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approaches + debates Flashcards

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1
Q

assumptions of the developmental approach?

A

*Change and development is an ongoing process which continues throughout our lifetime.
*Behaviour may be learned (nurture) or may be innate (biological).
*Early experiences affect later development.
*Development may happen in pre-determined stages. (Piaget)

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2
Q

assumptions of the social approach?

A
  • Other people and the environment influence our behaviour and thought processes. (Situational factors)
  • All human behaviour occurs in a social context (even in the absence of others).
  • Our relationships with others influence our behaviour and thought processes.
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3
Q

assumptions of the individual doifferences approach?

A
  • Individuals differ in their behaviour so not everyone can be considered ‘the average person.’
  • Everyone is genetically unique, and this uniqueness is displayed through their behaviour.
  • All human characteristics can be measured from one person and quantified. The measures gained from one person are different to those gained from another.
  • All psychological characteristics are inherited, as everyone inherits different characteristics, everyone is different and unique.
  • uses the idiographic approach
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4
Q

assumptions of the biological approach?

A
  • All that is psychological is first physiological:
  • The mind resides in the brain and so all thoughts, feelings and behaviours have a biological cause.
  • Much behaviour has a genetic basis:
  • Genes have evolved over a million years to adapt our physiology to our environment.
  • The biological area therefore states that psychology should investigate the brain, neurochemistry, and genetics.
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5
Q

assumptions of the cognitive approach?

A
  • prefer experimental method
  • Internal mental processes such as memory, thinking, reasoning, problem-solving and language, are important features influencing human behaviour
  • Mind is mechanistic, suggesting that we process information like a computer and behaviour is therefore highly predictable
  • Input→ Process →Output
  • Therapies attempt to address faulty thinking
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6
Q

assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?

A
  1. Many influences on behaviour come from the unconscious
  2. Childhood is a critical period in development of our behaviour and personality
  3. Our behaviour is a result of an interaction between unconscious innate drives (i.e. desire of pleasure) and early experiences (extent to which our early desires were gratified) – these conflicts remain with the adult and exert pressure through unconsciously motivated behaviour
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7
Q

assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

A
  1. All behaviour is learnt and acquired through experience and interaction with the environment
  2. Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, that can be objectively and scientifically measured.
  3. When born our mind is a blank slate
  4. Behaviour is the result of stimulus – response
  5. Laws of learning are universal across all species
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8
Q

what are some key concepts of behaviourism?

A

classical conditioning
operant conditioning
social learning theory

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9
Q

what is reductionism?

A

Reductionism is where explanations of behaviour are reduced to one or two factors or its simplest form.

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10
Q

what is holism?

A

Holism is where behaviour is explained encompassing a combination of innate and environmental factors.

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11
Q

what is nature?

A

Explains behaviour through inherited factors such as neurochemistry, genetics and brain regions

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12
Q

what is nurture?

A

Explains behaviour through environmental factors such as culture, ethnic or social groups.

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13
Q

what is determinism?

A

Where behaviour has a cause that is pre-determined and out of the control of the individual.

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14
Q

what is freewill?

A

Where people have conscious control over which behaviours they choose to display.

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15
Q

what is the individual debate?

A

centred on the person, claiming they behave the way they do because of their personality and choices

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16
Q

what is the situational debate?

A

behaviour could be described as resulting from group pressure, group membership and the environment

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17
Q

what is socially sensitive research?

A

psychological research that has ethical implications that go beyond the research situation and affect people or groups in the wider society. It involves studies that have the potential to have a negative impact on specific groups of people or society in general.

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18
Q

strengths of reductionism?

A
  • Tends to be more Scientific.
  • Easier to test for cause and effect
  • Objective explanation
  • Isolate variables
  • Predictable
  • Interventions/applications are better
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19
Q

weakness of reductionism?

A
  • Not realistic to represent human behaviour in one factor
  • Ignores other/multiple causes of certain behaviours.
  • Lacks ecological validity
  • Not in line with societies views
  • Can be socially sensitive
20
Q

strengths of holism?

A
  • More realistic when explaining human behaviour.
  • Can look for multiple causes of behaviour
  • High in validity as multiple factors are being looked at
  • High external validity- generalisable
21
Q

weaknesses of holism?

A
  • Less scientific
  • More factors means its difficult to establish which is most influential
  • Harder to test cause and effect
  • Ignores simpler explanations
22
Q

strengths of nature?

A
  • Easier to establish cause and effect.
  • Easisern to isolate variables so scientific
  • Objective measures can be used eg scanners
  • Deterministic
  • Behaviour is predictable
  • Reductionist
  • Takes individual approach
  • People aren’t to blame for their behaviour
23
Q

weaknesses of nature?

