Areas (definitions, strengths and weaknesses)

Question 1

What are the defining characteristics of the social area?

Answer 1

Investigates how the social context, including the presence and behaviour of other people, impacts on how people behave

Question 2

What are the strengths of the social area?

Answer 2

Practical applications
Can help to improve our understanding of human behaviour, particularly to the extent which it is affected by other people

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of the social area?

Answer 3

It can be difficult to stay within ethical guidelines due to the socially sensitive nature of the area and is not always true for all places (ethnocentric)

Question 4

What are the defining characteristics of the cognitive area?

Answer 4

Investigates how we think, perceive, pay attention, problem solve and remember things

Question 5

What are the strengths of the cognitive area?

Answer 5

Extremely useful and favours a scientific method (objective data and reliability)

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of the cognitive area?

Answer 6

Findings often lack EV as highly controlled lab experiments and there are limitations into studying as relies heavily on observation and self report

Question 7

What are the defining characteristics of the developmental area?

Answer 7

Investigates how our thinking changes as we mature and grow older, the development of the personality and how we learn

Question 8

What are the strengths of the developmental area?

Answer 8

Useful applications

Can study P’s over time to reduce P variables

Question 9

What are the weaknesses of the developmental area?

Answer 9

Research with children may raise ethical issues (e.g. consent and protection) and may be constrained by time or culture due to changes in environment and differences in child rearing

Question 10

What are the defining characteristics of the biological area?

Answer 10

Investigates the relationship between biology and behaviour - specifically how neurobiology affects behaviour and how behaviour can affect biology

Question 11

What are the strengths of the biological area?

Answer 11

Research leads to a greater understanding of how the brain words and how it impacts behaviour
Favours a scientific method

Question 12

What are the weaknesses of the biological area?

Answer 12

Methods used to measure the brain are limited because we are limited in our interpretations of findings (e.g. MRI scans) and often leads to simplistic explanation as it doesn’t account for other factors which may influence behaviour

Question 13

What are the defining characteristics of the individual differences area?

Answer 13

Investigates the differences between people, such as abnormality and mental disorders

Question 14

What are the strengths of the ID area?

Answer 14

Enables psychologists to found out about a wider range of human behaviour
Can have great social benefit in helping to find treatments

Question 15

What are the weaknesses of the ID area?

Answer 15

Socially sensitive and the tools used to measure differences may not always be valid

Question 16

What are the defining features of the behaviourist perspective?

Answer 16

Psychology should be seen as a science and only studied in a scientific manner
The only subject matter for psychology should be behaviours which can be observed and measured
The major influence on human behaviour is learning from the environment

Question 17

What are the strengths of the behaviourist perspective?

Answer 17

Highlights the role of nurture
Extremely useful
Focuses on studying observable behaviour in a controlled lab experiment gives scientific credibility

Question 18

What are the weaknesses of the behaviourist perspective?

Answer 18

Ignores the influence of nature
Can sometimes be difficult to apply
Can lack EV due to lab experimental method

Question 19

What are the defining features of the psychodynamic perspective?

Answer 19

Focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and our past experiences as the cause of current behaviours
The idea that the mind operates on 3 levels: the unconscious, the preconscious and the unconscious mind

Question 20

What are the strengths of the psychodynamic perspective?

Answer 20

Offers an explanation for the development of mental disorders
Suggests ways in which people with mental disorders can be treated
Case studies are often used which provides in-depth details

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic perspective?

Answer 21

Unscientific as many concepts central to Freud’s theories cannot be verified or falsified
Evidence mainly comes from Freud which is highly subjective and can mean there is researcher bias (not valid???)