Approaches AO3 Flashcards
Weakness of psychodynamic approach.
Untestable concepts.
Much of it is untestable as concepts are said to occur at an unconscious level, making them difficult to test. As a result, it isn’t falsifiable.
Concepts are based on subjective case studies making it difficult to make universal claims on human behaviour.
Strength of psychodynamic approach.
Real-world applicability.
Introduced the idea of psychotherapy, producing psychoanalysis., The first attempt at treating mental disorders psychologically, by employing techniques to access the unconscious.
Claims to help clients by bringing repressed emotions to the conscious mind.
Explanatory power of the psychodynamic approach.
It has the ability to explain human behaviour, explaining a wide range of phenomena - i.e. origins of psychological disorders, gender identity etc.
Draws attention to the connection between childhood experiences and our later development.
Had a positive impact on psychology.
Weakness of humanistic approach.
Culture bias.
Many of the central ideas would be more readily associated with individualistic countries. Those with collective tendencies tend to emphasise interdependence more. This means some of the ideals, i.e. self-actualisation, may not be as important as others.
This means it isn’t universal and a product of the culture in which it was developed.
Strength of humanistic approach.
It’s optimistic.
Promotes a positive image of the human condition, seeing people as good and free to work towards achieving their potential with control of their lives.
Holistic nature of the humanistic approach.
Advocates the idea that a subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person. A vastly different standpoint from that of behaviourists and biological approaches.
It considers more meaningful human behaviour within its real-world context.
Weakness of behaviourist approach.
Enviromental deterministic.
Suggests everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history, which is what determines decision outcomes. Ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour.
Extreme position, ignoring conscious decision-making processes.
Strength of behaviourist approach.
Based on well-controlled research.
Behaviourists focused on measuring observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings. Breaking behaviour into stimulus-response units removed extraneous variables so cause and effect can be established.
Scientific credibility.
Applicability of the behaviourist approach.
Applied to real behaviours and problems.
Operant conditioning forms the basis of token economy systems in institutions, like prisons. They work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens exchangeable for privileges.
Weakness of social learning theory.
The evidence base is purely lab studies.
Bandura’s ideas were developed through lab observations of young children. Due to their contrived nature, ppts may respond d to demand characteristics.
Suggested that children were just responding in the way they thought was expected.
Tells us little about how children learn aggression in real life.
Strength of social learning theory.
Recognise the significance of cognitive factors in learning.
The behaviourist approach cannot offer an adequate account of learning on its own as humans store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it’s appropriate to perform certain actions.
As SLT takes this into account it provides a more comprehensive explanation, recognising mediational processes.
Applicability of social learning theory.
Applied to real-world behaviours.
It is able to explain cultural differences in behaviour. Principles such as modelling, imitation and reinforcement explain how children learn from those around them including the media, explaining how social norms are transmitted within societies.
Weakness of cognitive approach.
Based on machine reductionism.
Similarities between the human mind and the operations of a thinking machine (computer). Subsequently, the influence of human emotion and motivation is ignored and how this may affect our processing abilities.
Strength of cognitive approach.
Uses objective, scientific methods.
Using highly controlled and rigorous methods allows researchers to infer cognitive processes at work.
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enhanced the scientific basis of the study due to the collaboration of biological and cognitive psychology.
Credible scientific basis.
Applicability of the cognitive approach.
Made important contributions to AI and the development of thinking machines - robots - revolutionising how we live now and in the future.
Applied to the treatment of depression and improvement of eyewitness testimony.
