Origins of Psychology

• Covers origins of psychology, learning, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic, and humanistic approaches.

Origins of Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt established psychology as a distinct field of study in 1879.
• He founded the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
• Wundt was the first ever person to call himself a psychologist.
• Early psychological research focused on strictly controlled aspects of behavior under experimental conditions.
• The introspection encourages the scientific study of conscious mental states.
• Introspection involves analyzing personal conscious experiences by breaking them into component parts to determine their structure.
• Introspection involves trained individuals performing self-observation objectively under standardized conditions like exposure to a ticking metronome.
• Focus on creating generalisable laws about thinking and feeling.
• Replicability involves standardized procedures to enable replication for reliability.
• Controlled environments minimised extraneous variables
• Objectivity involves moving away from subjective, philosophical bases.
• Technological advancements in brain scanning enable objective analysis of brain structures and processes.
• fMRI scans reveal active brain areas, helping to establish cause-and-effect relationships between stimuli and brain activity.

Evaluation of Wundt and the Emergence of Psychology as a Science

• Wundt's work incorporated scientific aspects like controlled laboratory environments and standardized procedures.
• Experimental control helped to found later scientific approaches, like behaviorism.
• Modern forms of introspection assess personal mental states, e.g., measuring happiness using beepers and self-reporting.
• Introspection can measure unobservable thoughts and feelings.
• Relies on participants self-reporting private mental processes, which is subjective and reduces validity.
• Findings from introspection may lack reliability, hindering the establishment of general laws of thought.
• Some approaches are non-scientific, and emphasize unique subjective experiences without attempting to formulate general laws.
• Psychodynamic approach relies on case studies and clinical interviews, which is open to interpretation bias and may not be representative.

Learning Approach: Behaviorism

• The main assumption is all behavior is learned from experience and is subject to change.
• Considers only what is measurable and observable
• Animal studies are useful because the same process produces learning for both humans and other animals.
• Classical conditioning is learning through association, where two stimuli are paired to produce the same response.
• An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR).
• Conversely, a neutral stimulus (NS) produces nothing.
• During learning, a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
• The NS elicits the unconditioned response (UCR).
• The NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), eliciting a conditioned response (CR).
• ‘Unconditioned' refers to prior learning, whereas ‘conditioned' means learning has occurred.

Pavlov's Research example

• Ivan Pavlov researched digestion in dogs and measured their salivation.
• Pavlov found that ringing a bell (NS) while presenting food (UCS) caused the dog to salivate (UCR).
• Repeated pairings of the bell (NS) and food (UCS) led to the bell alone (CS) eliciting salivation (CR).
• Developed a theory of classical conditioning.
• Animals respond to similar stimuli, known as stimulus generalization.
• Extinction occurs if the CS is presented without the UCS, diminishing the CR.
• Operant conditioning is learning by consequences
• Reinforcement increases behavior frequency.
• Positive: Something rewarding happens as a result of performing a behavior.
• Negative: Something unpleasant is removed as a result of performing a behavior.

Skinner’s Research example

• A Skinner Box is apparatus used to investigate operant conditioning.
• The Skinner Box shows that learning by consequence can occur through positive and negative reinforcement.
• Positive reinforcement: rats were rewarded with food for activating a lever.
• This behavior was likely to be repeated.
• Negative reinforcement: electrocuted rats would stop getting electric shock when activating a lever.
• This behavior was also likely to be repeated.

Evaluation of the Behaviorist Approach

• Scientific methodology involves objective, measurable behavior that is free from researcher bias.
• Findings will not be affected by personal judgement as having objective research improves the validity of the findings.
• Replicable research uses controlled laboratory-based methodologies.
• Consistency is achieved through repeated tests as reliability increased.
• A key strength is studies supporting both classical and operant conditioning and so it has a reliable explanation for behavior.
• Practical applications include changing behavior in the real world through conditioning.
• Systematic desensitization is used to treat phobias
• Token economies reinforce desirable behavior with tokens in institutions.
• A animal research that can only be translated to humans is limited.
• Behaviorist approach simplifies very complex behavior to simple stimulus-response connections. Reductionism leads to offering simplistic and incomplete explanations for very complex behaviors.

