APPROACHES: Evaluation Flashcards
ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1) Wundt’s methods were unreliable as
his structural approach relied on primarily non-observable responses like memory and perception
However, earlier behaviourists were already achieving reliably reproducable results that could be generalised to all human beings.
ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGY
2) Because it relies on objective and systematic methods of observation, knowledge acquired is more than passive acceptance of a theory.
Therefore, the scientific approach can establish the causes of behaviour through empirical and replicable methods.
However, this means if scientific theories are disproved they can easily be abandoned or refined.
ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGY
3) Not all psychologists agree that the scientific method can be explored by the scientific model because
if human behaviour doesn’t follow the same rules that the scientific method states then the method becomes inappropriate.
This means that most of psychological knowledge is inferential.
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH
1) Classical conditioning has been applied to the development of treatments for reducing anxiety associated with phobias, known as
systematic desensitisation (SD) which works by eliminating the learned anxious response (CR) and replace it so the patient is no longer anxious around the phobic stimulus. This has been proven to be effective for many different phobias
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH
2) Different species face different challenges to survive so some relationships between CS and UCS can be difficult to establish. Seligman proposed that
animals are prepared to learn associations that are beneficial for their needs, but aren’t prepared to learn associations that aren’t neccesary for survival.
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH
3) One strength of Skinner’s research was that he relied on the experimental method which allowed him to control variables. For example,
he manipulated the consequences of the behaviour in the Skinner boc to accurately measure the effects on the rat’s behaviour.
This meant he could show a relationship between the consequences of a behaviour and the frequency of its occurence
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
1) Social learning has been applied to help us understand more areas of human behaviour such as criminal behaviour.
Akers suggests
an individual is more likely to engage in criminal behaviour if they are exposed to models who commit criminal behaviour and identify with the models.
Ulrich supported this with the finding that the strongest cause of violence in adolscence was associated with peer groups that rewarded and modelled violence.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
2) The social learning theory suggests observing a similar model should lead to more learning. One study used
virtual humans taking part in exercise that looked either similar or dissimilar to themselves and found more participants that observed a similar looking model took parti in more exercise over 24h.
This shows that a greater identification with a model leads to more learning because the observer feels as though they are having the same experience.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
3) A criticism of the social learning theory is that it states association with deviant behaviour of others increases the chances the individual will adopt the same behaviour. Siegel and McCormick suggest
yound people with deviant attitutes will always go to peers with similar attitutes.
Therefore, the cause of commiting the crime may not be social learning due to exposure to deviant role models but possesion of deviant attitudes due to deviant peers.
COGNITIVE APPROACH
1) One strength of the cognitive approach is that it has been applied to different ares of psychology, such as
research into social cognition which helps us understand how we interpret the actions of others and how dysfunctional behaviour can be traced back to faulty thought processes.
This has led to more successful treatment of people who suffer from things like depression or OCD.
COGNITIVE APPROACH
3) The cognitive approach uses computer models to explain how humans process information, however
this is a limited analogy because we collect and process information differently to computers and computers don’t make mistakes or forget information.
Therefore, this limits the appropriateness of explaining the concept of human thought/behaviour through computer models.
COGNITIVE APPROACH
5) Most cognitive psychology studies lack ecological validity, for example
memory experiments use random word lists of digits which is different from how we use memory in everyday life.
Therefore, a lot of research in cognitive psychology lacks ecological validity as it fails to reflect behaviours that occur in everyday life.
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
1) One advantage of the biological approach is that it uses the scientific method, meaning that
other researchers can replicate the study and add to the validity because of the sophisticated imaging used.
As a result this contribute to the scientific validity of the biological approach
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
3) One disadvantage of the biological approach is that it is reductionist, for example
the explanations of mental disorders due to the fact that the main cause is because of genes or neurochemical imbalances.
This means we can’t fully understand a certain behaviour without considering other factors that influence it, for example cognitive or emotional.
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
5) Critics believe this approach may lead to genetic screening of a population of those with a genetic predisposition to criminality. This creates a
danger that genes could be used to explain criminality, despite the connection between genes and complex behaviours not being simple.
However, positive consequences of this are that individuals with a genetic predisposition to criminality are support to protect them from its influence.
