Comparing the approaches

Question 1

Biological approach - free will vs determinism

Answer 1

Biological determinism (hard determinism) NO CONTROL

Question 2

Behaviourist approach - free will vs determinism

Answer 2

Environmental determinism (hard determinism)
NO CONTROL

Question 3

Psychodynamic approach - free will vs determinism

Answer 3

Psychic determinism (hard determinism)
NO CONTROL

Question 4

SLT - free will vs determinism

Answer 4

Reciprocal determinism (soft determinism)

behaviour is caused by observing and imitating role models (determinism) but we have some choice over when and if we decide to actually imitate the behaviour (free will).

Question 5

Cognitive approach - free will vs determinism

Answer 5

Soft determinism
Whilst we can choose our thoughts (free will), we are limited in our thoughts by what we know and have experienced (determinism).

Question 6

Humanistic approach - free will vs determinism

Answer 6

free will
CHOICE

Question 7

Humanistic approach - holism vs reductionism

Answer 7

Holistic - believe the only way to explain behaviour is to take into account the whole person

Question 8

Cognitive approach - holism vs reductionism

Answer 8

machine reductionism - best way to explain human behaviour is to break it down into smaller parts by comparing human mind to computers
UNDERESTIMATES

Question 9

Biological approach - holism vs reductionism

Answer 9

reductionist - best way to explain behaviour is to break down into smaller parts of physical processes of the body

Question 10

Behaviourist approach - holism vs reductionism

Answer 10

reductionist - believe the best way to explain behaviour is to break down into smaller parts about the stimulus-response associations

Question 11

Most positive commitment

Answer 11

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 12

Positive commitment

Answer 12

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 13

Mixed commitment

Answer 13

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 14

Negative commitment

Answer 14

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 15

Biological approach - nature vs nurture

Answer 15

largely nature as behaviour is caused by physical processes in the body - but out experiences in the environment can change our biology

Question 16

Cognitive approach - nature vs nurture

Answer 16

both nature and nurture - we share the same means of cognitive processing which we are born with, but our experiences in the environment influence our thoughts

Question 17

Psychodynamic approach - nature vs nurture

Answer 17

both nature and nurture - we all share the same basis of the unconscious which we are born with, but out experiences in the environment influences how our unconscious develops and therefore our behaviour

Question 18

Humanistic approach - nature vs nurture

Answer 18

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

Question 19

SLT - nature vs nurture

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Behaviourist approach - nature vs nurture

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Behaviourist approach - real world applications

Answer 21

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

Question 22

SLT - real world applications

Answer 22

Not effective
You’d have positive role models who don’t have the mental illness but it doesn’t really work

Question 23

Cognitive approach - real world applications

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Biological approach - real world applications

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Psychodynamic approach - real world applications

Answer 25

Mild conditions only 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.

Question 26

Humanistic approach - real world applications

Answer 26

Mild conditions only 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.