Approaches: Comparisons of approaches

Question 1

What are the 4 comparisons for approaches?

Answer 1

Nature v Nurture
Holism v Reductionism
Free will v Determinism
Commitment to scientific method

Question 2

What approaches favour the nature side of the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 2

Biological

Question 3

What evidence is there to show that the biological approach favours the nature side?

Answer 3

The activity of genes, hormones and neurotransmitters is inherited/ innate.

Question 4

What approaches favour the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 4

Behaviorist
SLT
Humanistic

Question 5

What evidence is there to show that the behaviourist approach favours the nurture side?

Answer 5

Behaviour is learnt through experience (stimulus-response links)
Nurture

Question 6

What evidence is there to show that SLT favours the nature side?

Answer 6

Behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation of an identified role model within a social context.

Question 7

What evidence is there to show that the humanistic approach favours the nature side?

Answer 7

A lack of unconditional positive regard in childhood, due to implemented conditions of worth, leads to low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness

Question 8

What approaches favour both sides of the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 8

Cognitive
Psychodynamic

Question 9

What evidence is there to show that the cognitive approach favours the both sides?

Answer 9

Babies are born with a select few innate schemas (e.g., schemas) but develop other sophisticated schemas over time.

Question 10

What evidence is there to show that the psychodynamic approach favours the both sides?

Answer 10

Focuses on the nature side of human behaviour in the unconscious forces and the conflicts that we must all deal with.

Question 11

What approaches favour the holistic side of the holism v reductionism?

Answer 11

Humanistic

Question 12

What evidence is there for holism in the humanistic approach?

Answer 12

the whole, subjective human experience is used to study behaviour without formulating general laws.

Question 13

What approaches favour the reductionist side of the holism v reductionism?

Answer 13

Behaviourist
SLT
Cognitive
Biological
Psychodynamic

Question 14

What evidence is there for reductionism in the behaviourist approach?

Answer 14

Environmental Reductionism – all behaviour is explained in terms of simple stimulus-response links.

Question 15

What evidence is there for reductionism in SLT approach?

Answer 15

Reductionist view that behaviour can be explained in terms of classical conditions, operant conditioning and vicarious reinforcement.

Question 16

What evidence is there for reductionism in the cognitive approach?

Answer 16

Reductionist view that behaviour can be explained in terms of influence of schemas.

Question 17

What evidence is there for reductionism in the biological approach?

Answer 17

Biological reductionism – behaviour can only be explained by the actions of genes, hormones and neurotransmitters

Question 18

What evidence is there for reductionism in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 18

Reductionist as it relies on a basic set of structures that attempt to simplify the complexity of the mind.

Question 19

What approaches favour the free will side of free will v determinism?

Answer 19

Humanistic

Question 20

What evidence is there for free will in the humanistic approach?

Answer 20

Humans are free to reject external forces that operate on us because we are ‘masters ‘of our own development.

Question 21

What approaches favour the determinism side of the free will v determinism debate?

Answer 21

Behaviourist
SLT
Cognitive
Biological
Psychodynamic

Question 22

What evidence is there for determinism in the behaviourist approach?

Answer 22

Environmental Determinism – all behaviour is the result of classical and operant conditioning, where we have no conscious insight into our behaviour.

Question 23

What evidence is there for determinism in SLT approach?

Answer 23

Reciprocal Determinism – We operate on the environment, but the environment in turn operates on us.

Question 24

What evidence is there for determinism in the cognitive approach?

Answer 24

Soft Determinism – We are free to make conscious decisions and reason with the limit of what we know/ our cognitive system.

Question 25

What evidence is there for determinism in the biological approach?

Answer 25

Biological Determinism – All behaviour is caused by internal biological forces, which we have no control over.

Question 26

What evidence is there for determinism in the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 26

Psychic Determinism – views behaviour as entirely caused by unconscious emotional drives over which we have no control over.

Question 27

What approaches show a negative commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 27

Humanistic

Question 28

What evidence is there to show that the humanistic approach has a negative commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 28

Humanistic psychologists argue that scientific research methods are derived from a suited for the natural sciences but aren’t appropriate for the complexities of human consciousness and experience.

Question 29

What approaches show a positive commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 29

Behaviourist SLT Cognitive Biological Psychodynamic

Question 30

What evidence is there to show that the behaviourist approach has a positive commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 30

Highly objective and experimentally based – by focusing only on responses that can be accurately measured.

Question 31

What evidence is there to show that SLT has a positive commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 31

Research investigations are reliable and allow a cause and effect to be drawn. However, this does mean that that research tends to be carried out in artificial settings and so can lack validity.

Question 32

What evidence is there to show that the cognitive approach has a positive commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 32

Most prepositions can be easily tested. However, mental processes are largely unobservable.

Question 33

What evidence is there to show that the biological approach has a positive commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 33

The influence of neurotransmitters in a behaviour can be investigated by administering drugs which change the levels of a particular neurotransmitter in the brain and then measuring any change in behaviour.

Question 34

What approaches show a mixed commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 34

Psychodynamic

Question 35

What evidence is there to show that the psychodynamic approach has a mixed commitment to the scientific method?

Answer 35

Some aspects of this approach are open to scientific investigation, there tends to be a much greater reliance on case studies and subjective interpretation.