AO3 Flashcards
(21 cards)
One strength of Wundt and introspection (scientific)
Aspects of Wundt’s work are scientific
-Recorded introspection within a controlled lab environment
-Standardised his procedures so all participants received the same information and were tested in the same way
-His work can be considered a forerunner to the later scientific approaches to come.
One strength of Wundt and introspection (opened pathways)
Wundt’s contribution has opened the pathways for new approaches
-Produced the first academic journal for psychological research and the first textbook. He is often referred to as the ‘father’ of modern psychology.
-His pioneering research set the foundations for many approaches to come, particularly the behaviourist and cognitive
-Showing how despite his early experimental research, he made a significant contribution to psychology.
One limitation of Wundt and introspection (subjective)
Aspects of Wundt’s research are subjective
-Relied on participants self reporting their private mental processes, so data is subjective and may not be truthful
-Makes it difficult to establish meaningful ‘laws of behaviour’
-Wundt’s early efforts to study the mind would not meet the needs of scientific criteria today.
One strength of the cognitive approach (scientific/objective)
Uses scientific and objective methods
-Cognitive psychologists always used controlled and systematic methods of study such as lab studies
-In addition, the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology came together to enhance the scientific basis of study (cognitive neuroscience)
-Meaning that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis.
One strength of the cognitive approach (application to everyday life)
Application to everyday life
-For example, made an important contribution in the field of AI and robots, as well as advances that may revolutionise how we live in the future
-Dominant in psychology today and has been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts
-Supports the value of the cognitive approach
One limitation of the cognitive approach (machine reductionism)
Based on machine reductionism
-Although there are similarities between the human mind and computers (inputs, processing, outputs, storage) but the computer analogy has been criticised
-Emotion and motivation have been shown to influence accuracy of recall, factors which are not considered within the computer analogy
-Cognitive approach has therefore been criticised for reducing human personality and behaviour to the level of a computer, neglecting the role of emotion on behaviour.
One strength of the humanistic approach (not reductionist)
Not reductionist
-Takes into account the whole person including feels, living conditions, biological needs etc
-This is known as holism as it takes the whole person into account
-Therefore, has high ecological validity as it can be used in real world applications.
One strength of the humanistic approach (positive)
A positive approach so focuses on what’s good about a person
-Promotes a positive image about a human being, seeing people as in control and having free will
-Psychologists such as Freud only focused on what ‘went wrong’ with a person to influence their behaviour
-The only optimistic approach and focuses on human betterment.
One limitation of the humanistic approach (cultural bias)
Suffers from cultural bias
-Many humanistic ideas, like self-actualisation, would be associated with individualistic cultures
-Differs from collectivist which emphasises the needs of a group so may not identify with humanistic ideas
-Does not apply universally and is inappropriate to apply to all cultures.
One strength of the behaviourist approach (real world applications)
Real world applications
-Token economy systems reward appropriate behaviour with tokens that are exchanged for privileges
-Successfully used in prisons and psychiatric wards
-Shows how the approach can be used successfully in real life scenarios to influence behaviour.
One limitation of the behaviourist approach (environmental determinism)
Suffers from environmental determinism
-Pavlov’s classical conditioning research and Skinner’s operant conditioning research suggests that all behaviour is due to past conditioning experiences
-This ignores any influence that free will or emotions may have on behaviour
-Therefore, ignores influence of internal factors, suggesting that behaviour is solely down to past external experiences.
One limitation of the behaviourist approach (ethical issues)
-There are ethical issues surrounding the approach due to the use of animal experimenting
-Pavlov’s classical conditioning research involved deliberately keeping the dogs below their natural weight, so they were always hungry
-Nowadays, researchers must conduct a cost-benefit analysis of whether its acceptable to use animals and to ensure they are well looked after
-Due to the harsh and cramped conditions the dogs were kept in, Pavlov’s research would not have been deemed ethical.
One strength of the social learning theory approach (importance of cognitive factors)
-Emphasises the importance of cognitive factors
-Neither classical nor operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own
-Humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions
-Shows that slt provides a more complete explanation of human learning than the behaviourist approach as it recognises the role of cognitive factors, such as mediational processes.
One strength of the social learning theory approach (reciprocal determinism)
-Reciprocal determinism
-Bandura emphasised reciprocal determinism, meaning we are influenced by our environment, but we also exert an influence on it through the behaviours we perform on it
-This suggests that there is an element of free will in the way we behave
-This is a more realistic theory as it recognises the learn we play in shaping our own environment
One limitation of the social learning theory approach (lab studies)
-Relies too heavily on evidence contrived from lab studies
-Many of Bandura’s ideas were developed through observation of children’s behaviour in lab settings, raising the issue of demand characteristics
-The main purpose of the Bobo doll is to hit it, so the children involved may have been behaving the way they thought they were supposed to
-Therefore, telling us little about how children actually learn aggression in everyday life.
One strength of the psychodynamic approach (practical applications)
Led to practical applications such as psychoanalysis
-Developed a type of therapy called psychoanalysis which was the first attempt to treat medical disorders without medication or surgery
-Used lots of techniques including dream analysis to help patients access their unconscious mind
-Considered the forerunner for talking therapies and paved the way for modern day counselling.
One limitation of the psychodynamic approach (psychic determinism)
-Suffers from psychic determinism
-Freud believed that all behaviour comes from our unconscious and that we have no conscious understanding of it
-For example, he believed that even seemingly accidental Freudian slips have a deep symbolic meaning rooted in the unconscious
-Suffers from psychic determinism and ignores the idea that humans may have free will, instead seeing all behaviour as a product of our childhood experiences.
One limitation of the psychodynamic approach (untestable concepts)
Uses many untestable concepts
-For example, uses the case study method which is a unique study of one individual so cannot make universal claims e.g. Little Hans
-The concepts of the Id and the unconscious are untestable concepts that cannot be proven right or wrong and therefore lacks falsifiability
-Overall, Freud’s methods are unscientific, and the approach may therefore be considered a pseudoscience.
One strength of the biological approach (scientific methods)
Uses scientific methods
-Uses a range of precise and objective methods to investigate both genetic and neurochemical factors
-These include scanning techniques such as fMRI and PET scans which assess biological processes without bias
-Proves the biological approach is based on objective and reliable data.
One strength of the biological approach (real world applications)
-Real world applications
-Understanding of neurochemical processes in the brain has led to the development of drugs to treat serious mental disorders
-For example, drugs that treat clinical depression increase levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin to reduce depressive symptoms
-This shows how people with depression can live a relatively ‘normal’ life thanks to the application of medical drugs to treat mental disorders.
One limitation of the biological approach (deterministic)
-Deterministic
-Argues that people have no control over their life as it is solely down to internal genetic factors
-This is proved incorrect as the phenotype expressed is heavily influenced by the environment
-Suggests the biological approach is too simplistic and ignores environmental factors.
