Approaches AO3

Question 1

(OOP) Strength of Wundts origins of psychology (scientific/standardised procedures)

Answer 1

Strength. Methodologies attempted to be scientific as they were standardised procedures in a controlled lab. Example is the ticking metronome where ppts were asked to introspect on thoughts, images and sensations. All ppts could be tested same way to check reliability of findings. This paved a way for psychology to establish as a science.

Question 2

(OOP) limitation of Wundt’s origin of psychology

Answer 2

His method was subjective (influenced by opinion/bias) and lacked scientific rigour of today. It relied on self report methods of introspection. Individual bias may affect results as well as ppts not able to report unconscious thoughts. This makes it more difficult to establish meaningful laws of behaviour inline with aims of science. Today’s standards means his methods were naive and wouldn’t meet standards of scientific enquiry

Question 3

(OOP) strength of Wundt’s origin of psychology (contribution)

Answer 3

Wundt’s contribution hugely shaped future of psychology. 1st person to attempt study of human behaviour in a scientific way using controlled/ standardised methodology e.g. recording reaction time in systematic way in presented stimuli. Without his contributions, psychology may not be the distinct subject it is today. Most Uni’s have psychology departments which have gained scientific status.

Question 4

(behaviourism) strength of behaviourist approach (science)

Answer 4

recognised as a science. experimental methods used by Pavlov and Skinner rejected emphasis on introspection and focused on more objective behaviours. emphasis on the scientific method has led to increasingly valid and reliable understanding of human behaviour. methods helped psychology gain credibility and status as a scientific discipline.

Question 5

(behaviourism) strength of behaviourist approach (significance for mental health)

Answer 5

big changes to understanding mental health. phobias result of unpleasant experiences. understanding helped psychologists develop therapies. gambling understood through operant conditioning. rewards of gambling seen to reinforce destructive behaviour. behaviourist approach has many real world applications in understanding + treating typical behaviour.

Question 6

(behaviourism) limitation of behaviourist approach (reductionist)

Answer 6

too reductionist. ignore alternate levels of explanation including role of cognition, emotion and biological factors influencing behaviour. Skinner countered this but his cognitions weren’t directly measurable and observable. Even most complex of human interactions could be operant conditioning to repeat/stop the behaviour.

Question 7

(behaviourism) limitation of behaviourist approach (animals)

Answer 7

most research conducted on animals. assumed principles of learning identified in these animals can be equally applies to humans. human brains are very different to animals. humans can think about behaviour rather than respond to a stimulus/reinforcement/punishment. results from non human animals can only be generalised with caution to humans

Question 8

(SLT) strength of social learning theory (role model)

Answer 8

importance similarity of role models- research supporting. Fox and Bailenson (2009) found humans likely to copy npc’s similar to themselves. Rushton and Campbell (1977) found same sex modelling significantly increased number of female observers who donated blood. supports the idea that we are more likely to model behaviour when role model is similar. Emp evidence adds validity to key principle of theory.

Question 9

(SLT) strength of social learning theory (holistic)

Answer 9

more holistic approach than traditional behaviourism. approach acknowledges the role cognition plays in whether behaviour is limited or not. SLT more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising role of cognitive processes. Better explained complex behaviour

Question 10

(SLT) limitation of social learning theory (not full explanation)

Answer 10

not full explanation. no consideration to other factors like biological influences. More aggressive when testosterone is high rather than observation. serotonin low = more anxious. no role model to imitate. not full comprehensive explanation to human behaviour and needs other approaches

Question 11

(SLT) limitation of social learning theory (methodology)

Answer 11

methodology criticised as a lab exp. children aggressive because they think they have to be rather than genuine behaviour. demand characteristics. kids pick up on environment for aggression which means the results have lower internal validity.

Question 12

(CA) strength of cognitive approach (deterministic)

Answer 12

less deterministic than behavioural approach. free will is an illusion although some elements of free choice in thoughts and behaviours. complete free will is unlikely due to external factors that exert an influence. thoughts freely chosen but limited to our knowledge

Question 13

(CA) strength of cognitive approach (RL application)

Answer 13

real life application. CBT is effective which challenges thoughts. cost effective. less burden on NHS which benefits the economy

Question 14

(CA) strength of cognitive approach (methodology)

Answer 14

high controlled methodology. lab exp. which is reliable and objective. peterson and peterson - trigrams. STM duration. inference= successful recall. therefore scientific explanation

