Behaviourist Approach - Evaluating The Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

what does the acronym DRUGS stand for

Answer 1

Determinism (verses free will)
Reductionism (verses holism)
Useful applications (in the real world)
Generalisability (nomothetic or idiographic)
Science (verses non scientific)

Question 2

Where/how can we use psychology in real life?

Answer 2

• Therapy
• Education
• legal system
• advertising
• business

Question 3

what is the best way to investigate human behaviour

Answer 3

• using the nomothetic approach
• using the idiographic approach

Question 4

What are the characteristics of science that make it falsifiable

Answer 4

• objective
• reliable
• valid
• casual
• repeatable (standardised procedures)
• controlled

Question 5

definition of concept: determinism

Answer 5

An individual’s behaviour is controlled by external or internal forces rather than the individual’s will to do something.

Question 6

definition of concept: free will

Answer 6

Individuals are free to choose their behaviour, and are not constrained by other factors (biology, environment etc).

Question 7

definition of concept: reductionism

Answer 7

Explaining behaviour by breaking down complex phenomena into its most simple components.

Question 8

definition of concept: Holism

Answer 8

Looking at the whole. We cannot predict how the whole system will behave from knowledge of the individual components

Question 9

definition of concept: useful applications

Answer 9

Providing practical applications that are useful and effective intreating patients or improving life outcomes for people.

Question 10

definition of concept: Nomothetic

Answer 10

The study of large numbers of people with the aim of making laws/theories which can be generalised to all people.

Question 11

definition of concept: idiographic

Answer 11

The study of individuals and the unique insights this can give us into human behaviour.

Question 12

definition of concept: science

Answer 12

Is it falsifiable? Does it have: objectivity? Reliability? Is it valid? It is testing causal relationships? Is it controlled or valid?

Question 13

what is the strength(s) for: determinism

Answer 13

• Allows for the development of laws; forms the basis of science.
• Establishes cause and effect to enable predictions to be made.

Question 14

what is the strength(s) for: freewill

Answer 14

Offers an empowering view to individuals who can control their destiny

Question 15

what is the strength(s) for: reductionsim

Answer 15

• It means we can isolate one factor and research it or treat problems by focussing on it.
• Cause and effect relationships can be found.

Question 16

what is the strength(s) for: Holism

Answer 16

It offers a better understanding of human behaviour as it takes into account more factors, including complex ones.

Question 17

what is the strength(s) for: useful applications

Answer 17

It benefits those who receive therapy & provides further evidence that the underlying principles of the approach are correct.

Question 18

what is the strength(s) for: Nomothetic

Answer 18

• Considered to be very scientific; it is easy to replicate and you can generalise.
• Treatments developed can be widely distributed.

Question 19

what is the strength(s) for: idiographic

Answer 19

Recognises the role that individuals play in human behaviour.

Question 20

what is the strength(s) for: science

Answer 20

People are more likely to see the research or approach as credible if it has been conducted in a scientific way.

Question 21

what is the weakness(s) for: Determinism

Answer 21

• Underestimates the uniqueness of individuals & their freedom to choose their destiny.
• May remove individual responsibility for actions.

Question 22

what is the weakness(s) for:freewill

Answer 22

Individuals are responsible for their actions. We are all capable of self-control, which may not always be the case.

Question 23

what is the weakness(s) for: reductionism

Answer 23

It may offer explanations that are too simplistic

Question 24

what is the weakness(s) for: holism

Answer 24

Not a scientific view; it makes researching and treating problems very complex.

Question 25

what is the weakness(s) for: useful applications

Answer 25

N/A

Question 26

what is the weakness(s) for: Nomothetic

Answer 26

ignores individual differences

Question 27

what is the weakness(s) for: idiographic

Answer 27

- Makes it harder to apply laws of human behaviour to everyone and develop treatments. - Also harder to investigate in a scientific way.

Question 28

what is the weakness(s) for: science

Answer 28

N/A

Question 29

Is the behaviourist approach determinism or free will + strengths and weakness

Answer 29

- determinism: - assumption 1 (tabula rasa): we're the product of our interactions with out environment, through stimulus and response - STRENGTH: develop scientific laws because we can establish cause + effect. Therefore because everything is learnt = can be unlearnt - WEAKNESS: ignores individual differences (we might not learn the same, --> behaviour might not be determinable

Question 30

Is the behaviourist approach reductionism or holism + strengths and weakness

Answer 30

- Reductionism - Assumption 2: Behaviour learned through conditioning: we've broken down complex human behaviour into being a result of individual conditioning stages - STRENGTH: individual factors can be isolated and experimented on in order to explain cause + effect, e.g. if we identify the association that causes addiction, we can unlearn it - WEAKNESS: may offer too simplistic explanations: different people have different hormone balances, genetics, childhoods, etc

Question 31

Is the behaviourist approach useful/not useful + strengths and weakness

Answer 31

- Useful - use it in therapy: aversion therapy (treat addiction + remove unwanted behaviour) - use it for children: schools (+R/P, token economy - note token economy is also used in prisons) STRENGTH - + for society: encourages normal behaviour and motivated individuals - + for individuals: remove addiction/phobias - + for economy: treatment costs less then the cause WEAKNESS - n/a

Question 32

Is the behaviourist approach idiographic or Nomothetic + strengths and weakness

Answer 32

- Nomothetic - the general laws for behaviourist approach: we ALL learn thru conditioning, we are ALL born a tabula rasa, we are ALL products of our environment STRENGTHS - you can make predictions (increasing the generalisability), therefore able to suggest appropriate treatments WEAKNESS - ignores individual diffs: ignoring - the difference between humans and animals (our emotions/our brain)

Question 33

Is the behaviourist approach Nature or nurture+ strengths and weakness

Answer 33

- Nurture - assumption 1: NO INHERENT PERSONALITY, we’re products of our environment —> S-R + cond. STRENGTH - we can change our behaviour by reconditioning: we can change our environment but not our biology WEAKNESS - Over simplifies it all: instead we should focus on the interactionist perspective (both nature and nurture)

Question 34

Is the behaviourist approach scientific or unscientific + strengths and weakness

Answer 34

- scientific - its: objective, reliable, valid + you can falsify it ——> therefore its scientific STRENGTH - it has credibility + its observable (unlike Freud’s concept of id) WEAKNESS - some things (due to ethics) can’t be studied scientifically