A
  • Reductionist
  • Ignores other/external factors
  • Ignores the situational explanation
  • People can’t change therefore don’t take responsibility for their actions.
24
Q

strength of nurture?

A
  • More realistic as can capture multiple explanations of behaviour
  • People can change their behaviour
  • people can take responsibility for their actions.
  • Situational explanation
25
Q

weaknesses of nurture?

A
  • Difficult to establish cause and effect and less scientific.
  • People are to blame for their behaviours.
  • Reductionist
  • Ignores the individual explanation
  • Ignores internal factors
26
Q

strength of determinism?

A
  • Behaviour can be predictable.
  • Recognises people may not be responsible for their actions.
  • Objective
  • Interventions can be put in to place if we know a cause.
27
Q

weaknesses of determinism?

A
  • ignores that an individual may have the choice to behave in a certain way.
  • People don’t take responsibility for their actions.
  • Socially sensitive
  • Goes against societies views.
  • Ignores individual differences.
  • reductionist
28
Q

strength of freewill?

A
  • Individual can take responsibility for their actions.
  • fits societies views
  • takes into account individual differences
  • subjective
29
Q

weakness of freewill?

A
  • Harder to look for predictability in behaviours
  • Harder to test for cause and effect
  • Interventions are harder to create and work successfully
  • Less scientific as its harder to isolate variables
30
Q

strength of the individual debate?

A
  • Supports scientific research.
  • Looks at predisposition to certain behaviour.
  • Allows predictions to be made.
  • Studies can be conducted on individuals rather than struggling to gain access to a group
31
Q

weakness of the individual debate?

A
  • Supports reductionist views
  • Can’t be generalised if research is on individual-lacks external validity
  • Personality traits do not always lead to the same behaviour
  • Ignores the situational explanation
32
Q

strength of the situational debate?

A
  • Provides explanations for group behaviours when not everyone is the same person
  • High in external validity
  • Provides evidence that a person is not predisposed to act a certain way
  • Supports the idea that environmental factors impact on behaviour (nurture)
33
Q

weakness of the situational debate?

A
  • Studies are low in reliability as they are hard to replicate
  • Difficult to study due to artificial environments leading to demand characteristics.
  • Less scientific as low in reliability
  • ignores for individual differences
  • Takes away from personal responsibility
34
Q

features of science?

A
  • Standardisation
  • Objectivity
  • Cause and Effect - the effect of manipulation on IV and DV
  • Falsification
  • Replication
  • Hypothesis Testing
  • Induction - working backwards from the conclusion to develop a theory
  • Deduction - working from the theory to get a conclusion
  • Manipulation of Variables
  • Quantifiable Methods
35
Q

what makes something useful?

A

reliable
valid
representative sample
mixed methods
ecological validity
ethical
objective
generalisable

36
Q

what makes something not useful?

A

case studies
ethnocentrism
subjectivity
extraneous variables
bias

37
Q

strength of social?

A

Useful applications
Detailed evidence
Ethical
Looks at influences rather than just behaviour.
High valid results
Some ecological validity (natural setting)

38
Q

strength of developmental

A

Adds evidence to nature/nurture debate.
Strong theories
Practical applications
Shows development over time.
Longitudinal information
Scientific evidence

39
Q

weakness of social

A

Ethical issues
Generalisability
Observer bias
Low everyday realism
Low ecological validity
Unrepresentative of target population
Socially sensitive

40
Q

weakness of developmental

A

Susceptible to demand characteristics.
Low ecological validity
Rigid stages of development
Too deterministic
Social desirability bias

41
Q

strength of cognitive

A

Scientific approach
Useful
Cause and effect.
High control
Practical applications
Valid results
Testable theories

42
Q

weakness of cognitive

A

Reductionist
Low ecological validity
Ethical issues
Difficult to measure objectivity.
Cannot be directly measured.
Ignores other factors.

43
Q

strength of biological

A

Scientific
Objective measures used.
Practical applications can be made
Easy to test cause and effect

44
Q

weakness of biological

A

Reductionist
Deterministic
Focusses too much on nature.

45
Q

strength of individual differences

A

High ecological validity
Nature and nurture
Takes in consideration external factors.
Collects both qualitative and quantitative data.
Individualistic explanation

46
Q

weakness of individual differences

A

Subjective- open to bias
Individual explanations only
Unrepresentative samples
Considering too many factors
Hard to verify scientifically.
Some studies can’t be generalised

Psychology (15 decks)

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