Approaches

Question 1

Who was the first person to call themselves a psychologist? What methods did they use?

Answer 1

Wilhelm Wundt

He used experimental methods and introspection - a process in which a person gains knowledge about his or her emotional state by observing their own conscious thoughts and feelings

Question 2

What is empiricism?

Answer 2

The belief that all knowledge is derived from experience (rather than being innate)

Question 3

What is the scientific method?

Answer 3

It refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable. Measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately.

Question 4

What are the strengths of Wundt’s methods?

Answer 4

Strengths of a scientific approach:

• Knowledge acquired through the scientific method is more than just the passive acceptance of facts
• Scientific methods rely on determinism, so they are able to establish causes of behaviour
• Scientific knowledge is self-corrective; theories can be refined or abandoned

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of Wundt’s methods?

Answer 5

• Unreliable: he focusses on ‘unobservable’ processes such as memory and perception, which can only be reported on by participants. not replicable
• introspection is not particularly accurate; we can be unaware of the things we think and feel, and may have a distorted view of it all
• weaknesses of a scientific approach to psychology: by focussing on objectivity and control in observations, psychologists create contrived environments that do not mirror real life. a lot of behaviour is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured.

Question 6

What are the 3 assumptions of the biological approach?

Answer 6

1. the genes that people inherit influence their behaviour
2. the central nervous system affects behaviour
3. our neurochemistry (hormones and neurotransmitters) influences behaviour

Question 7

What are the strengths of the biological approach?

Answer 7

• Uses scientific method; objective, reliable, controlled. (compare to case studies)
• Deterministic; allows for clear predictions of behaviour which can be applied to large groups of people e.g. in the development of medicine, or diagnosing schizophrenia due to a larger brain. (compare to psychodynamic app.)

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of the biological approach?

Answer 8

• Reductionist; breaks human behaviour down, underestimating its complexity, may offer an explanation that is too simple e.g. treating depression with a drug when there might be other factors
• Not as helpful if used on its own; Diathesis-stress model of behaviour shows that people may be predisposed to a behaviour that may only be triggered by a stressful experience. illustrates link between psychodynamic and biological theory
• Can lead to discrimination against those predisposed to criminality i.e. their genetics define them, ignores other factors if they are screened

Question 9

What are the 3 main assumptions of the cognitive approach?

Answer 9

INTERNAL MENTAL PROCESSES
- can be studied scientifically, not directly but indirectly by inferring what goes on in our minds to lead to a behaviour. focuses on a stimulus and response

SCHEMAS
- cognitive frameworks that help us to interpret and organise information: mental representations of the world

COMPUTER ANALOGY - INFORMATION PROCESSING MODELS
- used to explain and make inferences about mental processes (input->processing->output)

Question 10

What is the cognitive approach?

Answer 10

The cognitive approach is concerned with the study of internal mental processes and believes they should be studied scientifically. It sees the mind as working like a computer, inputting and processing sensory information to initiate behaviour.

Question 11

What are the advantages of the cognitive approach?

Answer 11

Applications: it leads to the development of treatment for illnesses using cognitive-based therapy. helps to link dysfunctional behaviour back to faulty thinking processes

Scientific: use of experimental method provides a rigorous method for collecting and evaluating evidence. hence conclusions made on the mind are based on more than just common sense and introspection

Question 12

What are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach?

Answer 12

Difficult to compare the human mind to a computer: oversimplifying. we forget things and make errors while computers don’t

Ignores emotion and motivation: although the approach tells us how mental processes work, it doesn’t tell us why.