perspectives

Question 1

assumptions of psychodynamic perspective

Answer 1

• Many important influences on behaviour come from a part of the mind individuals have no direct awareness of, the unconscious.
• Personality is shaped by relationships, experience and conflict over time, particularly during childhood.
• Different parts of the mind are in constant dynamic struggle with each other (often unconsciously) and the consequences of this struggle are often shown through behaviour.
• The mind is like an iceberg. We have conscious, subconscious and unconscious thought, all of which can influence our behaviour
• Id, Ego and superego are the three parts of the human psyche

Question 2

strengths of psychodynamic perspective

Answer 2

• Allows psychologists to suggest causes of mental disorders (Freud)
• Allows psychologists to suggest why individuals behave in ways they cannot easily explain or understand. (Hancock)
• Allows psychologists to see how behaviour can develop over time as a result of subconscious forces. (Kohlberg)
• Uses methodologies such as case studies providing rich, detailed data (Freud / Kohlberg)

Question 3

weaknesses of psychodynamic perspective

Answer 3

• Studies which take this approach often use unrepresentative samples. (Freud)
• Methodology may not be objective and therefore open to bias. (Kohlberg)
• The perspective is based on concepts that are difficult to test and verify scientifically. (Hancock)
• Ethical concerns may be raised. (Hancock / Freud)

Question 4

methods of investigation for psychodynamic perspective

Answer 4

• Use of case studies open to subjectivity affecting validity
• Case studies difficult to replicate so issues with reliability of findings

Question 5

issues related to psychodynamic perspective

Answer 5

• Allows both qualitative and quantitative data to be gathered which provides rich, in-depth data about the behaviour under consideration.
• Methods can be longitudinal showing development of behaviour
• Longitudinal research can suffer from attrition of participants

Question 6

the psychodynamics perspectives contribution to psychology

Answer 6

• Understanding personality development eg: Freud
• Understanding aggression eg: Freud

Question 7

the psychodynamics perspectives contribution to society

Answer 7

• Real life application through psychoanalysis as a therapy for mental disorders

Question 8

assumptions of behaviourist perspective

Answer 8

• That the majority of behaviour is learned from the environment after birth (born as blank state)
• Only observable behaviour should be studied no need to look at what goes on inside the “black box” of the mind
• Humans and non-humans are only quantitatively deferent- they have the same mechanisms for learning
• All behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning ( operant / classical) or SLT

Question 9

strengths of behaviourist perspective

Answer 9

• Allows psychologists to study the effect of the environment on behaviour (Bandura/ Chaney/ Skinner / Pavlov )
• Very scientific usually under controlled experimental methods (Bandura)
• Provides a strong counter argument to the nature side of the nature-nurture debate (Bandura / Chaney )
• Has many practical applications eg: ‘watershed’ for TV programmes, learning of language (Bandura / Chaney )

Question 10

weaknesses of behaviourist perspective

Answer 10

• It is reductionist as it ignores biological and cognitive explanations of behaviour (Bandura / Chaney )
• Tends to rely on laboratory experiments that lack ecological validity (Bandura / Chaney )
• Often uses non-human animals as participants that raises issues of ethics and generalizability to humans ( Skinner / Pavlov)

Question 11

methods of investigation for behaviourist perspective

Answer 11

• Very scientific using strict laboratory experimentation
• Often uses non-human animals as participants

Question 12

issues related to behaviourist perspective

Answer 12

• Tends to lack ecological validity as settings/tasks can be artificial in a laboratory
• Use of laboratory settings does provide good reliability as experiments can be replicated under controlled conditions
• Ethical concerns can be raised about learning some behaviours eg: aggression in Bandura. Use of non-human animals eg: bonobos
• Studies are usually ‘snapshot’ of behaviour over short period of time

Question 13

behaviourists perspectives contribution to psychology

Answer 13

• Language acquisition eg: Skinner
• Abnormality eg: classical conditioning of phobias
• Violent behaviour: Bandura

Question 14

behaviourists perspectives contribution to society

Answer 14

• Many practical applications to education
• Treatments such as systematic desensitisation for phobias
• Operant conditioning for training guide dogs
• Token economies used in institutions to promote positive behaviour