Approaches

Question 1

What practical applications support the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 1

Freud’s psychoanalysis led to therapies like dream analysis and free association, used to treat anxiety, PTSD, and depression. However, it’s less effective for severe disorders like schizophrenia.

Question 2

Why is the psychodynamic approach considered unscientific?

Answer 2

It relies on unfalsifiable concepts like the unconscious (Popper) and subjective case studies (e.g. Little Hans), which reduces scientific credibility and generalisability.

Question 3

How does the psychodynamic approach explain gender development, and what challenges it?

Answer 3

Wiszewska et al. (2007) found women preferred partners like their fathers, supporting the Electra complex. But children from single or same-sex parent families develop normally, contradicting Freud’s ideas.

Question 4

What is psychic determinism, and why is it controversial? (Psychodynamic approach)

Answer 4

Freud believed all behaviour stems from unconscious conflict, denying free will. This psychic determinism contrasts with approaches like the humanistic or cognitive, which allow for conscious control.

Question 5

What research supports the behaviourist approach?

Answer 5

Skinner’s research showed rats learned to press a lever for food through positive reinforcement, supporting operant conditioning as a learning mechanism.

Question 6

Why is the behaviourist approach considered scientifically credible?

Answer 6

It uses controlled lab experiments (e.g. Skinner’s box), allowing for cause-effect conclusions and high internal validity.

Question 7

What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 7

It is environmentally deterministic and reductionist, ignoring biological and cognitive influences on behaviour.

Question 8

How is the behaviourist approach applied in real life, and what are its limitations?

Answer 8

It’s used in therapies (e.g. systematic desensitisation) and prisons (e.g. token economies).

However: much of the research is based on animals, limiting generalisability and raising ethical concerns.

Question 9

What research supports SLT, and what biological factors does it overlook?

Answer 9

Bandura (1961) found boys were more aggressive in the Bobo Doll study, likely due to testosterone, supporting SLT.

This shows SLT underestimates biological influences.

Question 10

What are the strengths and limitations of Bandura’s Bobo Doll study?

Answer 10

It demonstrated observational learning.

But: The study may lack internal and ecological validity due to demand characteristics (e.g. Bobo doll designed to be hit).

Question 11

How does SLT improve on behaviourism?

Answer 11

It includes mediational processes like attention and motivation, giving it more explanatory power for complex human behaviour.

Question 12

What are the limitations of SLT’s generalisability and cultural validity?

Answer 12

SLT is based mostly on children and Western cultures.

But: This limits its application across age groups and collectivist societies.

Question 13

Why is the cognitive approach considered scientific?

Answer 13

It uses objective methods like fMRI and PET scans to study mental processes, increasing psychology’s scientific credibility.

Question 14

What are the limitations of comparing the mind to a computer?

Answer 14

The approach is machine reductionist, ignoring how emotions influence behaviour.

Example: Anger affecting decision-making.

Question 15

How is the cognitive approach applied in real life?

Answer 15

It informs AI design, education, and predicts learning ability.

Example: Using phonological tests to predict reading skills.

Question 16

What are criticisms of its ecological and theoretical validity?

Answer 16

Research often uses artificial tasks in labs, limiting real-life application.

But: Schemas can also reinforce stereotypes and vary across individuals, reducing generalisability.

Question 17

What research supports the biological approach in explaining OCD?

Answer 17

Nestadt (2010) found MZ twins had a 68% concordance rate for OCD vs 31% in DZ twins, suggesting a genetic basis.

Question 18

Why is the biological approach considered scientific?

Answer 18

It uses brain scans (e.g. fMRI, EEG) and drug trials, enhancing its objectivity, replicability, and scientific credibility.

Question 19

What are limitations of genetic explanations in the biological approach?

Answer 19

Twin studies can’t fully separate nature and nurture, as MZ twins share more similar environments than DZ twins.

Question 20

How is the biological approach applied, and what ethical concerns exist?

Answer 20

It informs drug therapies (e.g. SSRIs). However: Biological determinism raises ethical issues, e.g. reduced legal responsibility or discrimination based on genes.

Question 21

What practical applications support the humanistic approach?

Answer 21

Rogers’ client-centred therapy is widely used in counselling, focusing on self-improvement and personal growth.

It’s less effective for severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

Question 22

How does the humanistic approach differ from other approaches?

Answer 22

It is holistic, considering the whole person and subjective experience, in contrast to the reductionist views of biological or cognitive approaches.

Question 23

What are criticisms of the humanistic approach’s scientific validity?

Answer 23

It lacks empirical evidence, and concepts like self-actualisation and congruence are difficult to measure objectively, reducing credibility.

Question 24

How is the humanistic approach culturally biased?

Answer 24

Maslow’s hierarchy reflects Western individualist values (e.g. personal growth).

In collectivist cultures, group needs may override personal fulfilment.

Question 25

What is determinism in psychology?

Answer 25

Determinism is the belief that all behaviour is caused by internal or external forces over which we have no control, such as genes (biological) or environment (behaviourist).

Question 26

What is free will in psychology?

Answer 26

Free will is the belief that individuals are capable of making their own conscious choices and are not simply controlled by biological or environmental forces.

Question 27

What is the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 27

This debate concerns whether behaviour is primarily caused by inherited biological factors (nature) or by environmental influences and learning (nurture).

Question 28

What is reductionism?

Answer 28

Reductionism is the belief that complex behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler components, such as genes, neurotransmitters, or stimulus-response links.

Question 29

What is holism?

Answer 29

Holism is the view that behaviour should be understood as a whole system, considering all influences like thoughts, emotions, social and biological factors together.

Question 30

What is the idiographic approach?

Answer 30

The idiographic approach focuses on studying individuals in detail, using qualitative methods like case studies, and does not aim to generalise findings to others.

Question 31

What is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 31

The nomothetic approach aims to create general laws of behaviour by studying large groups using scientific, quantitative methods.

Question 32

What is experimental reductionism?

Answer 32

Experimental reductionism involves isolating one variable to study in controlled lab settings, often ignoring how behaviour works in real-life, complex situations.

Question 33

What is biological determinism?

Answer 33

Biological determinism is the idea that behaviour is controlled entirely by biological factors like genes, brain chemistry, and hormones.

Question 34

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 34

Environmental determinism is the idea that behaviour is shaped entirely by environmental factors like upbringing, learning, and reinforcement.

Question 35

How do the psychological approaches differ in their views on free will vs determinism?

Answer 35

The biological, behaviourist, and psychodynamic approaches are deterministic. SLT allows partial free will via mediational processes. The cognitive approach suggests soft determinism. However, only the humanistic approach fully embraces free will and personal responsibility.

Question 36

How do the approaches differ in their stance on nature vs nurture?

Answer 36

The biological approach strongly favours nature. Behaviourist and SLT focus on nurture, though SLT acknowledges biology. The cognitive and psychodynamic approaches see an interaction. However, the humanistic approach is interactionist but leans toward nurture supporting growth.

Question 37

Which approaches are reductionist, and which are holistic?

Answer 37

The biological and behaviourist approaches are reductionist. SLT and cognitive approaches show experimental reductionism. Psychodynamic is more holistic, while humanistic is fully holistic, viewing individuals as a whole.

Question 38

How do approaches differ on idiographic vs nomothetic methods?

Answer 38

Behaviourist, biological, cognitive, and SLT approaches are nomothetic. The psychodynamic approach is both idiographic and nomothetic. However, the humanistic approach is idiographic, focusing on individual uniqueness, but includes some nomothetic assumptions.