Areas and Perspectives

Question 1

Social

Answer 1

• behaviour is the result of social context/environment/setting and situational factors
• people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others

Question 2

Cognitive

Answer 2

• behaviour is the result of mental processes such as thinking, attention, perception which can be measured scientifically
• behaviour is the result of the mind working like a computer i.e. information is input, stored and retrieved

Question 3

Developmental

Answer 3

• behaviour changes and develops with age and experience

- development of human behaviour is an interaction of the influences of nature and nurture

Question 4

Biological

Answer 4

• behaviour can be best explained as the result of nature processes
• behaviour is biologically determined

Question 5

Individual Differences

Answer 5

• in order to understand the complexity of human behaviour and experience it is better to focus on the differences between people rather than what they have in common
• we can understand human behaviour in terms of the individual’s uniqueness due to genetic and physiological make up, personal qualities and social experiences

Question 6

Behaviourism

Answer 6

• our behaviour is purely a product of our environment and therefore nurture is more powerful than nature
• behaviours are learnt through 3 main processes: classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning

Question 7

Psychodynamic

Answer 7

• the structure and drives of our unconscious mind (ego, id and superego) strongly influence behaviour
• children’s behaviour develops in stages, our personality is shaped by early experiences and relationships