1900s = Freud publishes his work on dream analysis
-Early 20th C = behaviorists develop, studying stimulus-response learning
-1950s = Humanism develops, studying the self
-1960-70s = cognitive psychology develops, studying internal mental processes
-1960s = Social Learning Theory develops as a ‘newer’ behaviourist approach
-Later 20th C = the rise of the biological approach and cognitive neuroscience
Wundt & introspection
-Wundt established the first psychology lab.
-Within a controlled and scientific lab environment, Wundt aimed to outline the nature of human consciousness
(the mind).
-Standardised procedures.
-Participants were given the same standardised instructions and the findings were recorded.
-One example was the use of the metronome and participants were asked to report thoughts, images and sensations
which were recorded.
,-Wundt pioneered the method of introspection.
-Introspection was the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind. This was achieved by breaking up
conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations.
-Significance of Wundt’s work.
-The work of Wundt was significant at the time as it separated modern scientific psychology from its broader
philosophical roots.
+ Some aspects of Wundt’s work would be considered as scientific today.
Introspections were recorded within a controlled lab environment. Furthermore procedures were
standardised. Participants were given the same information and tested in the same way. Therefore the
work of Wundt could be considered as a forerunner to the later scientific psychological approaches.
- Some aspects could be considered unscientific today.
Wundt relied on self-reporting of mental processes. The data produced could be considered to be
subjective. Furthermore as these processes are ‘private’ he had no way of knowing if they were being
honest. Wundt’s work could be argued to be naive and would not meet the scientific criteria required in
psychology today
Emergence of psychology as a science
-1900s - early behaviorists reject introspection.
-Watson criticised the subjectivity of introspection and the fact it varied between individuals.
-The behaviourist approach argues that scientific psychology should only study phenomena that can be observed and
measured.
-1930s - behaviourist scientific approach dominates psychology.
-Skinner introduced the language and rigour of the natural sciences into psychology.
-The behaviourist focus on learning and the use of controlled lab experiments dominates psychology for the next few
decades.
-1950s - cognitive approach used scientific procedures to study mental processes.
-The cognitive revolution within psychology during the 1960s, which was the study of mental processes was seen as
legitimate within psychology.
-Whilst mental processes remained private, cognitive psychologists were able to make inferences about these based
on tests undertaken in a controlled lab environment.
-1990s - biological approach introduces technological advances.
-Biological psychologists have taken advantage of recent technological advances, including brain activity, using
scanning techniques such as dMRI and EEG, and advanced genetic research
+ Research in modern psychology can claim to be scientific.
Psychology aims, like the natural sciences, to describe, understand, predict and control behaviour. The
learning approaches, cognitive and biological approach, all use scientific methods to investigate theories in
a controlled and unbiased way. Therefore it could be argued that psychology has established itself as a
scientific discipline.
- Not all approaches use objective methods.
The humanistic approach is anti-science and is concerned with understanding individual subjective
experiences. The psychodynamic approach utilises case studies based on techniques which are open to
bias. thus it has been suggested that a scientific approach to the study of human behaviour is not possible
as there are differences between the various approaches.
, Social Learning Theory
-SLT is described as the bridge between traditional learning theory and the cognitive approach because it
focuses on how mental processes are involved in learning.
Assumptions
-Behaviour is learned through observation and imitation of others within a social context.
-Bandura’s work was an extension of behaviourism; he accepted the role of learning in behaviour but was also
interested in how cognitive processes were involved.
-SLT accepts that learning can occur directly through classical and operant conditioning but argues that it also
indirectly occurs through vicarious reinforcement.
-Vicarious reinforcement = reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone
else being reinforced for a behaviour.
-The behaviour is more likely to be imitated if positive reinforcement is witnessed as opposed to punishment. This is a
key factor in imitation.
The role of mediational processes
These are mental (cognitive) processes which intervene in the learning process to determine whether a new
response is acquired.
Bandura identified 4 mediational processes:
● Attention = the extent to which we notice certain behaviours.
● Retention = whether the behaviour is remembered.
● Motivation = the will to perform the behaviour, which may be determined by whether the behaviour was
rewarded or punished.
● Reproduction = the extent to which the observer can perform the behaviour.
Identification
-Individuals (especially children) are more likely to imitate behaviour of others they identify with - role models.
-A person becomes a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer, are attractive or
have higher status.
-This process is called modelling.
-Role models do not necessarily have to be physically present which has important implications for the influence
of media on behaviour.
Bandura’s research
Research 1 Research 2
-Children watched: -Children saw an adult who was:
● An adult behaving aggressively towards a ● Rewarded
bobo doll. ● Punished
● An adult behaving non-aggressively towards ● There was no consequence
a bobo doll. -When given their own doll to play with, the children
-When given their own doll to play with, the children who had seen aggressive behaviour rewarded were
who had seen aggressive behaviour were much more aggressive towards the doll.
more aggressive towards the doll.
-This suggests that children are likely to imitate acts of violence observed in an adult role mode.
-Modelling aggressive behaviour is more likely if the behaviour is rewarded (vicarious reinforcement).
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