Learning Approach 2: Social Learning Theory

• Extends the behaviorist approach to include the interaction between environment, behavior and cognitive processes.
• Behaviors are learned through observing and imitating role models.
• Learning involves four mediational processes: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.
• Processes occur between the role model displaying a behavior and the observer imitating it.
• Suggests learning takes place in a social context.
• An individual is influenced by another because they are in some way similar to them, they want to be like them, or they want to associate themselves with a person or group by identification.
• Factors influencing model choice include similarity having the same gender and ethnicity, higher status, celebrity status, physical attractiveness and expertise.
• Modeling is LEARNING that occurs whilst observing a role model or behavior.
• Imitation is the specific ACTION of using someone/something as a role model and copying the behavior.
• Vicarious reinforcement (INDIRECT reinforcement) is learning via the observation of a role model and viewing the rewards or punishments they receive.
• The 4 key mediational processes: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation (ARRM).
• Attention involves the capture of the interest so we notice it.
• Retention means the behavior must be memorable otherwise it will be forgotten
• Reproduction comes from making mental assessment over whether we have the ability to imitate.
• Motivation results from the rewards and punishments that follow a behavior.
• Reproduction and motivation are concerned with the PERFORMANCE of behavior.

Banduraʼs Research sample

• Investigated whether children imitate role models even when they are not present.
• Investigated whether children are more likely to imitate the aggressive behavior of same-sex or opposite-sex models.
• Children observed an adult model behave aggressively or non-aggressively toward an inflatable Bobo doll.
• Had a delay before finally being allowed to play with toys.
• Their behavior was rated on a scale 
• Inter-rater reliability was achieved.
• Children seeing adults being aggressive were more likely to imitate the aggressive behavior.
• Children were more likely to imitate the behavior of same gender adults.
• Observational learning can lead to imitation after a delay

Evaluation of the Social Learning Theory

• Acknowledges key mediational processes in humans which store information and use it to make judgements.
• SLT accounts for combination of behavior and cognitions.
• Recognizes holistic role of mediational processes.
• Applied to understand initiation of criminal behavior through differential association theory.
• It also has limitations.
• Little reference to the impact of biological factors on social learning.
• Children are more aggressive than gels regardless of the experimental situation.
• Hormonal factors.
• Differences in levels of testosterone.
• The influence if important biological factors are not accounted.
• Methodological flaws developed through observation of young children's behavior in laboratory settings.
• Limited both internal and external validity.
• This limits real word application as it lacks ecological validity.

Cognitive Approach

• Main point: Behavior stems from internal mental processes like memory and perception.
• Internal processes are studied scientifically.
• Mental processes go unseen and need to be studied indirectly through inferences based on observable behavior.
• Explanation: Uses an information processing approach to explain thinking and behavior.
• The approach models the human mind.
• Processed information received as input.
• Generates an output based on the algorithm.
• The Cognitive approach uses computer models and theoretical models to study and make inferences about the human mind and behavior.
• Theoretical Models: Explain mental processes in series of steps.
• These steps can be illustrated by a diagram.
• Used to infer about unseen mental processes causing particular behaviors.
• Computer Models: Simulate internal human mental processing.
• Uses algorithm.
• One example is dating apps using algorithm that finds matches users with people who have similar interests.
• Schemas: Cognitive frameworks that organize and interpret information.
• Help with quick interpretations, but can lead to distortions, bias and stereotyping.
• Cognitive Neuroscience: The study of biological basis for mental processing.
• fMRIs and PET scans let neuroscientists observe the neurological basis of mental processing.
• Example: Tulving's work shows episodic and semantic memories are located in opposite sides of the pre frontal cortex.
• Supports psychology as a scientific discipline through controlled empirical methods to infer cognitive processes.
• Lab experiments produce reliable, objective data.
• Cognitive psychology has been used in Eyewitness Testimony research
• It has been used to develop the cognitive interview.
• Cognitive research is conducted in a lab which reduces both the internal and ecological of the study.
• The cognitive approach has been accused of having an simplistic view of human behavior.