comparison of approaches Flashcards
(22 cards)
behavioural approach: nature vs nurture
- nurture
- develop or learn our behaviour through classical and operant conditioning
behavioural approach: determinism/free will
- environmental determinism (-ve AO3)
- assumes you have no free will and that you are completely at the mercy of your environment
- your behaviour is entirely determined by classical and operant conditioning which is disputed by many psychologists (e.g. humanists)
behavioural approach: holism/reductionism
- environmental reductionism (-ve AO3)
- assumes a simple stimulus-response mechanism (in the form of conditioning) is causing all behaviour
- hugely oversimplified and a very passive explanation of human behaviour
behavioural approach: scientific/unscientific
- Scientific
- the beginning of psychology as a science
- Pavlov, Skinner and Watson used objective, replicable, empirical methods based in a lab –> moved psychology forward from Wundt’s failed attempts at establishing psychology as a science
behavioural approach: ethical implications
- extrapolation - data from animals to humans
- (can we apply the data from animals to humans? need to be cautious)
behavioural approach: idiographic vs nomothetic
- nomothetic mainly
- idiographic - Little Albert, developed a phobia of white fluffy objects via classical conditioning
behavioural approach: treatment or application
- systematic desensitisation has the highest international success rate in the treatment of phobias and uses the principles of classical conditioning
- token economy systems are successfully used in schools, hospitals and prisons (operant conditioning) –> the fact these programs are successful shows the theory must be valid
cognitive approach: determinism/free will
- soft determinism (+ve AO3)
- it is empowering for the person concerned. We are not totally at the mercy of our thoughts, but have the power to change them.
- Through treatments such as CBT we can learn to have more control over automatic thoughts and we can decide how to respond to them.
- We can change the way we behave by building self-esteem through working on our thoughts and responses.
cognitive approach: holism/reductionism
- machine reductionism (-ve AO3)
- Comparing the human mind to a computer is useful in certain circumstances, but hugely oversimplified.
- Computers do not have emotions, for instance, which have been demonstrated to massively effect memory in EWT.
- A computer analogy lacks any validity in these circumstances.
cognitive approach: scientific/unscientific
- unscientific - can’t measure thoughts, schema’s, internal mental processes - cannot test scientifically
- scientific - cognitive Neuroscience blends both the cognitive and the biological approach together. We are given a biological explanation of the cognition we are investigating.
cognitive approach: ethical implications
- social sensitivity
- excusiology
- CBT + depression - The Individual is seen as being responsible for their maladaptive behaviour/problems. This could increase suicidal thoughts and make depression worse.
cognitive approach: idiographic vs nomothetic
- nomothetic mainly
- idiographic:
- K.F. had a motorcycle accident which left him with widespread brain damage - these caused memory impairment. most of his general knowledge of the world, including knowledge about himself is intact but he is incapable of recollecting any personal events, this “episodic amnesia” covers his entire lifetime. This shows that semantic memory and episodic memory are two distinct processes. - Supports the idea of multiple types of LTM located in diff places
- HM and Clive Wearing both had brain damage which severely affected their episodic memory but their semantic and procedural memories were relatively intact. Clive Wearing could read and play very complex pieces of music on a piano. HM could still form new procedural memories eg drawing a figure by looking at his own reflection but had no memory that he had learnt this. They show that procedural memory is distinct from both semantic and episodic memory (declarative memories) - Supports the idea there are multiple types of LTM located in diff places
cognitive approach: treatment or application
- The cognitive approach has produced CBT- the most widely used and successful psychological treatment for mental disorders offered internationally. CBT has been used to treat and cure millions of individuals world wide. It operates on the premise that thoughts cause maladaptive behaviour, so through changing thinking, we can manage and cure mental disorders. The high success rate of this treatment is testament to the validity of the cognitive approach
- cognitive approach to explaining depression. Research shows that there is a link between cognitive processes and depression. Terry (2000) assessed 65 pregnant women before they gave birth to find out how vulnerable they were to negative thinking. The ladies who developed PND were the ones who had been labelled most cognitively vulnerable.
biological approach: nature vs nurture
- nature
- Buss - sexual selection
- Studied over 11,000 people from 37 cultures across the world. Wanted to explore whether there were universal mate preferences
Results: - There were indeed universal mate preferences. Across all cultures women wanted men who had resources or at least traits that would translate to resources (ambition, intelligence)
- Men across all cultures desired a woman younger than them (average age 25- prime reproductive age) with an hourglass figure (indication of fertility)
- This shows support for evolutionary explanations of sexual behaviour.
