approaches ao3

Question 1

biological approach (scientific)

Answer 1

• uses objective measures like brain scans or biochemical levels where no bias/opinions can take place
• raises internal validity of study and approach
• studies use standardied procedures so can replicate so increases reliability of studies/approach
• all of this increases scientific credibility of study

Question 2

biological approach (hard determinist)

Answer 2

• suggests biological factors lead to behaviour and we have no free will
• pessimistic view on behaviour
• seen at odds with our legal system (see criminals as responsible for behaviour but this wouldnt be case as no free will)
• determinism aligns with science so adds scientific credibility

Question 3

biological approach (cant establish cause and effect)

Answer 3

• chemical imbalance leads to low serotonin which leads to symptoms of OCD but could be vice versa
• cause is unknown
• could be saying cause is based on biochemical levels but its only association

Question 4

cognitive approach (machine reductionist)

Answer 4

• reduces complex issues to just information processing
• miss other important factors that could influence behaviour eg emotion
• emotion does affect our information processing eg anxiety on EWT
• take interactionist instead
• strength as reduces down to single factor so can measure cause & effect = add scientific credibility to approach

Question 5

cognitive approach (scientific)

Answer 5

• studies using cognitive approach use lab exp = objective and controlled adds to scientific nature of approach
• also nomothetic = general laws = science
• however uses inference to make assumptions of info processing based on behaviour = less scientific
• cog approach has scientific features but less scientific than other approaches

Question 6

cognitive approach (less determinist than other approaches + comparison with behaviourist)

Answer 6

• shows soft determinism unlike behaviourist approach which shows hard determinism
• acknowledges elements of free will
  where we can make decisions but not free choice
• choices affected by our previous experiences (via schemas)
• addresses free will instead of ignoring like behaviorist
• cant establish cause & effect with soft = element of science = lowers credibility of approach

Question 7

humanistic approach (not reductionist)

Answer 7

• doesnt allow any attempts to break up behaviour
• cognitive approach - machine reductionist biological approach - bio reductionist behaviourist approach - environmentally reductionist
• these all break down complex issues into smaller components
• miss important factors unlike humanistic approach which advocates holism = more valid as gives realistic view on behaviour

Question 8

humanistic approach (culturally biased)

Answer 8

• ideas in humanistic approach based off individualistic culture eg independence etc
• doesnt fit into collectivist culture where needs of group favoured
• emic in individualistic culture (based off it) and imposed etic in collectivist
• cant be applied universally would lead to beta bias

Question 9

humanistic approach (less scientific)

Answer 9

• reductionism more scientific than holism
• reductionism breaks things down into smaller components which is what happens in experiments
• humanistic approach cant be broken down into components
• unable to test empirically and so untestible so unscientific
• untestible so unfalsifiable so unscientific

Question 10

behaviourist approach (scientific)

Answer 10

• uses objective measures to measure observable behaviour not open to opinion or bias = raise scientific credibility
• studies that use approach or support approach are lab experiements
• high control = raise internal validity of study/approach = can establish cause and effect = raise credibility
• standardised procedures = so can replicate so raises credibility again

Question 11

behaviourist approach (environmentally reductionist)

Answer 11

• reduces complex idea of learning just down to environment
• may miss other important factors like biology
• take interactionist approach instead combine with another approach like cognitive eg CBT
• reduces causation to single factory easier to measure cause and effect adds credibility = also easier to treat phobias etc

Question 12

behaviourist approach (environmentally determinist)

Answer 12

• hard determinist as suggests learning will lead to a behaviour
• we have no control whether we learn behaviour or not so no free will
• pessimistic view on behaviour
• strenght as determinism aligns with science and adds credibility to approach
• as shows cause and effect which is feature of science

Question 13

SLT (over reliance on lab study evidence)

Answer 13

• SLT strength is research uses lab studies so high control of extraneous variables
• however due to artificial nature of study demand characteristics may come into play children may change behaviour to help researcher and so were acting
• purpose of bobo dolls is to hit
• lowers internal validity and children may not be learning through observation = low ecological validity of study and approach

Question 14

SLT (underestimates biological factors)

Answer 14

• doesnt consider biological factors in learning
• consistently found boys more aggressive than girls in any situation
• could be due biological difference as boys have more testosterone than girls = so more aggressive
• weakness as no biology considered when it may have large impact on behaviour

Question 15

SLT (considers cognitive factors)

Answer 15

• considers cognitive factors which behaviourist approach dont
• cognitive factor is mediational processes so takes interactionist approach to explaining behaviour
• not environmentally reductionist like behaviourist approach
• provides more comprehensive view of human behaviour learning

Question 16

psychodynamic approach (psychic determinist)

Answer 16

• suggests our behaviour is determined by unconcious conflicts from childhood
• hard determinism suggests we have no free will whatsoever
• very pessimistic view on behaviour and can make people uncomfortable
• is at odds with our legal system as law suggests we are morally responsible for our behaviour
• issue as psychic determinism can be used to get out of crimes etc

Question 17

psychodynamic (real world application psychotherapy)

Answer 17

• aims to treat disorders psychologically rather than physically
• through accessing our unconcious allowing client to bring repressed memories back to conscious levels to deal with them
• forerunner for modern talking therapies like counselling
• lead to new psychological approach to treating disorders

Question 18

psychodynamic approach (untestable)

Answer 18

• theory unfalsifiable which means it cant be disproven as it is all about the unconcious so untestable through empirical testing
• falsifiability and empirical testing features of science so unscientific
• uses subjective case studies eg little hans so takes idiographic approach so general laws cant be made so theories lack generalisiability
• all these factors make approach unscientific but a pseudoscience

Question 19

wundt (moving psychology from its philosphical roots)

Answer 19

• used control environments and standardised procedures to study emotion etc
• used same stimulus eachtime and gave participants all same instructions
• allowed his study to be replicated increasing psychology status and its emergence as science

Question 20

wundt (unscientific research)

Answer 20

• relied on ppts self reporting their mental processes = subjective data = as varies between person
• makes it difficult to establish general laws on behaviour and predict outcomes = aims of science
• some of wundts efforts were flawed and wouldnt meet scientific credibility of today