Approaches

Question 1

Name the approaches

Answer 1

Cognitive approach
Learning approaches(SLT and behaviourist)
Biological approach
Psycodynamic approach
Humanistic approach

Question 2

What is introspection

Answer 2

Involved the sytematic analysis of the participants own conscious experience of a stimulus with the experience being analysed in terms of its component parts such as sensations and emotional reaction.

Question 3

Who argues that introspection is too subjective

Answer 3

Watson

Question 4

What is the behavioirist approach

Answer 4

Explains behaviour in terms of learning.
Classical conditioning(little albert and pavlovs experiment with dogs salivating)
Operant conditioning learning through consequence
Two types of reinforcement positive and negative
Positive isdoing am act and getting a reward eg a praise.
Skinners reasearch showed how rats learned to press a lever, in order ti gain food (positive reinforcement) and to avoid (negative reinforcement) being electrocuted.

Question 5

Give a strength and weakness of the behaviourist approach.

Answer 5

Strength: it gave psychology scientific credibility and has led to real life implications.
Weakness: behaviourists such as skinner argue we have no free will as our past conditioning determines our behaviour.

Question 6

What is the Social Learning Theory

Answer 6

Explains behaviour through direct and indirect reinforcement and also through cognitive factors.
Imitation: copying others
Identification: takes place when an observer associates themselves with a role model.
Modelling: involves imitating the behaviour of a role model.
Vicarious reinforcement: occurs when observing someone elses behaviour being reinforced.
Mediational process: are cognitive factors which influence learning. There are 4 medistional processes attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.

Question 7

Give a strength and weakness of SLT

Answer 7

Strength: showing the importance of cognitive factors in learningby recognising the role of mediati9nal processes.
Weakness: research such as banduras bobo doll study has been conducted in lab settings and may tell us little about how people learn in everyday life.

Question 8

What is the cognitive approach

Answer 8

The cognitive approach is the study of internal mental processes such as thoughts, perception and attention. Internal mental processes according to cognitive psychologists mediate between stimulus and response. And these cant be observed and therefore private.

Question 9

Give a strength and weakness of the cognitive approach.

Answer 9

Strength: is arguably the dominant approach in psychology today
Weakness: criticised in terms of machine reductionism.

Question 10

What are schemas

Answer 10

Is a collection of ideas about a situation or person which are formed through experience.

Question 11

What is the biological approach.

Answer 11

Explains human behaviour in terms of physical processes. Evolutionary psychologists argue that a behaviour, such as aggression, is adaptive and is passed down to successive generations Through natural selection.
The biological approach studies biological structure which is the organisation of parts to form an organ, sytem ir living thing and neurochemistry which relates to the regulation of psychological functioning by chemicals in the brain.

Question 12

Give a strength and weakness of the biological approach.

Answer 12

Strength: is praised for being scientific.
Weakness: is criticised in terms of causal conclusions.

Question 13

What are genotypes and phenotypes.

Answer 13

Genotype: the particular set of genes a person posses.
Phenotype: are the characteristics determined by both genes and environment.

Question 14

What is the psychodynamic approach

Answer 14

Assumes that the unconscious mind is the driving force behind behaviour even though we are unaware of it.
Th Id is responsible for pleasure seeking and unreasonable behaviour.
The superego is responsivle for guilty feelings as it acts as the individuals conscience.
The ego or ‘reality principle’ balancew the demands of the id and superego.

Question 15

Give a strength and weakness of the psychodynamic approach.

Answer 15

Strength: the Freudian theory is argued to have a comprehensive framework to describe human peronality and therefore has good explanatory power.
Weakness: lack of scientific evidence concerning the major theoretical assumptiins of the approach.

Question 16

What is the humanistic approach

Answer 16

Argues that humans have free will.
Self actualisation which is the peak state of existance.
Congruence occurs when the self is the ideal self are matched.
The influence on counselling psychology aims to reduce the gap between the self-concept and the ideal self.
Conditions of worth where a child has to behave in ways that parents approve in order ro gain their praise and love.

Question 17

Give a strength and weakness of the humanistic approach.

Answer 17

Strength: sees humans as giid and capable.
Weakness: criticised in terms of culture bias.