- The fact that the same preferences existed everywhere, regardless of culture, indicate that sexual selection is an innate, natural mechanism and not one affected by nurture.
- reproductive fitness - short term mating preferences
biological approach: gender or culture bias
Alpha bias - sexual selection:
- Evolutionary explanations of human sexual behaviour stipulate that men have an “evolved desire for sexual variety” i.e. cheating is not their fault.
- What we are really saying here is that it is not their fault, it is an unconscious, hard-wired biological drive.
- On the other hand, under evolutionary theory, women are viewed as defenceless monogamous creatures who are completely at the mercy of males’ sexual behaviour. Women have evolved to be faithful because of differences in reproductive fitness.
- This huge difference in the representation of the sexes is massively alpha biased and we know that there are many women and men across the world for whom this does not apply.
Beta bias - flight/fight response (biopsych)
- When the fight or flight response was initially researched and presented as a theory, it was based entirely on an all male sample (of animals, not even humans!) yet applied UNIVERSALLY to all humans- females too.
- More recently the beta bias in this was identified and psychologists developed the “tend and befriend” explanation in females instead.
- This is the idea that due to the presence of OXYTOCIN, the flight or fight response is INHIBITED in women and they seek to protect their young and befriend other women to increase the chances of protecting each other and their vulnerable children.
- Finally, there is research support for this theory, and the idea that men and women do respond very differently to stress. A meta-analysis of 26 studies showed that women were significantly more likely to seek social support than men when under stress, and respond by “tending and befriending” rather than “fight or flight”.
biological approach: determinism/free will
- biological determinism (-ve AO3)
- it sees human behaviour as being caused by the brain, neurochemistry or genes
- case in 2007 of the man whose defence proved he had the warrior gene and his sentence was reduced to manslaughter
- This has huge implications for society and the legal system.
biological approach: holism/reductionism
- biological reductionism (-ve AO3)
- To reduce human behaviour down to its most fundamental biology is sometimes useful in that it has enabled us to isolate specific genes implicated in behaviour or investigate cures for depression
- However, there are many more approaches to take into consideration when explaining human behaviour- and biology is only one of these
biological approach: scientific/unscientific
- scientific
- the most scientifically rigorous approach fulfilling all the criteria of the scientific approach
- Replicable, objective, Lab based/controlled, empirical…
- The technological advances in genetic testing, brain imaging etc give it huge credibility
biological approach: ethical implications
- In America in 2007, a man who had committed a violent murder and was facing the death penalty had his sentence reduced to manslaughter because the defence proved that he carried the warrior gene, and had a history of abuse.
- This case was revolutionary- never before had genetic evidence been used in the criminal justice system in this way.
- This has worrying implications for the future- if more evidence builds for genetic factors in aggression, will more violent criminals have their sentences altered. What about FREE WILL?!?
- warrior gene - removes all free will - not accountable for the crime
biological approach: idiographic vs nomothetic
- nomothetic - majority
- idiographic - Phineas Gage:
- This case study clearly demonstrates that certain brain functions are localised - the damage he sustained to his frontal lobe entirely changed his personality and mood. (impatient + rude) → frontal lobe disorder
- He survived an accident in which a large iron was driven completely through his head
- He died after a series of seizures
- Reconstructed his brain, to help learning
biological approach: treatment or application
- SSRIs - OCD
- antipsychotics - schiz
- fMRIs