Question 15

(CA) limitation of cognitive approach (machine reductionist)

Answer 15

machine reductionist. ignored influence on human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system. may affect ability to process info. research foinf human memory affected emotional factors. therefore it is too holistic

Question 16

(BA) strength of biological approach (scientific)

Answer 16

Often uses scientific method of research which extends psychology as a science. Research unit genetics and neurochemistry require precise scientific methodology. This provides psychologists with an accurate measure of internal processes that previously weren’t accessible

Question 17

(BA) strength of biological approach (real world)

Answer 17

Real world application. ‘abnormal’ neurochemistry activity has led to the use of psychoactive drugs to treat serious mental disorders. Practical benefits for developing treatments but also provided patients with explanation that illness is not their fault. Antidepressants don’t work for everyone which suggests it’s more factors leading to disorders.

Question 18

(BA) limitation to biological approach (brain structures)

Answer 18

Focus on brain structures. Schizophrenia suggests that a lack of activity in ventral striatum is linked to development of negative symptoms. Can’t tell reduced activity in certain areas of the brain that cause behaviour. Biological explanations often based on correlational results

Question 19

(BA) limitation of biological approach (deterministic)

Answer 19

Too biologically deterministic. Bio psychologists see behaviour as result of neurochemical, neuroanatomical or genetic influences which we have no control. Genotype heavily influenced by environment. Therefore too deterministic and ignores interaction with environment.

Question 20

(BA) limitation of evolutionary explanation with biological approach (untestable)

Answer 20

Evolutionary explanation of human behaviour is too untestable. Not possible to show evolution is happening and many arguments are outdated. Natural selection however is supported by evidence like cognitive archaeology. Therefore it can be seen that using evolutionary explanation of human behaviour remains controversial

Question 21

(PA) strength of psychodynamic approach

Answer 21

great explanatory powers. freud has huge influence on psychology. controversial although. behaviourism remains a dominant force and has been used to explain a wide range of phenomena. approach draws attention to connection between experiences in childhood. used today in ACE’s research

Question 22

(PA) limitation of psychodynamic approach (untestable)

Answer 22

unscientific and untestable l. can’t tests unconscious also it’s not empirically testable. according to Popper, the theory is not testable and is not falsifiable. freud is not studied in much detail in many psychology courses despite being influential

Question 23

(PA) limitation os psychodynamic approach (deterministic)

Answer 23

too deterministic. we have no free will over our choices. behaviour is a result of the success or failure of working through psychosexual stages. can be explained from psychic deterministic

Question 24

(PA) limitation of psychodynamic approach (gender bias)

Answer 24

demonstrates gender bias. obsession with oedipus complex. irrelevant to understanding of women. claims women have penis envy. inferior to men. freuds theories can be adapted to provide useful insights into female behaviours. his work has been used to develop important and influential theories

Question 25

(HA) strength of humanistic approach
(holistic approach)

Answer 25

rejects reductionist methods of studying human behaviour and focuses on whole person which is a holistic approach. areas investigated by humanism. consciousness and emotion are difficult to scientifically study. humanism gains better insight into individual behaviour through use of qualitative methods.

Question 26

(HA) strength of humanistic approach
(counselling)

Answer 26

major influence on psychological counselling. contemporary therapists use roger’s ideas of unconditional positive regard. very useful in workplace so it can argue humanistic approach is useful in clinical settings which is good real life application.

Question 27

(HA) limitation of humanistic approach (limited emp evidence)

Answer 27

— Untestable and subjective concepts = As with Freud’s psychodynamic approach, humanism suffers from a lack of empirical evidence and no possibility of systematically observing and measuring the processes which it describes. Self-actualisation cannot be objectively measured, due to individual differences and a lack of a universal measuring scale. Similarly, congruence may also be up to personal judgement, especially as opinions of whether one has is their ‘ideal self’ will differ. This does little to improve the scientific credibility of both humanism and Psychology.

Question 28

(HA) limitation of humanistic approach (ethnocentric)

Answer 28

A culture-bound explanation of behaviour = Maslow’s ideas of self-actualisation, the need to improve oneself, and congruence can be mostly viewed as attitudes typical of Western, individualist cultures where the needs of the individual are greater than the needs of the group. Therefore, due to this cultural bias, humanism may be more readily accepted by Western cultures who will identify more with these values, as opposed to Eastern collectivist cultures, where such a desire for personal growth may be seen as selfish considering that the needs of the group are greater than that of the individual.