APPROACHES - COMPARING APPROACHES Flashcards
What is reductionism?
The view that behaviour should be studied by breaking down the individual into its smaller components
Define Holism
The idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts
Define idiographic
In terms of approaches, focusing on the individual and emphasising the unique personal experience of human nature
Define nomothetic
In psychology, the concern with general laws, based on the study of large groups of people
What approaches believe in free will?
Humanistic
What approaches are deterministic?
- Biological approach
- Behaviourist approach
- Social Learning Theory
- Cognitive approach
- Psychodynamic approach
What approaches take the nature debate?
- Biological approach
- Cognitive approach
- Psychodynamic approach
What approaches take the nurture debate?
- Behaviourist approach
- Social learning theory
- Cognitive approach
- Humanistic approach
What approaches are reductionist?
- Biological approach
- Behaviourist approach
- Social learning theory
- Cognitive approach
- Psychodynamic approach
What approach is holistic?
- Humanistic approach
- Psychodynamic approach
What approaches are nomothetic?
- Biological approach
- Behaviourist approach
- Social learning theory
- Cognitive approach
- Psychodynamic approach
What approaches are idiographic?
- Cognitive approach
- Psychodynamic approach
- Humanistic approach
What approaches are scientific?
- Biological approach
- Behaviourist approach
- Social learning theory
- Cognitive approach
What approaches are non-scientific?
- Psychodynamic approach
- Humanistic approach
Explain how the biological approach is determinist
- Biological determinism
- intelligence research suggests intelligence is determined by genetic factors - 60-80%
Explain how the behaviourist approach is determinist
- Environmental determinism
- Pavlov demonstrated behaviour is determined through association between stimulus and response
Explain how SLT is determinist
- Bandura demonstrated that behaviour is determined by vicarious learning - observation of a model
Explain how the cognitive approach is determinist
- schema determine behaviour
- Atkinson + Shiffrin suggest all human memory can be explained by the Multi-Store Model of Memory
Explain how the psychodynamic approach is determinist
- Psychic determinism
- balance of the id, ego + superego or unresolved repressed childhood trauma determine behaviour
Explain how the humanistic approach believes in free will
- we decide how to behave through our own free choices
- e.g. we decide what it means to self-actualise and behave accordingly
Explain how the biological approach believes in nature
- intelligence research suggests intelligence is determined by genetic factors
Explain how the behaviourist approach believes in nurture
- Pavlov demonstrated behaviour is determined through association between stimulus and response
Explain how SLT approach believes in nurture
- Bandura demonstrated that behaviour is determined by vicarious learning - observation of a model
Explain how the cognitive approach believes in nature and nurture
- in cognitive neuroscience Burnett et al. (2009) found that when people feel guilty (nurture) the medial prefrontal cortex (nature) is activated
Explain how the psychodynamic approach believes in nature
- MOSTLY nature
- innate drives - libido’s expression through the psychosexual stages
^— childhood experience shapes this (nurture)
Explain how the humanistic approach believes in nurture
- self-actualisation and what that looks like for each person is subjective
Explain how the biological approach is reductionist
- Biologically reductionist
- elevated levels of testosterone are associated with aggression (Dabbs et al)
Explain how the behaviourist approach is reductionist
- Environmentally reductionist
- Skinner reduces behaviour to positive/negative reinforcement and punishment
Explain how SLT is reductionist
- Environmentally reductionist
- Bandura demonstrated aggression was the result of vicarious learning
Explain how the cognitive approach is reductionist
- Experimentally reductionist
- when the cause of behaviour is the result of an IV, e.g. memory is studied in terms of capacity, duration + coded (how info gets into memory)
Explain how the psychodynamic approach is reductionist and holistic
- behaviour is reduced to innate drives but shaped by early childhood experiences
^— e.g. Little Hans case study - Freud suggested that his phobia of horses was related to the Oedipus complex - Freud suggested all phobias occurred this way
Explain how the humanistic approach is holistic
- focus on conscious experience, personal responsibility and the whole experience of a person striving for personal growth and fulfilment
Explain how the biological approach is nomothetic
- universal laws because humans share same physiologies
^— e.g. all behaviour has a genetic cause - elevated levels of testosterone are are associated with aggression
Explain how the behaviourist approach is nomothetic
- Universal laws as behaviour is the result of stimulus response
^— e.g. Pavlov’s dogs sound of bell (CS) > salivation (CR - All humans born tabula rasa
Explain how SLT is nomothetic
- Universal laws as behaviour is the result of vicarious reinforcement
^— Bandura demonstrates aggressive behaviour was socially transmitted
Explain how the cognitive approach is nomothetic and idiographic
- Attempts to establish general law of cognitive processing
^— e.g. MSM explains all human memory (Atkinson + Shiffrin) - Also used idiographic approach with case studies - him problems with STM helped us to understand how STM may work
Explain how the psychodynamic approach is nomothetic and idiographic
- Attempts to establish a general law in relation to innate drives
^— Freud used case studies (IDIOGRAPHIC) to create general laws - Individual childhood experience
^— e.g. Little Hans- Freud suggested that his phobia of horses was related to the Oedipus complex | Freud suggested all phobias occurred in this way (NOMOTHETIC)
Explain how the humanistic approach is idiographic
- Focuses on the subjective experience and makes no attempts to create general laws
Explain how the biological approach is scientific
- Biological approach promotes scientific methods of investigation
^— e.g. brain scans - Burnett et al (2009) demonstrated that the prefrontal cortex is active when feeling guilty
Explain how the behaviourist approach is scientific
- Behaviourist approach uses scientific methods
^— e.g. laboratory experiments (Pavlov’s dogs + Skinner’s rats)
Explain how SLT is scientific
- Mostly scientific
- Uses scientific methods but also considers influence of mediational processes
^— e.g. Bobo Doll experiment - lab experiments, however acknowledgement of the role of attention, retention, motor reproduction + motivation between and observation + potential imitation
Explain how the cognitive approach is scientific
- Mostly scientific
- Uses scientific methods but you cannot observe cognitive processes, only make inference from outcomes of lab experiments
Explain how the psychodynamic approach is not scientific
- Examines abstract concept that cannot be empirically researched
^— e.g. id, ego + superego are abstract - relies on subjective interpretation
Explain how the humanistic approach is not scientific
- Rejects scientific methods
^— unable to provide empirical evidence - e.g. the concept of self-actualisation is unique and subjective to an individual
