Which approach is the most scientific? Flashcards
Social Approach reason for it being scientific
uses a lot of experimentation. Milgram’s work is experimental in that he controls variables as independent variables to measure a clearly operationalized dependent variable. Sherif and Tajfel also carried out studies using experimentation. Sherif used field experiments and Tajfel worked in the laboratory
Social Approach reasons why it isn’t scientific
ethnographic studies – for example, looking at differences in gender roles across cultures – involve gathering qualitative data, which is almost the opposite of scientific method. Also, social psychology looks at concepts that are hard to make measurable, such as obedience and prejudice, as well as behavior and gender roles. From the point of view of the content, therefore, social psychology is not a science.
Cognitive Approach Experimentation
uses a lot of experimentation. Concepts such as ‘memory’ and ‘forgetting’ are studies by reducing them to parts that can be tested such as memory for lists of words. For example, Craik and Tulving set up a clear experiment where the same people had to consider words either for their structure, sound or meaning, and it was found that when words were considered for their meaning more were recalled.
Cognitive Approach case studies
cognitive approach uses case studies as well, but they are case studies of brain-damage people, where scanning and testing is done to find out how the brain damage has affected functioning. Such data are gathered scientifically.
Cognitive Approach Data Gathered
As it looks at processing within the brain, there is a lot of biological information used, such as the data gathered by scanning the brain to see where there is activity in certain situations.
Psychodynamic Approach focus
Focuses on the unconscious and the idea that a lot of what guides behavior comes from the unconscious wishes and desires. The unconscious by definition is not measurable or testable in a direct way. The personality is made up of the id, ego and superego, none of which is measurable.
Psychodynamic approach case studies
Freud used case studies – and, within them, research methods such as dream analysis and free association – to uncover unconscious wishes. He gathered data about each individual to interpret their dreams and these data were qualitative. There is little that is scientific in the research methodology
Psychodynamic Approach Analysis
psychoanalysis there has to be interpretation, which means there could be subjectivity with regard to data, and science demands objective data from which to draw conclusions.
Learning Approach Research Methods
The research methods are scientific: the aim is to obtain information about general laws of behavior through forming a hypothesis and testing it.
Learning Approach Content
Behavior in general might be thought of as too complex and too individual to be scientifically studied. However, behaviorists have deliberately broken the content down into measurable parts in order to study it scientifically.
Learning Approach Methodology
Use of experiments to find out about learning and to separate learning into stimulus and response behavior without focusing on thought processes that occur. Behavior is made measurable and reduced to parts, so the methodology can be regarded as scientific
Biological approach experimentation
The approach uses a lot of experimentation, often on animals. For example, data are gathered by scanning the brain and studying its functions
Biological Approach Case studies
Case studies can be carried out non-scientifically, for example twin studies – where MZ twins are compared with DZ twins – to investigate, which characteristics derive from biology and which from the environment. Data are gathered from the twins and questionnaires or interviews may be used, with qualitative data being gathered
Biological Approach content
The biological approach is scientific, as it is concerned with genes, hormones, neurotransmitters and brain functioning. Variables can be selected for study in these areas, although not always easily. In all these areas a lot of the functioning is thought to be universal, which helps understanding not only of humans, but also of animals.
Psychology and science - Falsifiability
Popper - His point is that nothing can proved. If psychology is a science it also must seek to falsify hypotheses. If some tests a hypothesis that ‘all swans are white’ you can find lots of white swans but not all in the world so cannot prove all of them are.
