comparing approaches

Question 1

free will

Answer 1

Humanistic
the idea that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t affected by external or internal influences, but we are active agents who have the ability to determine our own development

Question 2

determinism

Answer 2

The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than the individual’s will to do something.

Question 3

Hard determinism

Answer 3

free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal or external forces beyond our control.

Question 4

soft determinism

Answer 4

Cognitive, SLT (reciprocal d.)
human behaviour has causes, but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion.

Question 5

Biological determinism

Answer 5

Biological approach
Hard determinism
Behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control.

Question 6

environmental determinism

Answer 6

Behaviourism
Hard determinism
behaviour is caused by features of the environment (e.g. systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control.

Question 7

Psychic determinism

Answer 7

psychodynamic approach
hard determinism
behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control.

Question 8

reciprocal determinism

Answer 8

SLT
soft determinism
a person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment.

Question 9

reductionism

Answer 9

the belief that behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.

Question 10

holism

Answer 10

an argument that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (so looking at the interplay and interactions of many different factors).

Question 11

machine reductionism

Answer 11

presenting people as information processors like machines

Question 12

where does the humanistic approach stand on reductionism vs. holism

Answer 12

• holistic
• believe behaviour is explained by taking into account the whole person e.g. experiences, thoughts, feelings, needs and how these all interact

Question 13

where does the cognitive approach stand on reductionism vs. holism

Answer 13

• machine reductionism
• best way to explain behaviour is to break it down into smaller constituent parts by comparing the human mind and how it processes information to the processing of computers
• it underestimates the role of emotion in behaviour

Question 14

where does the biological approach stand on reductionism vs. holism

Answer 14

• reductionism
• believe the best way to explain behaviour is to break it down into smaller constituent parts of physical processes of the body e.g. Genes, neurochemistry, biological structures, evolution

Question 15

where does the behaviourist approach stand on reductionism vs. holism

Answer 15

• reductionism
• believe the best way to explain behaviour is to break it down into smaller constituent parts of stimulus-response associations

Question 16

what are the 2 most scientific approaches

Answer 16

biological
behaviourist
- They are both objective and we can see cause and effect for both through their use of experiments (e.g. Associations/consequences cause behaviour for behaviourism through experiments on dogs and rats and
How neurotransmitters cause behaviour by administering drugs that change neurotransmitter levels and measuring changes in behaviour for biological approach).
This allows for a high degree of replication.

Question 17

what are 2 scientific approaches

Answer 17

cognitive
SLT
- Both are still scientific in that they are objective and attempt to establish cause and effect (between role model’s consequences and behaviour for SLT and between IMPs and behaviour for cognitive). But they both rely on inferences which are less scientific. They both also rely on research conducted artificially and so can lack validity in terms of real-life behaviour.

Question 18

what is 1 somewhat scientific approach

Answer 18

psychodynamic
-They attempt to be scientific and some of their concepts can be studied scientifically (the conscious ones), but most of the ideas are unconscious and so aren’t falsifiable. There is also a great reliance on case studies and subjective interpretation (e.g. Little Hans)

Question 19

what is the non scientific approach

Answer 19

humanistic
They don’t aim to be scientific. They focus on subjective experiences, thoughts and feelings of a person, which isn’t scientific. They also don’t aim to create generalisable theories as they believe everyone is unique.

Question 20

nature

Answer 20

behaviour is seen to be a product of innate (biological or genetic) factors

Question 21

nurture

Answer 21

behaviour is a product of environmental influences (interacting with the environment).

Question 22

biological approach nature vs. nurture

Answer 22

• primarily nature
• behaviour is caused by physical processes in the body (nature)
• but our experiences in the environment can change our biology (small bit of nurture)
• e.g. Macguire et al.’s tax driver study suggests that the brain can change structurally (increase in hippocampal volume) as a result of learning to navigate London’s road layout.

Question 23

cognitive approach on nature vs. nurture

Answer 23

• both
• we all share the same means of cognitive processing (our minds) which we are born with (nature), but our experiences in the environment influence our thoughts (e.g. experiences could lead people to develop irrational thoughts and beliefs) and therefore behaviour (nurture)

Question 24

psychodynamic approach on nature vs. nurture

Answer 24

• both
• we all share the same basis of the unconscious (our minds) which we are born with (nature e.g. born with our ids), but our experiences in the environment influence how our unconscious develops and therefore our behaviour (nurture)

Question 25

humanistic approach on nature vs. nurture

Answer 25

- both - we all have an innate tendency to fulfil our potential (nature), but our experiences in the environment (e.g. conditions of worth) influence whether we achieve it (nurture)

Question 26

SLT on nature vs. nurture

Answer 26

- primarily nurture - behaviour is learned through observing and imitating role models in a social context (nurture), but they do acknowledge that our ability to learn is likely adaptive (nature)

Question 27

behaviourism on nature vs. nurture

Answer 27

- nurture - behaviour is learned through our experiences in the environment (associations within the environment and consequences of behaviour within that environment)

Question 28

behaviourism on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 28

- Flooding and systematic desensitisation for phobias where they teach the patient to associate the phobia with relaxation - effective

Question 29

SLT on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 29

- You'd have positive role models who don't have the mental illness but it doesn't really work - not effective

Question 30

Cognitive approach on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 30

- CBT for many mental health problems to challenge irrational thoughts that may be causing the mental health problems - effective

Question 31

biological approach on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 31

- Drug therapies for many mental health problems which regulate chemical imbalances in the brain - effective

Question 32

psychodynamic approach on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 32

- Psychoanalysis (e.g. Dream analysis, hypnotherapy) to make the unconscious conscious so it can be dealt with. It has had some success as a therapy but it isn’t appropriate for everyone because it requires a considerable input from the patient in terms of time and the ability to talk about and reflect on emotions. It is a directive therapy where the client is not in control and focuses on the past. - mild conditions only

Question 33

humanistic approach on real world applications (treatments and effectiveness)

Answer 33

- Client-centred therapy/counselling psychology/Rogerian therapy to try to achieve congruence and therefore stimulate personal growth. It is non-directive, where the client is in control and focuses on the present and future. - mild conditions only

Question 34

which approaches have effective treatments

Answer 34

behaviourist cognitive biological

Question 35

which approach doesnt have an effective treatment

Answer 35

SLT

Question 36

which approaches have effective treatments for mild conditions only

Answer 36

psychodynamic humanistic

Question 37

which approaches study animals

Answer 37

behaviourist biological