approaches Flashcards
(5 cards)
behaviourist approach (A03)
+ive Scientific credibility; A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it has brought credibility of natural sciences into psychology by using lab studies which allow incredible control and measurement of the animals behaviour and how it is affected by different conditions. It also emphasised importance of objectivity and replication because of the precision in the way the measurements were made on many different animals. This is important because it gave psychology greater credibility moving it away from the less objective approaches like psychodynamic before it.
-ive Mechanistic view of behaviour One issue though is that it views humans behaviour much like animals that they are passive and machine-like responders to the environment with little to no conscious insight into their behavior. SLT and cognitive approach emphasises importance of mental events during learning and suggests people play a more active role, suggesting that as an approach it doesn’t generalise well to human’s complex thinking.
-ive Ethical and practical issues in animal experiments: A massive issue for the approach is that procedures like “Skinner box” are highly unethical for the animals taking part. Animals were subjected to stressful and aversive situations, kept hungry and often put down after learning had occurred. The horrendous conditions may also may have affected their reactions unlike in their real settings where stimuli are less obvious acute. These issues not only affect the ethics of the approach but also potentially its validity.
-ive Environmental determinism: An issue with the approach is that Skinner himself argued that free will was an illusion. Morevoer that all behaviour was determined by past experiences, ignoring any possible influence of free on behaviour. This is an issue because it neglects the role that conscious choice and thinking may have on outcomes and again unlike SLT and the cognitive approach can’t account for where thinking play a role in our behaviour.
social learning theory (A03)
+ive Based on empirical research: A strength of SLT it that it is based on cleverly designed highly controlled manipulations of children’s modelling in the lab. This allowed Bandura to manipulate variables like gender carefully and match for characteristics of children between conditions to remove individual differences. This is important because it means that the theory is based on a solid evidence base that has been replicated many times.
-ive Study flaws undermine theory: However, a huge issue for SLT is its over-reliance on evidence from lab studies because of their contrived nature. Many accused the studies that demand characteristics were involved because main purpose of doll is to strike it, children were simply behaving in way they thought was expected. Equally others criticised it for lack of ecological validity, because the aggression against a toy so different from aggression that they might use in the playground. Bandura countered this somewhat with his replication in which children hit a live clown after watching a role model, but many researchers still argue that these flaws in the research undermine the theory itself.
+ive Can explain cultural differences: A strength of SLT is that it can explain cultural differences in behaviour unlike other elements of learning theory (classical and operant). The SLT principles account for how children learn from other individuals, and through media which can how cultural norms are transmitted through particular societies. This has been influential understanding range of behaviours, such as gender roles and aggression across distinct cultures. This is clearly a strength of the theory that other approaches struggle to account for.
+ive Cognitive factors accounted for: However one of the great strengths of SLT is that neither classical nor operant conditioning offer adequate account of learning on their own. As Bandura said learning would be laborious if everyone had to learn from only their own actions and that observing others helps learning. SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising role of the cognition in mediational processes.
cognitive approach (A03)
+ive Scientific and objective methods: A strength of the C.A has always employed highly controlled and rigorous methods of study to enable researchers to infer cognitive processes at work. This involved use of lab experiments to produce reliable, objective data such as the millions of memory experiments. The emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together. This is important because it means study of mind has established credible scientific basis.
-ive Machine reductionism: One issue with the approach is that it is reductionistic. Though there may be similarities between human mind and computer (inputs and outputs, storage systems, the use of a central processor), but it ignores factors like emotion other higher level of explanation factors such as culture and or peer and how this affects information processing. E.g. anxiety affects human memory (eyewitness testimony).
-ive Lack of EV in studies that underpin approach: An issue with the approach though it that often the experiments that investigate mental processes use artificial stimuli such as Peterson and Peterson’s trigrams. Though this allows for better control it may not actually test a person’s memory for things they need to recall in everyday life. This is important because it means the approaches explanation of behaviour may not really represent relalistic human behabiour.
+ive Real-life application: The biggest strength to C.A is that it is probably the most dominant approach in psychology today and has been applied to wide range of practical and theoretical contexts. E.g. from cognitive load theory (WMM) in education to developments in A.I and even the very postcode of our houses, C.A has helped and will further help human development.
biological approach (A03)
+ive Real world application: A strength of the B.A is that it has increased understanding of biochemical processes in brain has led to development of psychoactive drugs that treat serious mental illnesses like depression/OCD. Although drugs are not effective for all patients they have revolutionised treatment for many. This is an important strength of the biological approach because means sufferers are able to manage condition and live relatively normal life, rather than remain in hospital, taking pressure of the NHS and potentially benefiting the economy in the long run.
+ive Scientific methods of investigation: Another strength of the approach is that a range of precise and highly scientific methods are used to investigate a genetic and neural basis for behaviour . These include scanning techniques like fMRIs and EEGS, family and twin studies, and drug trials. With advances in technology, it’s possible to accurately measure biological and neural processes in ways that aren’t open to bias. This is important because it means that the biological approach is based on reliable data.
-ive Causal conclusions? However, the biological approach offers explanations for mental illness that are difficult to show as causal explanations. For instance, it’s assumed that lack of serotonin acitivty is the cuase of OCD/depression but that’s like assuming cause of headache is the lack of paracetamol simply because taking paracetamol is effective in relieving symptoms of headache. Discovering association between two factors doesn’t mean one is cause. This is a clear issue for biological explanations that are based on research where it is hard to make causal conclusions.
-ive Determinist: A major issue with the biological approach is that it is highly determinist. In the sense that it sees human behaviour as governed by internal, biological causes over which we have no control. This even creates implications for legal system and wider society where the rule of law is offenders are seen as legally and morally responsible for their actions. Discovery of a ‘criminal gene’, if there was such thing, may complicate this principle creating a huge issue for biological explanations and the approach itself especially if research is difficult to establish casual effects.
psychodynamic approach (A03)
-ive Unfalsifiable: One limitation of the psychodynamic approach is that it is unfalsifiable. Elements of theory in the unconscious mind are not open to empirical testing, because for instance superego in an abstract concept that can’t be measured. This is important because falsifiability is one of the foundations of science therefore effecting the validity of Freud’s theories.
+ive Influential: A huge strength of the approach is that it was influential. It was the first to consider psychological illness as having psychological causes (rather than possession of the devil/ witchcraft) and has gone on to influence other talking therapies like counselling and CBT. This is an important strength of the psychodynamic approach because it means sufferers are able to improve their wellbeing (perhaps alongside drug therapies) rather than remain in hospital, taking pressure of the NHS and potentially benefiting the economy in the long run.
+ive Idiographic: A strength of the approach is that its research methods were at least initially idiographic using case studies and rich data to understand emotion in Freud’s clients. The study of individuals often in therapy allowed Freud fully know them and understand their behaviour. Though Freud’s theories were eventually generalised to all (nomothetic) his initial stance created a deep understanding of his clients at the very least. This in depth study arguably led to
-ive Gender biased: One issue with the approach is that it is gender biased. He described women psychologically based on the fact that they weren’t men – e.g) didn’t have fear of castration, so had an underdeveloped superego and therefore poorer morality. This is clearly a massive issue for the approach as the negative stereotypes it potentially created are prominent and still based on poor research methods and unfalifisable theories.
