ABSTRACT
Chapter summary
There is an important distinction between the experimental approach, with its focus on general laws, and the approach emphasising individual differences.
Germany was at the forefront of psychology during the nineteenth century. Fechner was one of the first psychologists to use the experimental method and Wundt established the world’s first experimental laboratory.
Behaviourism was associated with a transformation of psychology with its emphasis on studying behaviour rather than introspection. It also had a major theoretical impact on the psychology of learning with research on classical and operant conditioning.
The cognitive approach differs from behaviourism by focusing on internal mental processes as well as behaviour. Cognitive neuroscience (which combines evidence from brain activity and behaviour) represents a major development of the cognitive approach.
Developmental psychology was hugely influenced by Freud and by Piaget, both of whom emphasised that adult behaviour depends very much on childhood learning and experiences. Much contemporary developmental psychology adopts a very cognitive approach.
Social psychology in the USA originally focused excessively on the individual, whereas in Europe, the emphasis was more on social and group processes. Contemporary social psychology increasingly focuses on cognitive processes influencing social behaviour.
A focus on individual differences is apparent in biological psychology, abnormal psychology, and research on intelligence and personality. A unifying theme across these approaches is that individual differences depend in part on genetic factors. This theme was introduced into psychology by Charles Darwin.
Sigmund Freud made an outstanding contribution to abnormal psychology by arguing that mental disorders are caused by psychological factors and by devising a form of therapy (psychoanalysis) based on psychological principles.
41Classical conditioning involves learning to predict that a neutral stimulus will be followed shortly by a pleasant (or unpleasant) stimulus.
Conditioned stimuli are typically meaningfully related to unconditioned stimuli in real life, whereas this is not the case in the laboratory.
Exposure therapy (based on classical conditioning) is an effective treatment for various phobias. However, its effectiveness depends more on cognitive processes than assumed by conditioning theorists.
Operant conditioning is often very effective in controlling individuals’ behaviour. A variable ratio schedule of reinforcement (as found in gambling and fishing) is associated with the fastest rate of responding and the greatest resistance to extinction.
Contingency management has proved effective in treating many severe problems (e.g., drug abuse; smoking) but its long-term effects are often disappointing.
Skinner’s approach applies to situations where we respond to immediate rewards and punishments but not those where we pursue long-term goals. More generally, his approach de-emphasises cognitive processes.
Bandura emphasised the importance of observational learning, which had been largely ignored by previous conditioning theorists. The processes involved in observational learning can be more subtle than assumed by Bandura.
