Approaches - 07 Comparison of approaches

Question 1

What is the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 1

Asks whether the way we think, feel and behave is part of our genetic makeup (nature) or due to environmental influences (nurture)

Question 2

Biological approach nature vs nurture

Answer 2

-Nature
-Suggests behaviour passed on through genetic make-up of individual
-Is acknowledgement that environment does affect development of genetic make-up shown by phenotypes

Question 3

Learning approaches nature vs nurture

Answer 3

-Nurture
-born a tabula rasa and all behaviour learned from environment through conditioning
-SLT all behaviour learned from role models in environment
-no acknowledgement of innate and inherited capacities of individuals

Question 4

Cognitive approach nature vs nurture

Answer 4

-Both sides
-could be innate mechanisms important in development of thought and language
-recognises role of environment in shaping thought processes like schemas and memory

Question 5

Psychodynamic approach nature vs nurture

Answer 5

-both sides
-existence of innate drives like the id
-ways parents raise children affects formation of other elements of personality

Question 6

Humanistic approach nature vs nurture

Answer 6

-does not believe the debate to be valid
-seems to be a innate drive to best you can be
-but environment can aid or help that process e.g. parents, friends and wider society
-humanistic theories are interactionalist

Question 7

What is free will vs determinism?

Answer 7

Free will is the idea that what we do is voluntary and done through choice, we make our own decision and choose our own course of action.

Determinism is where an individual’s behaviour, choices and thoughts are determined by internal or external factors

Question 8

Biological approach
free will vs determinism

Answer 8

-Strongly deterministic
-All behaviour generated from biological roots therefore outside pf control

Question 9

Learning approaches
free will vs determinism

Answer 9

-Behaviourist is deterministic argues behaviour due to stimulus/response reaction
-SLT argues for a level of choice in whether we imitate or not, but that can still be said to be dictated by experience (vicarious reinforcement

Question 10

Cognitive approach
free will vs determinism

Answer 10

-The way we process information is determined by our past experiences
-But some free will as cognitive therapy requires individual to change their thoughts

Question 11

Psychodynamic approach free will vs determinism

Answer 11

-Strongly deterministic
-behaviour and thoughts are dictated by unconscious mind which we have no control over

Question 12

Humanistic approach free will vs determinism

Answer 12

-free will
-we choose our own path in life

Question 13

What is holism vs reductionism?

Answer 13

-Reductionism the attempt to explain any act by reducing it to a simpler level
-Holism interaction of different factors affecting a behaviour is taken into account in an explanation and it does not focus on one specific part of an explanation

Question 14

Biological approach
holism vs reductionism

Answer 14

-Reductionism
-tries to explain any act or behaviour as being due to genetic, physiological or biochemical causes

Question 15

Learning approaches
holism vs reductionism

Answer 15

-Behaviourism experimental reductionism due to focus on stimulus response design
-Scientific so isolates elements of behaviours

Question 16

Cognitive approach
holism vs reductionism

Answer 16

-Machine reductionism
-represents people as processing systems and ignores influence of emotion

Question 17

Psychodynamic approach
holism vs reductionism

Answer 17

-Reduces much of behaviour to sexual drives and instincts
-Freud argues that personality is a dynamic interaction between 3 parts of personality is more holistic

Question 18

Humanistic approach
holism vs reductionism

Answer 18

-holistic
-investigating all aspects of individual including effects of interaction with others and wider society

Question 19

What is the scientific methods argument?

Answer 19

Is the approach using scientific methods for investigating behaviour?
Are the research methods used objective & reliable?

Question 20

Biological approach
Scientific methods

Answer 20

-research methods used are some of the most scientific in psychology
-measurements of biochemical & brain activity using scanning techniques

Question 21

Learning approaches
Scientific methods

Answer 21

-Behaviourist approach examines observable behaviour so scientific
-No interpretation so objective
-Mediational processes (SLT) not directly observable so can be biased
-So not as scientific

Question 22

Cognitive approach
Scientific methods

Answer 22

-Controlled lab experiments so results often reliable and scientific
-Not directly observable so can be biased

Question 23

Psychodynamic approach
Scientific methods

Answer 23

-unconscious mind investigated so unscientific as impossible to measure
-subjective and requires interpretation

Question 24

Humanistic approach
Scientific methods

Answer 24

-Does not believe that scientific measurements of behaviour are appropriate
-Believe humans are unique and so scientific measures not needed

Question 25

What is idiographic vs nomothetic?

Answer 25

Examines whether an approach is more focused on the uniqueness of individuals (ideographic) or whether it is trying to establish universal rules (nomothetic)

Question 26

Biological approach
Ideographic vs nomothetic

Answer 26

-Nomothetic
-we all share common physiology and biochemistry and that it is the differences within these that explain the variance in behaviour between people

Question 27

Learning approaches
Ideographic vs nomothetic

Answer 27

-nomothetic
-seeks to establish laws in behaviour
-believes we all have shared processes for learning behaviour

Question 28

Cognitive approach
Ideographic vs nomothetic

Answer 28

-nomothetic
-focuses on scientific study of cognitive processing in groups of people together with the comparison of individuals to computers
-recognises that individuals have differing thoughts but that the processes underlying them can be generalised to all humans

Question 29

Psychodynamic approach
Ideographic vs nomothetic

Answer 29

-elements of both nomothetic & ideographic
-focuses on unique childhood of each individual as it uses case studies
-but does generalise to all by specifying the innate drives we act upon

Question 30

Humanistic approach
Ideographic vs nomothetic

Answer 30

-ideographic
-focuses on the uniqueness of individuals
-sees no merit in trying to generalise from one individual to another