Approaches

Question 1

Biological approach

Answer 1

*Explains behaviour in terms of physical causes in our brains and bodies. This includes our genes, hormones such as adrenaline, neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
*Brain scans and animal testing
*nature approach though many aspects of the brain and our body even your genes can be changed by nurture

Question 2

Behaviorist approach

Answer 2

*Influence of experience on pur behaviour, and how we learn behaviours. They believe we are born as a ‘blank slate’ and what we become is shaped by experience (environment). Either lean through association - classical conditioning
Or
Reinforcement- operant conditioning
*experiments in labs and uses animals

Question 3

Psychodynamic approach

Answer 3

&This approach originated with Sigmund Freud. He believes that the cause of behaviour lie within the unconscious mind. Iceberg metaphor-unconcious mind, active but inaccessible.
*conflict between unconscious and consious mind, we see this when we dream.
*This approach also emphasises the importance of childhood experiences, which have a major impact on our personality development and our behaviour as adults

Question 4

Humanistic approach

Answer 4

*based on the concept of the self. This concerns issues to do with Self concept (how you see yourself) and your self esteem (how you feel about yourself)
*The humanistic approach also emphasises the importance of being able to make our own rational choices. All of the approaches suggest that our behaviour is to a large extent determined by forces not always under our control eg. Genes, environment, our thought patterns or our unconscious mind.
*Humanisitic psychologists belive the goal of psychology is not prediction or control but to understand the whole person.

Question 5

Cognitive approach

Answer 5

This approach focuses on thinking- our feelings, beliefs, attitudes and expectations and the effects they have on our behaviour.
*the computer metaphor- explains how our mind works Like computers, we process information.
*the approach has been used to explain many things including mental disorders such as depression. According to the cognitive approach depression occurs because people think negatively
*use lab research
*cognitive psychologists unlike behaviour psychologists believe the process inside the mind have an important link to the behaviours we observe